While the EU average dependency stands at 57.2%, Romania's total dependency was significantly lower at 30.4% in 2024. This represents a marginal increase from the 30% recorded in 2004, suggesting a stable long-term energy balance for the country.
The dependency rate for oil and petroleum products jumped from 46.8% in 2004 to 77.0% in 2024. Despite this sharp rise, Romania still remains more resilient than the EU average, where oil dependency reached 96.6% in 2024.
The country has achieved a remarkable milestone in gas autonomy. While the EU's dependency on natural gas rose from 66.8% to 85.0% over the last two decades, Romania shifted from a 29.5% dependency in 2004 to -0.5% in 2024, effectively becoming a net exporter.
Romania has also seen a drastic reduction in its reliance on imported solid fossil fuels (primarily coal), with dependency dropping from 33.0% in 2004 to just 12.9% in 2024. In contrast, the EU average dependency for this category remains much higher at 34.2%.
Nearly 60% of the EU's energy needs were met by net imports. However, the dependency rate varied across EU countries.
The highest levels were found in Malta (98%), Luxembourg (91%) and Cyprus (88%), while the lowest dependency was in Estonia (5%), Sweden (27%) and Latvia (29%).
Regarding the different products, the largest share of oil and petroleum products came from the United States (16%), natural gas came mostly from Norway (30%) and the biggest share of solid fossil fuel imports (mostly coal) originated from Australia (31%).
