Agriculture : main statistics 2005-2006.
Date: 2007-07-27
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, agricultural holding, agricultural statistics, agricultural structure, animal production, crop production, farm prices, trading account

Pocketbooks

Agriculture

Main statistics 2005-2006

2007 edition

an Commission
EuropEEan Commission
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This publication has been managed and prepared by Eurostat 
unit E1 – Agriculture statistics, methodology.

Authors:

1.  Agricultural  holdings  –  structural  data:  Gyorgy  Benoist, 

Grazyna Burak

2.  Agricultural accounts and prices: Peter Szabó, Iulia Pop
3.  Main  agricultural  products:  Garry  Mahon,  Céline  Ollier, 

Alcino Gomes

4.  Agriculture and environment: Riikka Knaapi
5.  Population structure, education and employment in thinly 

populated areas: Michael Goll, Grazyna Burak

Contributors:

Stephen Clarke, Johan Selenius

Co-ordinator:

Catherine Coyette

Statistical Office of the European Communities
Joseph Bech Building,
Alphonse Weicker, 5
L-2721, Luxembourg

4

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Introduction

The pocketbook Agricultural Statistics presents selected tables 
and  graphs  providing  an  overview  on  developments  and  the 
situation in the agricultural sector of the European Union. The 
most recent data are presented here (reference years 2005 and 
2006, mostly) showing the situation in the 27 Member States 
(including Bulgaria and Romania) and at the European level 
(EU-27 and EU-25 aggregates).

More particularly, this edition provides a good insight into the 
complete  results  of  the  Farm  Structure  Survey  conducted  in 
2005. Country reports were published regularly on the Euro-
stat website under the form of ‘Statistics in Focus’ as soon as 
the data were available at Eurostat. This publication is the only 
one showing the results at the European level.

This pocketbook, intended for both generalists and specialists, 
is divided into five parts.
Chapter 1 focuses on the results of the Farm Structure Survey 
2005;
Chapter 2 covers the economy of the agricultural industry and 
presents data on output and input volumes, income indicators 
and main price trends;
Chapter 3 presents the most recent data on agricultural pro-
duction  i.e.  meat  and  milk  production,  cereals,  main  crops, 
fruit  and  vegetable  production  and  also  some  data  on  wine 
production;
Chapter  4  gives  some  important  indicators  related  to  agri-
environment;
Finally, chapter 5 presents some indicators used in rural devel-
opment policies.

More detailed data as well as methodological information can 
be found on the Eurostat website at:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/

This website offers free access to Eurostat’s dissemination data-
base, predefined tables, methodological documents and other 
publications of Eurostat.

Agriculture

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2006_4651.indd   6

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Table of Contents

Page

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Units, abbreviations and symbols used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1

The agricultural holdings – Structural data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.1 Farm labour force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

1.2 The agricultural holdings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Utilised agricultural area (UAA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Livestock Units (LU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Legal personality of the holdings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Economic size and type of farming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Other gainful activities of the holdings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

1.3 Land use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

1.4 Livestock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

1.5  small units. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

2  Agricultural accounts and prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

2.1  agricultural income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Long term trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Recent trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Impact of subsidies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

2.2  output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

2.3  inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

2.4  agricultural Labour input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

2.5  price indices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

3 Main agricultural products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

3.1  meat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

3.2  milk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

3.3  main crops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

3.4 Cereals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

3.5 Fruits and vegetables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

4 Agriculture and environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

4.1  pesticides and fertilisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

4.2  irrigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

4.3 Livestock density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

4.4 Greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Agriculture

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5

Population structure, education and employment 
in thinly populated areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

5.1  old age dependency ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

5.2 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

5.3 Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

5.4 Youth unemployment ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

8

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Units, abbreviations and symbols used

Units
ha
kg
t
€

hectare = 10.000 m²
kilogram
metric tonne
Euro

Abbreviations
aWu 
Eaa 
Esa 
Esu 
Eu-siLC

annual work unit
Economic accounts for agriculture
European system of accounts
European size unit
European survey on income and Living 
Conditions
Food and agriculture organization of the 
united nations
Farm structure survey
gross indigenous production
gross value added
international standard classification of education
local administrative unit
livestock unit
Labour Force survey
not mentioned elsewhere
nomenclature of territorial units for statistics
organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
Development
other gainful activity
utilized agricultural area

European union
European union (27 member states)
European union (25 member states)
European union (15 member states)

Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
ireland
Greece
spain
France
italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg

Agriculture

9

Fao 

Fss

Gip 
GVa 
isCED 
Lau 
Lu 
LFs 
n.m.e. 
nuTs 
oECD 

oGa 
uaa 

Eu 
Eu-27
Eu-25
Eu-15

BE
BG
CZ
DK 
DE
EE
iE
EL
Es  
Fr  
iT
CY
LV
LT
Lu 

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Hu 
mT
nL
aT
pL
ro 
pT
si   
sK
Fi   
sE
uK

Symbols

– 
0.0 
:
( )

Italic figures

Hungary
malta
netherlands
austria
poland
romania
portugal
slovenia
slovak republic
Finland
sweden
united Kingdom

not applicable
Less than half the unit used
not available or extremely unreliable
small sample size may affect the reliability of 
the data
Estimated values

10

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The agricultural holdings
Structural data

I

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The agricultural holdings – Structural data

I

1

The agricultural holdings – Structural data

The purpose of the Community surveys on the structure of agri-
cultural holdings, also referred to as farm structure surveys (FSS), 
is to obtain reliable data, at regular intervals, on the structure of 
agricultural holdings in the European Union, in particular on land 
use,  livestock  and  farm  labour  force.  Farm  structure  surveys  are 
carried out at intervals of two to three years. Approximately every 
ten years (the last time was in 1999/2000), a full survey is carried 
out in the form of an agricultural census. In the period between 
censuses,  the  farm  structure  surveys  are  carried  out  as  sample 
surveys in most of the Member States.

The latest data come from the survey conducted in 2005. It was the 
second FSS to be carried out in all Member States of EU-27 after 
that of 2003. This chapter of the agricultural pocketbook presents 
the main results of the survey at EU-27 level with a brief analysis 
of some key indicators, a description of certain trends and some 
useful figures in the form of summary tables and graphs. 

The national FSS has to cover 99% of the agricultural activity; the 
thresholds are expressed as simple measurements and each Mem-
ber State defines its own set of thresholds. The various thresholds 
make the FSS results most relevant at national level. Because these 
thresholds differ across the 27 Member States as regards the cover-
age of units with an economic size of less than 1 ESU1, this analysis 
focuses on holdings of at least 1 ESU. This methodological limit 
became more important following the last two enlargements. The 
analysis  of  small  holdings  is  essential  as  there  are  huge  numbers 
of very small units in some of the new Member States. In section 
1.5 we try to give a brief overview of these units and their means 
of production.

The table below presents the main indicators for the whole popula-
tion of the FSS in the 27 Member States, and broken down into two 
groups based on the abovementioned 1 ESU threshold.

1 For each activity (“enterprise“) on a holding, or farm, (e.g. wheat, dairy cow or vineyard), a 
standard gross margin (SGM) is estimated, based on the area (or the number of heads) and a 
regional coefficient. The sum of all margins, for all activities of a given farm, is referred to as 
the economic size of that farm. The economic size is expressed in European Size Units (ESU), 
1 ESU being equal to 1200 Euro of SGM. 

Agriculture

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I

The agricultural holdings – Structural data

Table 1: Main results of the FSS 2005, EU-27

Regular Labour force (1000 
person)

Total

< 1 
ESU

>= 1 
ESU

< 1 
ESU

>= 1 
ESU

absolute figures

% of total

29 706.2 11 746.9

17 959.4

39.5

60.5

Regular labour force (1000 AWU) 11 744.2

2 842.8

8 901.4

Holders with… (1000)

14 222.0

6 633.7

7 588.3

… at least 65 years

4 722.1

2 523.4

2 198.7

… another major gainful activity

4 988.3

2 875.3

2 113.0

Number of sole holdings (1000)

14 478.6

6 662.6

7 816.0

… using a tractor

SGM (1000 ESU)

9 210.2

3 045.8

6 164.4

151 801.5

2 527.1 149 274.4

Agricultural area (1000 ha)

171 878.3 10 260.4 161 617.9

… own farmed

97 519.0

9 434.6

88 084.4

Livestock (1000 LU)

137 088.9

3 577.9 133 511.0

24.2

46.6

53.4

57.6

46.0

33.1

1.7

6.0

9.7

2.6

75.8

53.4

46.6

42.4

54.0

66.9

98.3

94.0

90.3

97.4

Source: Fss

The  data  presented  in  this  chapter  can  be  different  than  those 
reported under certain other statistical areas (e.g. agricultural labour 
input, crop statistics) due to differences in the methods used.

To make this publication as readable as possible, only a summary 
of the FSS results is presented here. More detailed results can be 
found in the EUROFARM database, which can be accessed via the 
free database2 on Eurostat’s website (theme 5: agriculture, forestry 
and fisheries) http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat. 

