Transport activities account for a third of the European Union's energy consumption.
The transport sector incorporating private and business consumption use is the largest energy consumer in the bloc (32% in 2023), ahead of households (26%) and industry (25%), according to new data from Eurostat.
Road transport is by far the largest energy user within the transport sector, consuming 73% of energy used for transport, while air transport accounted for 13%, water transport for 12%, and rail transport 1%.
Air travel saw the sharpest annual increase, using 10% more energy in 2023 compared with the previous year. The sector’s energy usage is now close to the level seen before the covid pandemic.
Diesel and petrol
Diesel supplied 64% of energy used in EU road transport in 2023, making it the most common energy source, Eurostat’s data reveals.
Petrol contributed 26%, while renewables and biofuels made up 7% of the mix. Smaller sources include liquefied petroleum gases, natural gas, and electricity.
Country-level figures across the EU reveal noticeable variations. Diesel’s dominance was strongest in Latvia, where it made up 80% of energy for road transport in 2023, followed by Lithuania and Croatia at 75% each.
Sweden, the Netherlands, and Cyprus had the lowest shares of diesel use, at 43%, 45%, and 46% respectively.
Electricity use in road transport increased significantly, with its share rising by 46% between 2022 and 2023. However while on the rise, it still comprised only 0.5% of the total, with the largest national shares found in Sweden and the Netherlands (both 2.1%) and Denmark (1.1%).
