What country reported the highest number of seaborne passengers in 2022?

Given its broad island network, it’s no surprise that Greece reported the largest number of seaborne passengers in the EU in 2022, with 70.1 million passengers passing through Greek ports, or 20% of the overall EU total.

Italy placed second, with 53.8 million seaborne passengers (15% of the EU total), followed by Denmark with 41.2 million passengers (12%), Eurostat‘s data showed.

Other countries to see significant numbers included Croatia and Spain, with 33.0 million (9%) and 31.3 million (9%) passengers, respectively.

Seaborne passenger numbers

On a year-on-year basis, and considering that 2021 was a year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Greece reported the biggest increase in seaborne passengers in 2022 (+17.8 million passengers; +34%), followed by Spain (+12.4 million; +66%), Germany (+8.2 million; +42%), and France (+8.0 million; +73%).

Two countries recorded decreases in seaborne passengers – Italy (-4.0 million passengers; -7%) and Cyprus (-10 000; -35%).

‘Significant recovery’

In 2022, EU ports demonstrated significant recovery, with maritime passenger travel totaling 348.6 million passengers, the data showed.

This reflected a 30% rise from 2021 (267.9 million passengers) and a 51% increase compared to 2020 (230.1 million). Nevertheless, the 2022 figures remained 17% below the pre-COVID levels of 2019.

Messina in Italy retained its status as the busiest EU passenger port, accommodating 9.4 million passengers in 2022. Following closely were Reggio di Calabria in Italy (8.8 million passengers), Piraeus in Greece (8.3 million), Helsinki in Finland (8.0 million), and Palma de Mallorca in Spain (7.7 million).

Seaborne Passengers by Country

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