2 Among the free data, however, the option to choose the 1 ESU thresholds is not available.

14

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The agricultural holdings – Structural data

I

Methodological Notes

The  methodological  notes  help  the  reader  to  understand  the 
specific concepts and assumptions used, and explain the limits of 
the  figures  provided.  For  methodological  information  in  greater 
depth, please check the legal basis and/or the national methodo-
logical reports provided by Member States.

The basic unit underlying the farm structure survey (FSS) is the 
agricultural  holding.  A  holding  is  defined  as  a  technical-eco-
nomic  unit  under  single  management  engaged  in  agricultural 
production.  FSS  covers  all  agricultural  holdings  with  a  utilised 
agricultural area (UAA) of at least 1 ha and those holdings with a 
UAA of less than 1 ha if their market production exceeds certain 
natural thresholds.

The  utilised  agricultural  area  (UAA)  is  the  total  of  arable  land, 
permanent  pasture  and  meadow,  land  used  for  permanent  crops 
and  kitchen  gardens.  The  UAA  excludes  unutilised  agricultural 
land, woodland and land occupied by buildings, farmyards, tracks, 
ponds, etc. 

For  certain  purposes,  various  categories  of  livestock,  e.g.  piglets, 
breeding sows and other pigs have to be aggregated. The measure 
used for this is known as a Livestock Unit (LU). LUs are related to 
the feed requirements of each individual animal category.

The farm labour force includes all persons having completed their 
compulsory  education  (i.e.  having  reached  school-leaving  age) 
who carried out farm work on the holding covered by the survey 
during  the  12  months  up  to  the  date  of  the  survey.  The  figures 
include the holders, even when not working on the holding; their 
spouses, on the other hand, are only accounted for if they are actu-
ally engaged in farm work on the holding. Persons of retiring age 
who continue to work on the holding are also included.

Taking into account the considerable degree of part-time work in 
agriculture and opportunities for part-time work in other sectors 
of  the  economy,  information  on  employment  in  agriculture  is 
also given in annual work units. An Annual Work Unit (AWU)
is equivalent to full-time employment. One AWU corresponds to 
the work performed by a person engaged in full-time agricultural 
work on the holding over a 12-month period. The annual working 
time of such a worker is 1800 hours (225 working days of 8 hours 
per  day),  unless  there  are  different  specific  national  provisions 
governing contracts of employment.

Agriculture

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2006_4651.indd   16

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Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

I

1.1 Farm labour force

The results of the Farm Structure Survey 2005 for EU-27 show that 
17.9  million  persons  were  working  on  a  regular  basis  on  the  7.8 
million agricultural holdings of at least 1 ESU.

This  total  covers  all  the  persons  providing  (even  small  volumes 
of) labour input to the agricultural holdings, and it also includes 
persons whose main occupation is not farming. Thus, agricultural 
employment is measured not only in persons, but also in Annual 
Work  Units  (AWU)  –  the  equivalent  of  the  work  of  one  person 
employed full time.

The  volume  of  agricultural  labour  input  (including  non-regular 
labour force) in 2005 was 9.8 million AWU. 

Agriculture

17

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I

Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

Table 1.1.1: Agricultural labour force, EU-27, 2005

EU Farm Labour Force1

Family labour force
persons: 16.1 million
of which 42% women
aWus: 7.4 million

Holders

Spouses of 
the holders

Other family 
members

Non family labour force

aWus: 2.3 million

Regular non 
family labour 
force

Non regular 
labour force

persons: 
7.6 million 

persons: 
4.2 million 

persons: 
4.3 million

persons: 
1.8 million 

of which 
23% women

of which 
80% women

of which 
36% women

of which 
28% women

aWus: 
4.2 million

aWus: 
1.9 million

aWus: 
1.4 million

aWus: 
1.5 million

aWus: 
0.9 million 

Source: Fss

1) Labour Force of holdings of less than 1 Esu not included

The bulk of labour input on the farms of at least 1 ESU – 76% of 
the total AWU in EU–27 – was provided by the holder and his/her 
family;  seven  out  of  eight  persons  working  in  agriculture  (88%) 
were  family  labour  force.  The  percentage  of  family  labour  force 
varied significantly across Member States. Whilst Poland, Ireland, 
Slovenia and Austria had the vast majority of the labour input in 
this labour category (each with over 90% of the total AWU), the 
Czech  Republic  and  Slovakia  had  much  lower  percentages  (20% 
and 16% respectively). These differences (i.e. self-employed: family 
labour force vs. hired workforce) reflect the structure of ownership 
in agriculture.

18

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Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

I

Table 1.1.2: Farm labour force1 by Member State, 
EU-27, 2005

Total 
labour 
force2

Family labour 
force

Non-family 
labour regularly 
employed

Non regular 
non family 
labour force

1000 
AWU

1000 
persons

1000 
AWU

1000 
persons

1000 
AWU

EU-27

9 782.4

16 125.3

7 442.8

1 834.0

1 458.7

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

 68.8

 246.4

 142.1

 58.4

 634.7

 28.1

 148.0

 576.3

 949.2

 844.4

 78.9

 259.8

 43.5

 69.2

 771.6

 34.1

 226.1

1 272.3

1 796.4

 667.4

 55.2

 168.1

 28.5

 36.4

 441.4

 14.8

 137.4

 470.1

 609.3

 413.5

1 271.2

2 594.7

1 025.7

 25.9

 81.8

 54.1

 99.5

 18.5

 65.6

 152.7

 285.9

 125.5

 4.0

 229.4

 3.7

 173.9

 152.3

 5.0

 319.3

 12.2

 160.5

 354.1

 3.3

 137.4

 3.3

 109.7

 137.7

1 727.0

2 671.0

1 608.3

 317.3

 536.1

 251.6

1 355.1

3 000.2

1 180.2

 82.9

 66.7

 83.3

 66.7

 292.4

 167.6

 26.7

 139.4

 117.7

 362.1

 75.3

 10.4

 70.1

 49.2

 13.7

 56.1

 115.7

 23.3

 168.3

 14.1

 13.8

 24.6

 194.8

 424.4

 150.1

 5.2

 17.7

 26.3

 0.6

 93.8

 0.5

 76.9

 17.1

 63.6

 48.3

 71.2

 3.5

 59.8

 14.0

 20.9

 10.7

 52.6

 103.9

 20.0

 141.0

 12.3

 6.9

 18.3

 156.0

 339.3

 104.7

 4.5

 14.1

 22.1

 0.6

 82.6

 0.4

 50.9

 10.4

 57.5

 40.1

 53.4

 3.3

 53.3

 8.3

 14.4

 77.2

1000 
AWU

 881.0

 2.9

 25.7

 9.7

 2.1

 52.3

 1.0

 3.6

 87.9

 183.9

 91.7

 140.9

 2.9

 2.1

 5.1

 0.1

 9.4

 0.0

 13.4

 4.2

 61.2

 25.7

 121.4

 4.3

 3.0

 4.8

 3.1

 18.6

 196.5

 115.7

Source: Fss

1) Labour Force of holdings of less than 1 Esu not included
2) non-regular family labour force (seasonal workers) is excluded in the calculation 
of aWu

Agriculture

19

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I

Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

Table 1.1.3: Agricultural holdings by labour input 
size, EU-27, 2005

Total number of 
holdings (1000) of 
which: 

Holdings where holder 
is the manager (% of 
total)

Holdings with regular 
non-family labour force 
(% of total)

average aWu per person 
working on the holding1

agricultural area per 
holding (ha)

average economic size 
(Esu)

Total

Holdings with labour force (in terms of AWU)

<0.5 0.5 - <1 1 - <1.5 1.5 - <2 2 - <3

≥3

7816

2174

1659

1776

886

956

370

91.3

91.8

93.9

93.9

93.7

88.1

67.0

7.6

2.1

2.1

4.5

6.3

17.6

77.8

0.5

0.14

0.32

0.54

0.63

0.74

0.84

20.7

8.2

9.4

20.4

19.8

33.6

115.1

19.1

5.0

6.7

16.7

18.5

33.9

133.5

%

regular labour force 
(pers.)

100.0

19.2

18.9

20.4

12.3

16.3

13.0

Labour force (aWu)

100.0

5.2

11.4

21

14.6

23.2

24.5

agricultural area (ha)

100.0

10.1

Livestock (Lsu)

100.0

sGm of the holding (Esu) 100.0

2.8

6.5

8.9

5.3

7.1

22.6

22.9

20.1

10.9

12.8

11.1

20.6

26.6

22.4

27.2

29.3

33.3

Family farms - sole 
holder’s holdings 

Holdings without regular 
employees 

Source: Fss

100.0

27.5

21.2

23.6

11.1

12.8

3.9

100.0

28.2

21.7

24.0

11.0

12.3

2.7

1) non-regular family labour force (seasonal workers) is excluded in the calculation 
of aWu

20

Agriculture

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Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

I

Of the 7.8 million holdings surveyed, almost one half made use of 
less than 1 AWU (1 fulltime worker), 33% used 1 to 2 AWU, and 
19% of holdings 2 or more AWU.

