EU: Greece Excels in Seaborne Passenger Transport, Piraeus Among Busiest Ports in 2023

Photo source: Piraeus Port Authority

Greece in 2023 solidified its position as one of the top leaders in seaborne passenger transport within the European Union, with its ports handling a significant share of the EU’s total traffic, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical authority.

Among Greek ports, Piraeus stood out as the third busiest passenger port in the EU, underscoring Greece’s strategic importance in the maritime transport sector.

According to Eurostat, Greece ranks second only to Italy in terms of the number of passengers handled, with Greek ports managing a total of 75 million passengers, representing 19 percent of the EU’s total passenger traffic. This positions Greece as a key player in EU maritime transport.

Italy and Greece Lead the Way in EU Seaborne Passenger Transport

Eurostat’s data shows that in 2023, 11 EU countries, each handling more than 10 million passengers, accounted for 97 percent of all seaborne passenger traffic in the EU.

Italy topped the list with 85.4 million passengers, representing 22 percent of the EU total, while Greece followed closely in second place with 75 million passengers.

The total number of passengers across EU ports reached 395.3 million in 2023, marking a 5.8 percent increase compared to the previous year.

However, this was still 5.5 percent lower than the pre-COVID levels of 2019. Among the countries that saw significant growth in passenger traffic, Italy recorded an increase of 6.5 million passengers, followed by Greece with an additional 4.8 million passengers. France also saw an uptick, with 3.2 million more passengers.

Piraeus: Third-busiest EU port in 2023

Piraeus, Greece’s largest and most important port, ranked third in the EU in terms of passenger traffic in 2023, with 9.6 million passengers. This solidified Greece’s prominent position in the European seaborne transport network.

The busiest EU passenger port was Messina, Italy, with 11.3 million passengers, followed by Reggio di Calabria, also in Italy, with 11.1 million. The top 10 busiest EU ports collectively accounted for 22 percent of the total EU seaborne passenger traffic. These ports include six in the Mediterranean, three in the Baltic, and one in the North-East Atlantic.

Notably, compared with 2019, only three of the top 10 EU ports saw increases in passenger numbers: Palma de Mallorca in Spain (up by 0.4 million), Reggio di Calabria (up by 0.2 million), and Piraeus (also up by 0.2 million).