Geography

What is the percent of agricultural land in European Union?



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About 20.7% of Europe is agricultural land (suitable for farming and pasture). Of this, 58.5% is arable land (suitable for farming only). In 28 countries of the European Union (EU), 40% of the land used is for agricultural production.

With urban development increasing, land available for agriculture has been declining. Agriculture in Europe is mostly carried out on small land holdings across Europe. With rising demand for food, the average size of farms has increased, but the number of farmers has been declining.

In 2013, 33.2% of the total agricultural land in EU was used for cereal cultivation, 5.9% for permanent crops, 0.2% kitchen gardens, 21.9% meadow and pasture, 11.4% rough grazing, 0.8% permanent grassland and meadow not used for production but getting subsidies, 26.5% other arable lands.

In 2016, the total agricultural exports from the EU was $161.28 billion, representing 7.5% of the total exports. For the same period, EU imported agricultural products worth $137.99 billion, representing 6.6% of the total imports.


Vegetable and horticulture output in EU is almost the same as cereals, while forage plant production is slightly higher than fruits production. At 43%, animal and animal product output is significant. Forage plants cultivation is higher than industrial crop production.

In regard to land area among the 28 countries of EU, France is the largest, followed by Spain, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Poland, Italy, and the UK, in that order.

Denmark leads in percentage of total land allocated to crop production – 50.60%, followed by Hungary 43.7%, Poland 33.20%, Germany 32.30%, Romania 32.2, and Czechia 32%.

The percentage of food and animal product output in EU (2016)

Output % of total production
Cereals 24.50
Industrial crops 8.90
Forage plants 12.90
Vegetable & horticulture products 24.90
Potatoes 5.80
Fruits 11.50
Wine 8.30
Olive Oil 1.50
Other crop products 1.20
Total Crop output 57.00
Animals 58.90
Animal products 41.10
Total animal output 43.00

Agricultural land use in 28 countries of Europe

Country Total area (sq miles) % of Cropland of total land % of Woodland & Shrubland Grassland % of Water areas & Wetland;  bareland % of Artificial areas
Denmark 16,665 50.6 20.4 17.5 4.7 6.9
Hungary 35,913 43.7 26 19.9 6.4 4.1
Poland 121,179 33.2 36.7 22.6 4.1 3.5
Germany 138,312 32.3 34.9 21.9 3.6 7.4
Romania 92,305 32.2 34.7 27.1 3.9 2.2
Czechia 30,453 32 38.5 22.3 2.6 4.6
Lithuania 25,256 29.4 38.7 24.9 4.2 2.8
Bulgaria 42,855 29.2 46.6 18.8 3.5 1.8
France 211,993 28.9 33.8 26.7 5.2 5.4
Belgium 11,841 28.5 26.3 31 2.8 11.4
Slovakia 18,929 26.6 48.9 19.5 2.1 3
Malta 122 26.3 19.1 23.4 7.6 23.7
Italy 116,329 25.1 39.5 21.7 6.8 6.9
Netherlands 14,604 24.2 15 36.3 12.4 12.1
Luxembourg 1,002 23.3 37.2 28.9 0.7 9.8
Spain 192,473 21.3 45.7 19 10.6 3.4
United Kingdom 95,662 19.7 30.9 36.2 6.4 6.5
Cyprus 3,571 19.4 45.3 13.2 16.8 5.4
Croatia 21,830 16.7 58 19.1 2.6 3.7
Greece 50,932 15.3 56.7 19.4 5.1 3.4
Austria 32,411 15.3 48.3 24.7 7.4 4.3
Latvia 25,297 14.3 55.8 22.5 5.8 1.6
Estonia 17,509 13.5 58.6 15.9 10.1 2
Portugal 34,304 11.7 52.8 23.6 6.6 5.3
Slovenia 7,829 9.5 63.7 21.7 1.9 3.3
Finland 130,328 5.9 72.3 4.4 15.9 1.6
Ireland 27,259 5.8 25.3 56.3 8.8 3.8
Sweden 173,706 4.2 69.8 5.4 19 1.6
EU 28 countries 1,687,021 22.2 44.8 20.7 8 4.2

The agricultural land as single ownership available in European Union countries in 2013

Country Area (Hectares) Acres
Romania 3629.66 8969
Poland 1429.01 3531
Italy 1010.33 2497
Spain 965 2385
Greece 709.5 1753
Hungary 491.33 1214
France 472.21 1167
Germany 285.03 704
Portugal 264.42 653
Bulgaria 254.41 629
United Kingdom 183.04 452
Lithuania 171.8 425
Croatia 157.44 389
Austria 140.43 347
Ireland 139.6 345
Latvia 81.8 202
Slovenia 72.38 179
Netherlands 67.48 167
Sweden 67.15 166
Finland 54.4 134
Norway 43.27 107
Denmark 38.28 95
Belgium 37.76 93
Cyprus 35.38 87
Czechia 26.25 65
Slovakia 23.57 58
Estonia 19.19 47
Malta 9.36 23
Luxembourg 2.08 5

Land holdings for agriculture-related activities as single ownership is highest in Romania – 8,969 acres. Denmark has the highest overall percentage of land allocated to agriculture within the European Union, its single ownership land size is only 95 acres. Similarly, Germany ranks high on the percentage of agriculture land use but is a fifth of Poland in single ownership agricultural land ownership. Poland ranks high on total land allocated to agriculture as well as in single ownership land size comparison.

Visit the following to learn more about the European Union:

Related Maps:

EU Member Countries
Europe Map
World Map – Countries by Agricultural Production
Top 10 Countries by Agricultural Imports
Top Ten Countries by Agricultural Exports
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