However,  this  latter  group  of  holdings,  accounted  for  half  of  the 
agricultural labour force (AWU), almost half of agricultural land 
and more than half of livestock. More than half (56%) of the total 
SGM  originated  from  these  holdings.  The  farms  with  a  labour 
input of 2 or more AWU were also significantly bigger in terms of 
both physical and economical size. The workers on these holdings 
were more frequently working full time (on average: 0.8 AWU per 
person).
In  contrast,  the  smaller-sized  holdings  in  terms  of  labour  input 
(i.e. using less than 1 AWU) were the place of work for 38% of the 
persons  working  on  agricultural  holdings.  These  persons  mainly 
belong to the family labour force and were working part-time (one 
fifth of a full-time equivalent– on average).

The average volume of labour input per person in EU-27 was equal 
to half of a full-time equivalent (0.50 AWU).

Sole holders were the most involved in work on the holding, with 
an average of 0.58 AWU/person. Their spouses worked on average 
less than half time (0.46 AWU/person), and the work of the other 
family members amounted to an average 0.34 AWU per person.

Agriculture

21

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I

Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

Figure 1.1.1: Family labour force by category and 
gender, EU-27, 2005

Other family 
members, 
27%

Women 
10%

Men 
17%

Women
21%

Men 
36%

Women 
11%

Men 
5%

Spouse, 
26%

Sole/main 
holder, 
47%

In family farms, holders and their spouses were the main labour 
force. Three out of four persons working in agricultural holdings 
were either holders or spouses of the holder. 

Men made up 58% of the family labour force. The majority of men 
working on the holding (62%) were holders (only 9% of them were 
spouses of the holder). Among the women working on agricultural 
holdings, half were recorded as spouses of the holders.

22

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Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

I

Figure 1.1.2: Age structure of sole/main holders by 
economic size of the holding, EU-27, 2005

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

1 - <2

2 - <4

4 - <8

8 - <16

16 - <40

40 - <100

>= 100 
ESU

under 35 years
from 45 to 54 years
65 years and over

from 35 to 44 years
from 55 to 64 years

More than half of the holders in EU-27 were older than 55 years. 

One in five holding managers in EU-27 was a woman. However, 
the rate varies across Member States, from over 30% in the three 
Baltic States and Austria, to around 10% in Ireland, Finland, Malta, 
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Women as managers were more frequently found on small holdings.

Agriculture

23

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I

Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

Figure 1.1.3: Share of persons with an other gainful 
activity by economic size of the holding, EU-27, 2005

% of total

50

40

30

20

10

0

1 - <2

2 - <4

4 - <8

8 - <16

16 - <40

40 - <100

>= 100 
ESU

Holders

Spouse

Other family members

Nearly one third of the family labour force (holders, their spouses 
and  other  family  members)  in  the  EU-27  had  another  gainful 
activity, besides work in the agricultural holding. 

For most of the holders3 and their spouses the work on the agricul-
tural holdings was the only activity: in 2005, almost 70% of them 
had no other gainful activity (OGA) apart from agriculture. Hav-
ing another gainful activity was more frequent among the mem-
bers of the family working on the holding than among the holders 
and  their  spouses.  Where  another  gainful  activity  is  performed, 
this  activity  is  usually  the  main  activity.  For  25%  of  the  family 
labour force, the OGA was more important than work on the farm. 
The OGA was the secondary activity for only 5%.

Work on the farm was more often the only occupation for female 
holders than for male holders. Every second man who is the spouse 
of the holder had another gainful activity, whereas this was the case 
for only one in five women spouses. The share of people having an 
other gainful activity was significantly higher among the popula-
tion aged under 54.

3  Only holders being also farm managers

24

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Chapter 1.1
Farm labour force

I

Table 1.1.4: Labour force in agriculture by Member 
State, EU-27, 2005

Labour 
force1

Family labour 
force

Regular non 
family labour 
force

Family labour force 
(AWU) – share in 
the total LF

EU-27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

 0.5

 0.7

 0.7

 0.8

 0.6

 0.6

 0.6

 0.6

 0.4

 0.4

 0.7

 0.4

 0.4

 0.7

 0.5

 0.7

 0.5

 0.3

 0.7

 0.4

 0.6

 0.5

 0.4

 0.5

 0.7

 0.5

 0.5

 0.6

AWU per person

 0.5

 0.7

 0.7

 0.7

 0.5

 0.6

 0.4

 0.6

 0.4

 0.3

 0.6

 0.4

 0.3

 0.7

 0.4

 0.7

 0.4

 0.3

 0.7

 0.4

 0.6

 0.5

 0.4

 0.5

 0.4

 0.5

 0.4

 0.5

 0.8

 0.8

 0.9

 0.9

 0.9

 0.8

 0.9

 0.5

 0.7

 0.8

 0.8

 0.7

 0.9

 0.8

 0.8

 0.9

 0.9

 0.7

 0.7

 0.6

 0.9

 0.8

 0.8

 1.0

 0.9

 0.6

 0.7

 0.7

%

 76.1

 80.3

 68.2

 20.0

 62.3

 69.5

 52.6

 92.8

 81.6

 64.2

 49.0

 80.7

 71.4

 80.2

 82.2

 83.4

 59.9

 90.0

 63.1

 90.4

 93.1

 79.3

 87.1

 90.8

 15.6

 84.2

 73.8

 67.2

Source: Fss

1) non-regular family labour force (seasonal workers) is excluded in the calculation 
of aWu

Agriculture

25

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2006_4651.indd   26

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Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

I

1.2 The agricultural holdings

Table 1.2.1: Some important characteristics of 
agricultural holdings

2003*

2005

EU-25

EU-27

EU-25

EU-27

6 559.4

7 928.5

6 461.9

7 816.0

96.1

2.9

1.1

59.7

33.4

14.0

5.5

45.4

32.2

12.4

6.0

4.1

61.2

13.7

12.4

8.4

4.3

:

2.7

:

:

:

9.1

1.4

0.1

3.9

0.3

0.0

0.3

1.6

3.2

96.5

2.6

0.9

57.8

34.2

13.3

5.1

51.6

29.5

10.4

5.0

3.6

67.5

11.5

10.4

7.0

3.6

:

2.5

:

:

:

9.2

1.2

0.1

4.7

0.3

0.0

0.2

1.4

2.8

95.6

3.4

1.1

48.4

33.3

13.1

5.2

45.0

32.5

12.2

6.0

4.3

59.8

14.1

13.1

8.5

4.4

1.9

3.0

80.7

64.4

40.3

9.9

1.5

0.1

3.8

0.3

0.2

0.5

2.0

3.4

96.2

3.0

0.9

49.0

34.1

12.2

4.7

50.2

30.8

10.3

5.0

3.7

66.3

12.0

11.0

7.1

3.7

1.6

2.8

78.9

55.0

40.2

13.3

1.3

0.1

6.8

0.3

0.2

0.4

2.1

5.3

Agricultural holdings

Total number (1000)

By legal personality of the holder (%)

sole holder

legal person

group holders

By employed labour force (%)

under 1 aWu

from 1 to less than 2 aWu

from 2 to less than 3 aWu

3 aWu and over

By utilised agricultural area (%)

< 5 ha

5 - < 20 ha

20 - < 50 ha

50 - < 100 ha

100 =< ha

By economic size (%)

from 1 to less than 8 Esu

from 8 to less than 16 Esu

from 16 to less than 40 Esu

from 40 to less than 100 Esu

100 Esu and over

By farming methods (%)

organic farming 

with crops under glass

By machinery (%)

using a tractor

with their own tractor

using a combined harvester

Holdings with gainful activity other

than agricultural production (%)

Tourism

Handicraft

processing of farm products

Wood processing
aquaculture2

renewable energy production
Contractual work1
other gainful activities n.m.e2

source: Fss

* Data refers to 2002 in pL and ro
1 no data for Hu and pL in 2003
2 no data for pL in 2003

Agriculture

27

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I

Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

Utilised agricultural area (UAA) 

