01Key Takeaways
- Cyprus exported $5.13 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 16.3% from $4.41 billion in 2022, the fourth straight year of growth.
- Mineral fuels and ships were Cyprus's two largest export categories, worth $1.68 billion (32.7%) and $1.47 billion (28.6%) respectively, together making up well over half of total export value.
- Libya was the top named destination at 15.1% ($775.3 million), followed by Lebanon at 9.4% ($481.0 million).
- Cyprus's top three destinations combined for just 32.8% of export value, an unusually low concentration that points to a genuinely diversified partner list.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $3.5B | $3.1B | $4.0B | $4.4B | $5.1B |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Libya | $775.3M | 15.1% |
| 2 | Lebanon | $481.0M | 9.4% |
| 3 | Bunkers | $426.1M | 8.3% |
| 4 | Bermuda | $403.0M | 7.9% |
| 5 | Greece | $317.3M | 6.2% |
| 6 | Marshall Islands | $293.6M | 5.7% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $237.9M | 4.6% |
| 8 | Liberia | $224.5M | 4.4% |
| 9 | Hong Kong SAR China | $183.2M | 3.6% |
| 10 | Nigeria | $156.1M | 3.0% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $1.7B | 32.7% |
| 2 | Ships, Boats and Floating Structures | $1.5B | 28.6% |
| 3 | Pharmaceutical Products | $438.1M | 8.5% |
| 4 | Dairy Produce; Birds' Eggs; Natural Honey; Edible Products of Animal Origin, not elsewhere specified or included | $353.0M | 6.9% |
| 5 | Essential Oils and Resinoids; Perfumery, Cosmetic or Toilet Preparations | $150.0M | 2.9% |
| 6 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $95.6M | 1.9% |
| 7 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $91.2M | 1.8% |
| 8 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $84.5M | 1.6% |
| 9 | Preparations of Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts or other parts of Plants | $50.5M | 1.0% |
| 10 | Edible Vegetables and certain Roots and Tubers | $50.2M | 1.0% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Mineral Fuels and Ships Anchor an Export Profile Built on Shipping
Cyprus exported $5.13 billion worth of goods in 2023. That figure was up 16.3% from $4.41 billion the year before. Mineral fuels led every category, worth $1.68 billion, or 32.7% of total export value. Ships, boats and floating structures followed closely behind at 28.6% ($1.47 billion). Together, those two categories made up well over half of everything Cyprus sold abroad in 2023. That concentration is not a coincidence. Limassol operates as one of the largest third-party ship management centres in the European Union, overseeing a share of the global fleet that runs well beyond what an island of Cyprus's size would suggest. Ship sales, transfers, and related maritime commerce move through that industry constantly, and much of it registers as an export in the trade data.
Mineral fuels tell a related story. Cyprus sits on major shipping lanes linking Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, which makes it a natural stop for vessels needing fuel mid-voyage. Bunker fuel supplied to ships passing through Cypriot waters gets recorded in the trade data too, though it shows up under its own distinct entry further down the partner list rather than folded into a specific country. Beyond fuel and ships, the export mix thins out quickly. Pharmaceutical products brought in $438.1 million, worth 8.5% of the total. Dairy produce, eggs, and honey added 6.9% ($353.0 million). Essential oils and cosmetic preparations contributed 2.9% ($150.0 million), and electrical machinery a further 1.9% ($95.6 million). None of the remaining categories individually cracks 2% of total value, which underscores how much of Cyprus's export economy runs through fuel and ships alone.
An Unusually Diversified List of Destinations
Most small economies send the bulk of their exports to a handful of neighbors. Cyprus does not. Its top three destinations combined for just 32.8% of export value in 2023, a notably low concentration. Libya ranked first, taking 15.1% of total exports, worth $775.3 million. Lebanon followed at 9.4% ($481.0 million). Both countries sit within relatively easy shipping distance of Cyprus across the Eastern Mediterranean, and both have leaned on outside trade partners for fuel and goods during periods of domestic instability. Bunkers ranked third, at 8.3% ($426.1 million). That figure is not a country at all. It is the trade-data category for marine and aviation fuel sold to vessels while they are in transit, rather than delivered to a buyer inside a specific nation's borders.
Bermuda ranked fourth at 7.9% ($403.0 million). Greece followed at 6.2% ($317.3 million), a more conventional trading relationship built on geographic and cultural ties. Marshall Islands ranked sixth at 5.7% ($293.6 million), and United Kingdom followed at 4.6% ($237.9 million). Liberia took 4.4% ($224.5 million), rounding out a trio, Bermuda, the Marshall Islands, and Liberia, where shipowners register vessels under a flag other than their own for cost and regulatory reasons. When a vessel built or sold through Cyprus's maritime industry gets registered in one of these jurisdictions, the transaction can show up as an export to that flag state rather than to wherever the ship actually operates. Hong Kong SAR China followed at 3.6% ($183.2 million), and Nigeria closed out the top ten at 3.0% ($156.1 million).
Five Years of Growth With Only One Down Year
Cyprus's exports have climbed in four of the last five years. The total stood at $3.52 billion in 2019. It fell to $3.14 billion in 2020, as the pandemic curbed global shipping and trade activity across the board. Exports then rebounded to $4.01 billion in 2021, climbed further to $4.41 billion in 2022, and reached $5.13 billion in 2023, a 16.3% increase over the year before. That marks four straight years of growth since the pandemic low, and the 2023 total sits well above where exports stood in 2019.
Global shipping volumes and fuel prices both firmed over that period, which lines up with how much of Cyprus's export growth traces back to mineral fuels and ship-related trade. Neither category is something Cyprus produces domestically in large volume. Both instead reflect the island's position as a services and logistics hub for vessels moving through the Eastern Mediterranean. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories moved year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.