Living on a European island can cost up to 300% more for transport due to dependence on sea and air transport.

Omissions

• The companion figures in the original statement — housing (up to 130% more) and public services (30-50% more) — were not verified against an independent source in this review; only the transport metric (the normalized claim) is corroborated.
• The 'more than 300%' figure is an upper bound applying to some islands and, per the European Commission's analytical overview, especially to island businesses (over 300%), whereas residents in some cases face lower increases (up to 166% in Swedish islands). The claim's 'up to' framing is therefore accurate but represents the highest end of the range.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Regional Policy Panorama: 'A turning tide for Europe's islands'OECD research shows that transport costs on some islands can exceed mainland levels by more than 300%.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission — 'Islands of the European Union: analytical overview of EU islands'in Sweden islands face up to 166% higher travel costs for residents and over 300% higher for businesses.
• PrimaryEUR-Lex — EU Strategy for Islands (Communication CELEX:52026DC0520)In Sicily insularity can reduce GDP per capita by about 7% or in the case of Sardinia it can impose economic costs up to 36% of GDP per capita.