Table 1.2.2: Number of agricultural holdings by UAA 
size classes, 2005

Total

<5 ha

5-<20 ha

20-<50 
ha

50-<100 
ha

>=100 
ha

EU-27

7 816.0

3 921.0

2 405.7

in 1000

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

 49.6

 118.1

 26.8

 48.1

 371.1

 13.4

 125.5

 678.1

 959.0

 527.4

1 380.3

 29.9

 44.9

 128.6

 2.4

 155.4

 7.2

 81.8

 137.0

1 082.7

 219.3

1 236.0

 60.9

 12.9

 70.0

 66.3

 183.4

 11.8

 96.1

 8.9

 1.5

 70.6

 2.5

 6.0

 481.1

 472.0

 112.5

 928.6

 24.3

 6.2

 28.4

 0.5

 83.8

 7.0

 23.6

 30.7

 382.1

 142.4

 918.2

 31.0

 6.4

 6.0

 7.5

 31.1

 15.0

 13.7

 7.2

 18.4

 127.5

 5.9

 45.1

 161.8

 281.0

 105.7

 332.1

 4.5

 25.1

 79.8

 0.4

 46.1

 0.2

 24.8

 64.7

 583.4

 54.3

 289.6

 27.1

 2.8

 24.6

 23.6

 41.4

 808.3

 14.3

 2.9

 4.3

 12.2

 88.4

 2.8

 50.8

 28.2

 109.4

 109.3

 81.0

 0.8

 9.3

 14.6

 0.4

 13.8

 0.0

 22.8

 32.9

 96.5

 12.3

 14.9

 2.4

 1.1

 26.2

 16.6

 40.2

 393.4

 287.6

 6.7

 1.5

 2.1

 8.6

 54.2

 0.9

 19.6

 5.5

 49.3

 112.9

 25.6

 0.3

 2.5

 3.4

 0.8

 5.6

 0.0

 8.9

 7.0

 13.5

 4.6

 4.6

 0.2

 0.6

 10.6

 10.8

 33.1

 1.8

 3.8

 4.3

 7.4

 30.4

 1.3

 4.0

 1.5

 47.2

 86.9

 12.9

 0.1

 1.9

 2.5

 0.4

 6.0

 0.0

 1.8

 1.7

 7.2

 5.6

 8.6

 0.1

 2.0

 2.7

 7.9

 37.6

Source: Fss

The FSS for 2005 reports that – according to the definition of the 
statistical unit used – there were 7.8 million agricultural holdings 
in EU-27. About one fifth of these holdings are located in the 10 
new Member States of the EU and almost the same proportion in 
Bulgaria  and  Romania  alone.  The  farm  sector  of  the  EU  shows 
great variety in terms of type of farming and farm size. For exam-
ple, more than half of all farms surveyed in the EU-27 have an area 
of  less  than  5  ha,  whereas  farms  with  an  area  of  20  ha  and  over 
account for 20% of all farms. 84% of these latter farms are located 
in the old Member States.

28

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Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

I

Figure 1.2.1: Number of agricultural holdings by 
UAA size classes, EU-27 

Mio

5

4

3

2

1

0

<5

5- <10

2003

10- <50

2005

50=< ha

The general trend in the concentration of UAA continued between 
2003 and 2005, although significant changes can only be observed 
only  in  the  lowest  UAA  size  classes:  about  4%  of  the  holdings 
“became” a bit larger. Figure 1.2.2 below provides a detailed over-
view of these changes: the farm structure is quite stable in EU-15; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  “engines”  of  concentration  are  the  newly 
acceded Member States – in particular, Bulgaria and Romania.

Figure 1.2.2: Change in the number of agricultural 
holdings by UAA size classes between 2003 and 2005

% of total
175%

150%

125%

100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

<5 ha

5 - <10 ha

10 - <50 ha

50 ha =< UAA

EU-15

NMS-10

BG+RO

Agriculture

29

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I

Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

Livestock Units (LU)

Table 1.2.3: Number of agricultural holdings by 
livestock unit size classes, 2005

Total

0

0-<5 LU

5-<50 LU

50-<100 
LU

>=100 
LU

EU-27

7 816.0

2 988.9

2 606.9

1 648.9

 288.3

in 1000

 49.6

 118.1

 26.8

 48.1

 371.1

 13.4

 125.5

 678.1

 959.0

 527.4

 12.1

 13.2

 6.9

 17.8

 101.9

 3.4

 3.3

 314.8

 673.8

 186.6

1 380.3

1 109.3

 29.9

 44.9

 128.6

 2.4

 155.4

 7.2

 81.8

 137.0

1 082.7

 219.3

1 236.0

 60.9

 12.9

 70.0

 66.3

 183.4

 19.9

 5.7

 7.4

 0.4

 46.1

 4.8

 25.9

 29.2

 172.1

 52.8

 72.0

 7.2

 2.9

 40.2

 30.3

 28.9

 4.2

 73.5

 9.0

 6.5

 46.4

 6.1

 5.5

 280.9

 117.8

 74.2

 136.2

 7.5

 25.4

 58.6

 0.2

 75.2

 1.8

 6.7

 24.9

 477.3

 127.2

 977.6

 28.9

 7.0

 4.1

 8.6

 15.5

 13.1

 30.0

 7.6

 10.7

 130.3

 3.2

 77.7

 74.0

 113.3

 125.5

 100.1

 1.8

 13.1

 61.7

 0.5

 30.9

 0.3

 18.6

 72.3

 413.3

 32.2

 183.2

 23.9

 1.7

 19.9

 17.9

 72.0

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

Source: Fss

 282.9

 12.1

 0.6

 2.3

 10.3

 46.7

 0.4

 14.2

 2.1

 27.8

 64.4

 16.1

 0.4

 0.3

 0.4

 0.6

 2.0

 0.1

 18.6

 3.3

 6.9

 3.4

 0.9

 0.2

 1.0

 1.9

 4.2

 8.1

 0.7

 0.9

 2.8

 45.8

 0.2

 24.8

 6.3

 26.3

 76.7

 18.5

 0.3

 0.4

 0.5

 0.5

 1.2

 0.1

 12.1

 7.3

 13.1

 3.7

 2.3

 0.6

 0.2

 3.8

 5.4

 25.4

 41.6

30

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Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

I

Figure 1.2.3: Agricultural holdings by livestock unit 
size classes, EU-27, 2005

50 -< 100 LU 
4%

>= 100 LU 
4%

5 -< 50 LU 
21%

0 <-< 5 LU 
33%

0 LU 
38%

The distribution by LU size categories also shows the specialisation 
of  the  holdings.  Holdings  with  at  least  50  LU  represent  only  8% 
of the EU-27 holdings; they can be considered as specialised live-
stock producers. On the other hand, the 38% of holdings without 
livestock are the crop producers. Some 11% of the EU-15 holdings 
have significant numbers of livestock; on the other hand, 60% of 
the holdings in the Member States that joined the EU more recent-
ly belong to the category of 0 to less than 5 LU (Figure 1.2.4).

Figure 1.2.4: Agricultural holdings by livestock unit 
classes, 2005

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

EU-27

EU-15

NMS-10

BG+RO

0 LU
5 -< 50 LU
>= 100 LU

0 <-< 5 LU
50 -< 100 LU

Agriculture

31

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I

Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

Legal personality of the holdings

Figure 1.2.5: Legal personality of the agricultural 
holdings by UAA size classes, EU-27, 2005

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

<5

5 -< 20

20 -< 50

50 -< 100 ha

>= 100 ha

sole holder

legal person

group holders

Figure 1.2.6: Legal personality of the agricultural 
holdings by livestock unit size classes, EU-27, 2005

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

0 LU

0 -< 5 LU

5 -< 50 LU

50 -< 100 LU

>= 100 LU

sole holder

legal person

group holders

While the percentage of holdings in EU-27 that are legal entities or 
group holdings is relatively small (3% and 1% respectively), such 
holdings tend to be frequent among the larger units. The propor-
tion  of  the  units  with  legal  personality  is  significantly  higher  in 
France  (18%),  Slovakia  (13%),  and  Czech  Republic  (10%),  while 
group  holdings  are  important  mostly  in  Finland  (7%)  and  Ger-
many (5%). 

There  are  significant  numbers  of  holdings  with  legal  personal-
ity  in  the  upper  size  classes  (at  least  100  ha/100  LU)  in  Roma-
nia  (75%/51%),  Slovakia  (66%/91%),  Bulgaria  (52%/48%),  Czech 
Republic (48%/79%), Estonia (38%/79%) and Hungary (44%/62%).

32

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Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

I

Economic size and type of farming

In the Community typology, each holding is classified by its eco-
nomic size and its type of farming. The economic size is expressed 
in European Size Units (ESU). 

Figure 1.2.7: Distribution of agricultural holdings by 
economic size, EU-27, 2005

8  -< 16 ESU 
12%

1 -< 8 ESU 
66%

16 -< 40 ESU 
11%

40 -< 100 ESU 
7%

100 ESU =< 
4%

In  2005,  two  out  of  three  holdings  were  in  the  category  1-<8 
ESU, while 4% of the holdings had an economic size of 100 ESU 
or more. Generally, the smaller units are to be found in the new 
Member  States,  with  the  highest  proportions  (over  90%)  being 
in Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria. The largest units are 
more commonly found in the Netherlands (32%), Belgium (23%) 
and Denmark (23%).

Agriculture

33

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I

Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

Figure 1.2.8: The agricultural holdings by main type 
of farming, EU-27, 2005

Other 
farmtypes 
54%

Mixed 
cropping
11%

Specialist cereals, oil 
seed and protein crops  
7%

General field 
cropping
9%

Specialist
olives
8%

Field crops – grazing 
livestock combined 
7%

The  type  of  farming  is  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  relative 
importance of the individual activities carried out by a given farm. 
For  practical  reasons  only  the  five  most  frequently  occurring 
types are shown in Figure 1.2.8. The geographical distribution of 
the  types  is  quite  heterogeneous.  Generally  the  less  specialised 
“mixed” holdings are peculiar to the newer Member States (espe-
cially Romania and Lithuania). Holdings specialising in olives are 
typical  of  the  Mediterranean  area  (Greece  26%,  Spain  20%  and 
Italy 19%).

