The EU exceeded its primary energy consumption, also known as its energy efficiency target, by 4% in 2016.

That’s according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, which compares this against the goal of cutting energy consumption by 20% by 2020.

This limits usage to 1,483 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) – since 1990, the first year in which data is available, consumption has fallen by 1.7%.

The EU’s 4% gap in 2016 equated to a consumption of 1,543Mtoe.

However, over the years, the gap has fluctuated greatly.

The biggest divergence from the target was in 2006 at 16.2%, while a record low was reached in 2014 at just 1.7% above.

Growth in energy consumption was recorded in only two Member States between 2006 and 2016: Estonia and Poland saw a 13.4% and a 3.2% increase respectively.

Greece, Malta and Romania recorded the biggest proportional decreases in consumption, all exceeding 20%.