In 2021, 6.0 million people aged 15-64 years old in the EU worked in the transport sector (land transport, water transport or air transport) for passengers or good, a number which corresponds to 3.1% of total employment in the EU, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union.
Of these, the vast majority were male (82.9% versus 17.1% female). Nine in every ten people (89.6%) employed in transport worked in land transport (such as road or rail), while 5.7% worked in air transport and 4.7% in water transport (inland waterways or maritime).
Due to its small size and possibly the lack of rail transport, Cyprus had the lowest number of people working in transport among EU member states (5 thousand people or 0.1%). However, Cyprus also had the second largest share of women working in transport in the EU (24.6%).
Also, 83.2% of people employed in transport in Cyprus in 2021 were working in land transport, while 16.8% accounted for air and maritime transport.
Furthermore, more than half of those employed in transport in Cyprus belonged to the 50 – 64 years old age group (36.9% on average in the EU), while only about 10% was in the 15 – 29 age group (12.1% in the EU).
Among the rest of the EU member states, the largest number of people employed in the transport sector in 2021 were in France (842 thousand, 13.9% of the EU total), Poland (792 thousand, 13.1%), Germany (689 thousand, 11.4%), Spain and Italy (627 thousand and 626 thousand, respectively; each 10.4%).
The smallest number of employed people were in Cyprus and Malta (5 and 6 thousand, respectively; each 0.1%).
When it came to employment in the transport sector by sex, the highest shares of females were recorded in Malta (25.2%), Cyprus (24.6%) and Germany (24.4%).
At the other end of the scale, the lowest shares were recorded in Romania (9.7%), Croatia (11.5%) and Bulgaria (12.1%).
Source: Cyprus News Agency