Holdings  specialised  in  cereals,  oil  seed  and  protein  crops  are 
representative  in  Slovakia  (54%),  Denmark  (39%)  and  Finland 
(38%). In Sweden, 39% of the holdings are engaged in general field 
cropping. Horticulture is the principal activity for holdings in the 
Netherlands  (12%),  Malta  (11%)  and  Belgium  (9%).  Fruit-grow-
ing farms are important in Cyprus (33%) and Spain (18%), while 
holdings specialised in wine growing are common in Luxembourg 
(15%), France (14%), Portugal (12%) and Italy (12%).

Dairy  farms  are  more  significant  in  Luxembourg  (29%),  Austria 
(27%)  and  the  Netherlands  (25%).  Farms  specialising  in  rearing 
and fattening cattle are a feature of Ireland (50%) and the United 
Kingdom (20%). 

34

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Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

I

Other gainful activities of the holdings

Table 1.2.4: Other gainful activities of the holdings, 
2005

Total 
holdings 
with 
other 
gainful 
activity

Tourism Handi-
craft

Wood 
process-
ing

Aqua-
cul-
ture

Process-
ing of 
farm 
prod-
ucts

Renew-
able 
energy 
produc-
tion

Others

Con-
tractual 
work

% of total holdings

EU-27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

Source: Fss

13.3

4.2

5.7

13.9

18.3

23.1

10.2

4.5

2.0

3.3

25.8

6.8

7.6

12.1

1.2

15.3

13.3

6.5

22.5

24.7

5.9

10.6

32.3

4.8

10.4

29.0

13.5

27.1

1.3

0.9

0.1

1.1

0.9

3.9

1.4

0.9

0.1

0.4

3.3

0.9

0.1

1.0

0.1

2.6

0.3

0.0

3.5

8.3

0.4

0.3

0.1

1.0

0.8

2.9

3.0

12.0

0.1

0.3

0.1

0.4

1.6

0.3

0.9

0.2

0.0

0.0

0.4

0.1

0.0

0.2

0.1

0.4

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.2

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.6

0.4

0.6

0.4

6.8

0.9

0.2

3.7

0.6

9.0

1.7

0.2

0.7

1.5

9.5

5.6

7.0

0.3

0.2

4.0

8.0

6.3

1.3

11.1

0.3

9.1

23.2

1.3

2.1

1.3

1.4

1.4

0.3

0.1

0.0

2.5

0.0

0.7

2.7

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.8

0.1

0.0

0.7

0.2

1.2

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.8

0.3

0.3

0.2

0.6

0.6

1.5

1.3

0.5

0.2

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.4

0.3

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.2

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.8

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.3

0.1

0.4

0.0

0.0

0.1

2.2

4.3

0.1

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

7.9

5.8

0.0

2.6

1.6

0.0

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.1

2.1

1.2

0.2

2.1

1.1

4.6

0.0

8.1

4.7

4.1

1.5

1.1

0.4

4.4

0.2

0.5

2.9

0.2

2.1

0.0

0.8

4.4

7.4

1.6

0.7

1.9

1.3

3.8

5.3

1.7

0.9

7.6

7.8

5.6

1.4

2.0

0.0

1.0

18.4

0.4

0.0

9.0

0.4

0.7

0.7

0.0

15.8

0.0

2.6

0.5

15.8

1.0

5.6

16.3

11.6

6.6

2.8

10.4

10.0

Agriculture

35

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I

Chapter 1.2
The agricultural holdings

Figure 1.2.9: Holdings with other gainful activities, 
EU-27, 2005

Contractual 
work
13%

Renewable energy 
production
2%

Acquaculture
1%

Wood 
processing
2%

Processing of 
farm products
41%

Others
32%

Tourism
8%

Handicraft
1%

Besides their work on the farm, the holders or the members of the 
holder’s  family  may  carry  out  other  gainful  activities  which  are 
directly related to the holdings – using their resources or the prod-
ucts of them – and the results of these activities have an economic 
impact on the holdings. 

36

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Chapter 1.3
Land use

I

1.3 Land use

Table 1.3.1: Land area of the holdings by UAA size 
classes, EU-27, 2005

UAA size classes

Total

<5 ha

5-<20 
ha

20-<50 
ha

50-<100 
ha

>=100 
ha

1000 ha

Total area of agricultural 
holdings

198 042.7 12 515.4 30 835.8 31 704.8 31 733.0 91 253.7

other area

36 424.7

3 728.0

7 063.1

6 196.7

4 227.8 15 209.1

Wooded area

26 764.4

2 429.2

5 188.7

4 683.2

3 105.5 11 357.9

agricultural area

161 617.9

8 787.4 23 772.7 25 508.0 27 505.2 76 044.6

arable land

100 117.3

4 559.6 13 933.6 15 350.0 17 802.6 48 471.5

Cereals

56 576.0

2 885.2

8 837.4

8 347.5

9 138.2 27 367.7

Dried pulses

1 832.1

 45.6

 155.1

 184.4

 288.0

1 159.0

root crops

4 190.5

 306.9

 708.5

 668.7

 727.3

1 779.1

industrial crops

9 850.2

 277.8

 790.4

 879.5

1 227.7

6 674.8

Fresh vegetables, 
melons, strawberry

1 732.1

 302.5

 386.7

 290.5

 247.0

 505.4

open air

1 628.7

 248.3

 359.5

 280.7

 241.5

 498.7

under glass

 102.7

 54.1

 27.1

 9.6

Flower and orna-
mental plants

open air

under glass

 88.1

 32.2

 19.7

 15.2

 65.1

 23.1

 15.5

 16.7

 15.3

 4.4

 14.3

 0.9

 5.2

 9.8

 9.3

 0.5

 6.7

 11.1

 10.6

 0.5

Forage plants

17 685.2

 529.5

2 302.2

3 826.0

4 520.7

6 506.7

Fallow land

7 707.4

 168.0

 694.8

1 085.3

1 565.5

4 193.8

permanent pasture 
and meadows

50 806.5

1 413.9

6 375.0

8 288.7

8 662.5 26 066.4

permanent crops

10 498.2

2 706.4

3 402.1

1 854.8

1 033.6

1 501.2

Fruit and berry 
plantation

olive trees

Vineyard

Source: Fss

2 377.8

 567.5

 890.9

 413.9

 204.0

 301.5

4 137.5

1 278.9

1 242.9

 601.6

 355.1

 659.0

3 310.3

 611.8

1 083.3

 749.8

 421.0

 444.5

The  land  area  reported  under  certain  land  use  categories  can  be 
different from the figures published in other statistical areas (e.g. 
crop statistics) owing to the different methods used. This is par-
ticularly the case for permanent pastures, as the commonly used 
pastures and meadows are not linked to one holding, and so their 
area is “missing” from the scope of the FSS. (For example, in Bul-
garia in 2005 about 1.8 million ha of pasture are not represented 
in these figures.)

Agriculture

37

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I

Chapter 1.3
Land use

82% of the total area of the holdings in the EU-27 is reported as 
utilised agricultural area in 2005. The majority of the UAA (62%) 
is used as arable land, 31% is covered by permanent grassland and 
6%  is  given  over  to  permanent  crops  (orchards,  vineyards,  olive 
plantations) [Figure 1.3.1].

Figure 1.3.1: Structure of the utilised agricultural 
area used by the holdings, 2005

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

EU-27

EU-15

NMS-10

RO+BG

Arable area

Permanent pastures

Permanent crops

The  structure  of  the  UAA  shows  quite  a  heterogeneous  picture 
among  the  Member  States,  depending  on  the  agro-climatic  con-
ditions.  The  largest  proportion  of  arable  land  can  be  observed 
in  Finland  (99%),  Denmark  (93%),  Sweden  (85%)  and  Hungary 
(85%).  Over  half  of  the  UAA  is  covered  by  permanent  grassland 
in Ireland (72%), the United Kingdom (59%), Slovenia (56%) and 
Luxembourg  (52%).  The  biggest  proportion  of  permanent  crops 
is  in  Greece  (27%),  Cyprus  (26%),  Spain  (18%),  Italy  (18%)  and 
Portugal (17%).

38

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Chapter 1.3
Land use

I

Figure 1.3.2: Structure of arable land, EU-27, 2005

Fallow land
8%

Other crops
0%

Forage 
plants 
18%

Cereals 
56%

Fresh vegetables, 
melons, 
strawberry
2%

Industrial 
crops
10%

Root crops 
4%

Dried 
pulses
2%

Figure 1.3.3: Structure of permanent crops, EU-27, 
2005

Olive trees 
38%

Citrus 
plantation
5%

Vineyard 
32%

Others 
2%

Fruit and berry 
plantation 
23%

Agriculture

39

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I

Chapter 1.3
Land use

Table 1.3.2: Utilised agricultural area by Member 
State, 2005

Utilised agricultural area

Total

arable land

permanent 
pastures

permanent 
crops

1000 ha

EU-27

161 617.9

100 117.3

50 806.5

10 498.2

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

1 383.7

2 487.6

3 522.9

2 588.3

 844.9

2 369.0

2 634.4

2 398.4

16 975.3

11 897.1

 763.8

4 160.4

3 905.8

23 741.0

27 490.4

12 405.9

 142.1

1 301.5

2 338.2

 128.7

4 045.3

 8.9

1 958.1

2 690.2

13 132.3

3 502.9

10 337.1

 448.1

1 840.4

2 261.5

3 095.9

14 961.6

 562.5

1 142.4

2 027.2

11 855.4

18 330.9

6 891.3

 105.2

 916.8

1 680.2

 59.9

3 445.5

 7.0

1 117.0

1 383.8

10 290.5

1 171.6

6 626.5

 169.2

1 300.0

2 231.2

2 616.4

6 042.9

 517.7

 59.0

 847.3

 180.6

4 877.4

 197.0

3 015.9

 821.4

7 663.4

8 042.4

3 254.2

 0.4

 367.7

 635.0

 67.2

 454.6

 0.0

 808.7

1 235.3

2 510.4

1 727.3

3 369.3

 250.6

 515.4

 25.6

 477.9

8 884.9

 21.0

 55.4

 39.1

 9.3

 196.1

 1.9

 1.8

1 045.1

4 218.3

1 103.0

2 233.1

 36.4

 16.3

 23.0

 1.5

 140.5

 1.1

 32.3

 67.9

 293.5

 590.1

 278.5

 26.7

 23.8

 4.7

 3.8

 33.8

Average 
UAA/
holding

ha

 20.7

 27.9

 21.1

 131.7

 53.8

 45.7

 57.0

 33.2

 5.8

 24.8

 52.1

 9.0

 4.8

 29.0

 18.2

 54.5

 26.0

 1.2

 23.9

 19.6

 12.1

 16.0

 8.4

 7.4

 143.0

 32.3

 46.7

 81.6

Source: Fss

In 2005, the average UAA per holding was 20.7 ha for the EU-27 
Member States, and 23 ha for the EU-25. In 2003, the respective 
figures were 20.4 ha and 22.6 ha, which points to a slight increase. 
The farms in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have significantly 
higher average figures than holdings in any other Member States; 
however, in both cases, the figure had fallen compared to the 2003 
data (by 8% in the Czech Republic and 17% in Slovakia). 

The next three charts show certain Member States and their share 
in arable land, permanent pasture or permanent crops. In general, 
four  Member  States  account  for  nearly  half  of  this  land  use  cat-
egory in 2005.

40

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Figure 1.3.4: Arable area by Member State, 2005

Chapter 1.3
Land use

I

PL
10%

FR
18%

ES
12%

DE
12%

Other MS 
48%

Figure 1.3.5: Permanent pasture by Member State, 
2005

FR
16%

UK
17%

ES
15%

Other MS 
42%

DE
10%

Figure 1.3.6: Permanent crops by Member State, 
2005

EL
10%

Other MS 
18%

ES
40%

IT
21%

FR
11%

Agriculture

41

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I

Chapter 1.3
Land use

Figure 1.3.7: Arable land under glass and accessible 
cover, 2005

Other MS 
19%

PL
5%

NL
8%

ES
38%

IT
22%

FR
8%

In  2005  the  arable  land  area  under  glass  or  accessible  cover  was 
about 126 thousand ha in EU-27. Vegetables, melons and straw-
berries were grown on 81% of this area, while the remainder was 
taken  up  by  flowers  and  ornamental  plants.  Spain  and  Italy  had 
67%  of  the  vegetable,  melon  and  strawberry  fields  under  glass. 
As  for  flowers  and  ornamental  plants,  the  Netherlands  and  Italy 
accounted for 46% of the total area under cover.

Figure 1.3.8: Utilised agricultural area by type of 
tenure, EU-27, 2005

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

< 5

5 - < 20

20 - < 50

50 - < 100 ha

100 = < ha

owner-farmed

tenant-famed
and others

54.5% of the UAA is cultivated as own-farmed area. Naturally, the 
ratio between the owner-farmed and tenant-farmed area is signifi-
cantly  different,  not  only  by  UAA  category  (see  Figure  1.3.8)  but 
also by Member State. While the tenant-farming type of tenure is 
characteristic in Slovakia (92.4% of UAA), followed by the Czech 
Republic (86.3%) and Bulgaria (81.6%), owner-farmers dominate 
agriculture in Ireland (81.6%), Poland (76.6%), Denmark (75.2%) 
and Italy (73.3%).

42

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Chapter 1.4
Livestock

I

1.4 Livestock

Livestock are the other major means of production in agriculture. 
In  the  interests  of  better  comparability  and  overview,  livestock 
units are used here to summarise the different animal categories. 

Figure 1.4.1: Number of holdings with livestock by 
livestock unit category, EU-27

holdings
3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

0 < - <5

5 - < 50

2003

50 - < 100

100 = < LU cat.

2005

In 2005, about 4.8 million holdings in EU-27 had livestock. This 
figure  was  3%  down  compared  to  the  2003  data.  Most  of  the 
holdings  with  less  than  5  LU  are  in  Romania  (978 000),  Poland 
(477 000)  and  Greece  (281 000).  In  the  category  of  100 LU  and 
over,  France  has  64 400  holdings,  followed  by  Germany  (46 700) 
and the United Kingdom (41 600 (see also Table 1.2.3).

Agriculture

43

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I

Chapter 1.4
Livestock

Table 1.4.1: Livestock on the holdings by LU size 
classes, EU-27, 2005

Livestock Unit size classes

Total

>0-<5

5-<50

50-<100

>=100

Total livestock (1000 LU)

133 511.0 5 534.9

27 473.5

20 392.7

80 109.8

Grazing livestock (1000 heads)

Equidae

Bovine animals

under 1 year

3 193.2

 821.4

1 723.2

 325.7

 323.0

88 838.6 2 839.4

23 047.3

20 730.3

42 221.8

25 241.3

 696.1

6 272.1

5 547.9

12 725.1

From 1 to less than 
2 years

Dairy cows

other cows

other bovine animals 2 
years and older

sheep

Goats1

Granivores

18 312.7

 336.6

4 503.5

4 229.4

9 243.2

24 455.4 1 495.4

6 443.9

5 686.8

10 829.4

12 224.1

 184.3

3 761.5

3 027.9

5 249.4

8 605.2

 126.0

2 066.3

2 238.3

4 174.7

103 289.7 4 420.8

36 079.5

20 915.0

41 874.4

11 680.1 1 191.7

6 931.4

2 247.5

1 309.2

pigs (1000 heads)

151 988.8 4 533.6

17 350.7

8 915.9 121 188.7

piglets < 20 kg 

Breeding sows

other pigs

44 675.2 1 233.0

5 947.4

3 249.4

34 245.4

16 333.6

 530.5

2 137.8

1 120.8

12 544.5

90 980.1 2 770.1

9 265.6

4 545.7

74 398.7

poultry (million heads)

1 453.5

Broilers

Laying hens

other poultry

 770.2

 478.6

 204.7

 55.0

 11.1

 31.2

 12.7

 58.1

 20.4

 26.2

 11.6

 55.1

 35.0

 15.0

 5.1

1 285.2

 703.7

 406.2

 175.4

4 656.9 1 365.9

2 397.9

 413.3

 480.3

5 586.4 1 809.5

 517.5

 29.9

 32.8

rabbits, breeding females 
(1000 heads)2

Beehives (1000)3

Source: Fss

1 no data for DE and sE
2 no data for DE and uK
3 no data for DE, mT, sE and uK

44

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Table 1.4.2: Total livestock by Member State, 2005

Chapter 1.4
Livestock

I

2003*

2005

EU-27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

:

3 953.1

 992.0

2 262.1

4 541.1

18 635.8

 312.2

6 349.4

2 602.2

14 107.2

23 263.6

9 959.4

 255.4

 411.2

 870.7

 159.1

2 242.4

 48.7

6 154.2

2 496.3

10 748.9

2 307.4

4 939.6

 566.7

 902.5

1 183.1

1 818.6

14 380.7

in 1000 LUs

133 511.3

3 882.9

 871.1

2 059.4

4 523.5

18 121.7

 306.6

6 203.4

2 462.7

14 397.8

22 656.1

9 537.3

 243.1

 412.7

1 122.9

 157.7

2 104.5

 45.6

6 388.1

2 437.4

10 147.5

2 023.0

4 932.1

 505.4

 739.0

1 157.4

1 798.1

14 273.8

Source: Fss

* Data refers to 2002 in pL and ro

change

2003/2005

:

0.98

0.88

0.91

1.00

0.97

0.98

0.98

0.95

1.02

0.97

0.96

0.95

1.00

1.29

0.99

0.94

0.94

1.04

0.98

0.94

0.88

1.00

0.89

0.82

0.98

0.99

0.99

Agriculture

45

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I

Chapter 1.4
Livestock

Table 1.4.3: Average herd size by holding, EU-27

2003*

2005

(head/holding**)

Equidae

Cattle

Dairy cows

other cows

sheep

pigs

Breeding sows

other pigs > 20 kg

Laying hens (1000/holding)

Broilers (1000/holding)

Source: Fss

2.7

28.7

10.8

17.9

98.6

57.7

18.2

38.8

0.2

0.9

3.0

29.6

11.1

18.2

105.3

65.1

18.3

45.9

0.2

0.8

* Data refers to 2002 in pL and ro
** only the holdings with the specified animal kind are taken into account

Figure 1.4.2: Average herd size by holding and by 
main type of livestock, 2005

head/holding

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Cattle

Dairy cows

Sheep

Pigs

Breeding sows

EU-27

EU-25

46

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Chapter 1.4
Livestock

I

Figure 1.4.3: Distribution of main types of livestock 
among the Member States, 2005

EU-27 bovine livestock, 2005

DE
15%

FR
21%

DE
17%

IT
8%

NL
6%

IE
8%

ES
7%

FR
16%

EL
41%

Others 
24%

UK
12%

PL
6%

IT
7%

EU-27 dairy cows, 2005

Others 
29%

UK
8%

RO 
5%

PL
11%

EU-27 sheep, 2005

Others 
21%

RO 
5%

FR
11%

ES
22%

Agriculture

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I

Chapter 1.4
Livestock

EU-27 goats, 2005

Others 
16%

UK
34%

EU-27 pigs, 2005

Others 
23%

PL
12%

NL
7%

IT
6%

EU-27 Breeding sows, 2005

Others 
28%

PL
11%

NL
7%

48

Agriculture

EL
9%

RO 
7%

DK
9%

FR
10%

DK
9%

FR
8%

ES
19%

FR
8%

IT
7%

DE
18%

ES
15%

DE
16%

ES
21%

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EU-27 poultry, 2005

Others 
29%

UK
12%

PL
10%

Chapter 1.5
Small units

I

DE
8%

ES
12%

FR
19%

IT
10%

Agriculture

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Chapter 1.5
Small units

I

1.5 Small units

The  number  of  holdings  below  1  ESU  in  economic  size  in  the 
frame of the FSS depends on the thresholds applied in each Mem-
ber  State.  There  are  no  such  units  in  the  Netherlands  and  their 
numbers  are  also  rather  small  in  certain  other  Member  States 
(Table 1.5.2). However, in the recently acceded countries they still 
account  for  a  significant  share  of  the  holdings.  Because  of  their 
importance in these latter Member States – in terms of agricultural 
production,  and/or  social  aspects  –  it  is  essential  to  give  a  brief 
overview of these holdings. 

At EU-27 level, 46% of the surveyed holdings were considered as 
small  units  in  2005  a  fall  of  1%  on  the  2003  figure.  These  units 
– compared to the total population – are producing on a relatively 
small utilised agricultural area, and also keep only a small propor-
tion of livestock; consequently their contribution to the total out-
put of agriculture is not significant. However, they still use 40% of 
the total regular farm labour force (expressed in persons) and 24% 
of the total farm labour work (in AWU).

The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  these  small  hold-
ings among the Member States, together with some of their main 
characteristics.

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I

Chapter 1.5
Small units

Table 1.5.1: Significance of small units by Member 
State, 2005

Number 
of sole 
holdings

Regular 
labour force 
(person)

Regular 
labour force 
(AWU)

Agricultural 
area (ha)

Livestock 
(LU)

% of total

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

Source: Fss

3.7

77.9

36.7

0.3

4.8

51.7

5.4

18.6

11.2

7.0

20.1

33.8

65.1

49.2

3.5

78.3

34.8

0.0

19.7

56.3

32.3

71.0

21.1

81.2

0.8

12.5

36.1

2.5

70.7

13.3

0.2

3.1

40.6

3.9

15.0

8.9

4.4

16.3

29.2

55.1

41.9

2.1

71.0

30.3

0.0

15.4

46.5

27.6

63.9

17.6

60.7

0.5

10.1

26.2

1.2

63.0

6.9

0.1

1.4

24.5

2.9

4.3

5.3

1.4

8.2

9.5

40.5

31.4

0.8

51.3

8.6

0.0

8.4

24.5

21.3

48.8

12.8

33.5

0.2

6.4

14.2

0.1

8.9

1.0

0.1

0.4

7.9

1.4

2.0

4.5

0.4

2.4

6.2

23.5

16.3

0.3

5.2

13.5

0.0

17.6

11.0

4.8

25.7

7.7

2.1

0.1

3.0

6.2

0.0

34.4

0.7

0.0

0.2

3.0

0.3

0.7

0.4

0.2

0.3

0.3

9.5

13.0

0.1

15.6

1.1

0.0

0.7

3.9

2.3

25.3

3.5

5.6

0.0

2.0

0.4

52

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Chapter 1.5
Small units

I

Figure 1.5.1: Share of small units producing mainly 
for own consumption, 2005

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

SK

SI

HU LV

RO EE

BG

LT

CZ

PL

CY

IT MT

PT

EL

A  useful  indicator  of  their  role  in  agriculture  is  own  consump-
tion, e.g. whether these units are producing agricultural products 
mainly for supply of the holder’s family4.

4 According to the definition a holding is considered producing mainly for own consumption if 
more than 50% of the value of the final production of the holding is consumed by the holder’s 
household.

Agriculture

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I

Chapter 1.5
Small units

Table 1.5.2: Holders of small units by Member State, 
2005

65 years old and older

with OGA as major activity

Holders

%

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

55.6%

46.6%

23.4%

0.0%

19.7%

33.6%

33.3%

48.3%

54.7%

46.1%

49.1%

26.3%

31.7%

37.8%

0.0%

29.7%

30.8%

:

22.4%

24.5%

57.0%

42.3%

41.7%

31.5%

20.0%

23.2%

36.4%

27.8%

32.5%

54.5%

100.0%

67.0%

42.0%

59.7%

28.2%

26.6%

36.1%

30.5%

58.6%

38.1%

27.0%

0.0%

38.9%

43.6%

:

48.0%

45.7%

27.8%

48.2%

87.7%

43.1%

60.0%

69.5%

44.4%

Source: Fss

Over 38% of the holders responsible for a small unit were at least 
65 years old in the EU-27 in 2005 and 43% of them had another 
gainful activity as their major occupation (i.e. their main activity 
was not the one related to the farm.) [The corresponding figures 
for the holdings of at least 1 ESU were 29% and 28% respectively.]

54

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Chapter 1.5
Small units

I

Figure 1.5.2: Land area of the small units, 2005
expressed in % of total of the relevant type of area

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BG

EE

ES

CY

LV

LT

HU MT

AT

PL

RO

SI

SK

Utilised agricultural area

Arable area

Permanent pastures

Permanent crops

As already mentioned, these units are producing on a small utilised 
agricultural area relative to the total. A more qualified overview is 
shown in Figure 1.5.2, where the share of these units in the land 
area is presented for those Member States where this phenomenon 
is significant. 

Regarding  the  utilised  agricultural  area  in  Romania,  almost  26% 
of  UAA  was  cultivated  by  small  units.  In  the  case  of  permanent 
pastures  and  permanent  crops,  this  percentage  is  even  higher  in 
some countries: for example, 34% of pastures in Latvia or 36% of 
permanent crops in Estonia. 

A closer inspection of permanent crops reveals that 38% of fruit 
orchards  in  Estonia  and  35%  in  Latvia  are  divided  among  small 
units. A similarly scattered structure is characteristic of Bulgarian 
vineyards (small units are producing on 36% of the total vineyard 
area),  as  well  as  Romanian  and  Hungarian  vineyards  (27%  and 
22% respectively).

As  far  as  livestock  are  concerned,  the  importance  of  small  units 
is more visible. In Bulgaria, 34% of the total livestock (expressed 
in LU) were kept on small units. In 2005 this figure was also high 
in Romania (25%) and in Hungary (16%). The following figures 
(1.5.3 – 1.5.9) present an overview of the share of small units for 
each type of livestock in the Member States which have the largest 
shares. The contribution of small units is significant, particularly 
for goats and rabbits.

Agriculture

55

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I

Chapter 1.5
Small units

Figure 1.5.3: Share of small units for cattle, % of 
total cattle, 2005

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

BG

EE

LV

LT

HU

RO

SI

SK

Figure 1.5.4: Share of small units for sheep, % of 
total sheep, 2005

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BG

CZ

EE

LV

LT

AT

PL

RO

SI

SE

56

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Chapter 1.5
Small units

I

Figure 1.5.5: Share of small units for goats, % of 
total goats, 2005

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BG

CZ

EE

LV

LT

HU

PL

RO

SI

SK

UK

Figure 1.5.6: Share of small units for pigs, % of total 
pigs, 2005

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

BG

LV

LT

HU

RO

SK

Agriculture

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I

Chapter 1.5
Small units

Figure 1.5.7: Share of small units for poultry, % of 
total poultry, 2005

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BG

LV

LT

HU

PL

RO

Figure 1.5.8: Share of small units for breeding female 
rabbits , % of total breeding female rabbits, 2005

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BG

CZ

EE

LV

LT

HU

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

58

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Chapter 1.5
Small units

I

Figure 1.5.9: Share of small units for beehives, % of 
total beehives, 2005

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BE

BG

CZ

EE

LV

LT

PL

RO

SK

Figure 1.5.10: Other gainful activities on small units, 
EU-27

1000 hold.
500

400

300

200

100

0

Tourism

Handicraft Processing

of farm 
products

Wood
processing

Aquaculture Renewable

energy
production

Contractual
work

Others

2003

2005

Table 1.5.2 shows the other gainful activities (as major occupation) of 
the holders; however, the other gainful activities can be related also 
to the unit itself. Figure 1.5.10 illustrates this kind of activity. Between 
2003  and  2005  the  number  of  small  units  engaged  in  any  of  these 
activities increased by 340%.

Agriculture

59

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2006_4651.indd   60

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Agricultural accounts 
and prices

II

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Agricultural accounts and prices

II

2

Agricultural accounts and prices

This chapter gives an overview on indicators of agricultural output 
and income and the development of agricultural prices in the EU. 
The data are extracted from the collections of Eurostat’s agricul-
tural  statistics:  Economic  accounts  for  agriculture  (EAA)  and 
agricultural price indices (API).

The EAA is a satellite account of the European System of Accounts 
(ESA  1995).  It  covers  the  agricultural  products  and  services 
produced  over  the  accounting  period  sold  by  agricultural  units, 
held  in  stocks  on  farms,  or  used  for  further  processing  by  agri-
cultural  producers.  The  concepts  of  the  EAA  are  adapted  to  the 
particular  nature  of  the  agricultural  industry:  for  example,  the 
EAA  includes  not  only  the  production  of  grapes  and  olives  but 
also the production of wine and olive oil by agricultural produc-
ers. The EAA includes information on the intra-unit consumption 
of crop products used in animal feed, as well as output accounted 
for own-account production of fixed capital goods and own final 
consumption of agricultural units. Based on the EAA data, income 
indicators for the agricultural sector can be calculated.

The agricultural price statistics provide information on the devel-
opment of producer prices of agricultural products as well as of the 
purchase prices of the goods and services consumed by agriculture 
in the production process. Price data are available for single com-
modities and for larger aggregates in the form of absolute prices 
and price indices. The annual as well as quarterly time series are 
published  in  the  free  dissemination  database  on  the  Eurostat 
website.

Agriculture

63

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2006_4651.indd   64

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Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

II

2.1 Agricultural income

Introduction

The so-called indicator A is the real net value added at factor cost 
of agriculture per annual work unit (AWU). The net value added at 
factor cost (factor income) is calculated by subtracting from gross 
value added at basic prices the consumption of fixed capital and 
adding the value of the (other) subsidies less taxes on production. 
The  AWU  is  defined  as  the  work  volume  corresponding  to  one 
full-time employed worker.

The  output  of  the  agricultural  industry  comprises  the  output  of 
agricultural production and the output of non-agricultural second-
ary activities which are inseparable from the principal agricultural 
activity.

Agriculture

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II

Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

Long term trends

Figure 2.1.1: Agricultural income indicator, 1997-2006

index year 2000 = 100

120

115

110

105

100

95

90

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

EU-27

EU-15

In most EU Member States the trend of the income indicator A has 
been positive in the 1990s. Recent data show that this overall trend 
is continuing. However, the average increase in income is signifi-
cantly higher in the new Member States than in EU-15.

For  the  EU-27,  the  recent  increase  brings  Indicator  A  to  a  level 
of 112.1 (2000 = 100), after a significant increase of 8.2% in 2004 
and a drop of 3.9% in 2005. For the EU-15 the level of Indicator A 
becomes slightly higher in 2006 than in 2000 (+0.9%), after falling 
to 98.1% in 2005.

According to the evolution of Indicator A, Member States can be 
divided into two groups.

The  first  group  includes  those  countries  for  which  agricultural 
income in 2006 is above the level recorded for 2000. This group 
comprises all Member States having joined EU in 2004 and 2007 
(except  Cyprus)  as  well  as  the  United  Kingdom,  Portugal,  Ger-
many, Austria and Denmark.

The second group includes the other eleven Member States where 
agricultural income in 2006 is below the level recorded for 2000. 
Within this group of countries, the sharpest falls are recorded in 
Greece, Ireland and Italy.

66

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Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

II

Recent trends

Indicator A is estimated to have increased by 3.8% in the European 
Union (EU-27) in 2006, following a decrease of 7.2% in 2005. For 
the EU-25, agricultural income increased by 3.5% in 2006, follow-
ing a decrease of 3.9% in 2005.

In 2006, agricultural income evolved differently across the Mem-
ber States of the EU-27. The largest increase was observed in the 
Netherlands, where Indicator A grew by 15.1%, mainly owing to 
higher  producer  prices  and  subsidies.  The  largest  decrease  was 
recorded in Ireland (-13.3%), mainly the result of lower subsidies.

In Bulgaria, Indicator A increased by 6.4%, mainly because of the 
sharp fall in labour input. In Romania, the increase (+7.7%) was 
mainly  driven  by  the  drop  in  intermediate  consumption  (espe-
cially  feeding  stuff)  volumes  and  the  slight  fall  in  agricultural 
labour input.

Figure 2.1.2: Agricultural income (indicator A) in the 
EU, % 2006/2005

15.1

10.6

9.2

8.5

7.7

7.7

6.4

6.4

6.3

6.2

5.6

5.1

4.3

4.3

2.0

1.8

1.8

1.2

0.8

0.8

0.5

-1.9

-2.5

-3.4

-5.2

NL
PL

BE
FR
DK
RO
BG
UK
CZ
AT

LV
DE
HU
LT
CY
SK

PT
EL
LU
ES
SE
SI
MT
IT

EE
FI
EI
EU27

-13.3

-7.8

-15

-10

-5

0

3.8

5

10

15

20

Agriculture

67

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II

Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

Figure 2.1.3: Main components of agricultural 
income, EU-27, % 2006/2005

Agricultural labour input

Factor income

Subsidies on products and production

Other taxes on production

Consumption of fixed capital

Gross value added

Intermediate consumption

Output of the agricultural industry, of which:

  Crop output

  Animal output, of which:

    Animals

    Animal products

  Agricultural services

  Secondary activities

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

at producer prices

at basic prices

The value of the agricultural industry’s output at producer prices 
remained unchanged (+0.1%) in real terms. Output values of both 
crop  and  animal  production  remained  stable  (+0.2%  and  -0.1% 
respectively). In the case of crop production, the fall in the aver-
age output volume (-2.7%) was offset by changes in average prices 
(+3.0%). In the case of animal production, the average output vol-
ume fell by 0.6%, while producer prices increased by 0.5%.

The output value of agricultural services grew by 0.9% and that of 
inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities remained at the 
2005 level.

The  value  of  intermediate  consumption  of  goods  and  services 
decreased by 0.3% in 2006. This reduction is explained by lower 
intermediate  consumption  volumes  (-1.8%)  and  higher  prices 
(+1.5%).

Consumption  of  fixed  capital  (‘depreciation’)  was  slightly  higher 
(+0.1%)  than  in  2005.  The  value  of  overall  subsidies  (product-
specific subsidies and other subsidies on production net of taxes) 
showed an increase of 0.8%.

As  a  consequence  of  these  developments,  agricultural  factor 
income, the basis of Indicator A, increased by 1.1% compared to 
2005. With the continuous reduction in agricultural labour input 
(-2.6%), Indicator A shows an increase of 3.8%.

68

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Table 2.1.1: Agricultural income indicator A

Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

II

ø 1996-2000

ø 2001-2005

index year 2000 = 100

EU-27

EU-15

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

:

100.8

75.8

:

:

76.6

65.7

79.0

73.0

84.5

81.0

81.4

82.0

:

:

:

85.5

:

:

107.3

98.3

:

108.7

:

96.1

103.9

83.4

98.5

118.3

109.8

101.2

87.9

95.5

119.2

92.6

111.6

168.9

95.9

92.0

107.7

95.0

95.1

104.7

156.0

123.4

97.2

119.0

111.9

84.6

109.9

131.8

120.4

192.2

115.6

114.3

99.3

110.1

123.4

Source: Eurostat - Economic accounts for agriculture

2006

112.1

100.9

94.1

104.3

152.3

103.2

119.7

224.7

90.3

86.2

97.4

94.8

90.9

96.8

224.2

199.5

92.5

160.5

109.2

97.2

114.6

180.7

131.1

167.4

141.2

123.0

100.0

99.6

133.9

Agriculture

69

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II

Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

Impact of subsidies

Table 2.1.2: Agricultural gross value added at 
producer prices and subsidies

GVA at producer prices

Overall subsidies

1995

2000

2006

1995

2000

2006

million €

EU-27

EU-15

:

132 013.0

136 823.0

:

38 640.8

50 581.5

115 418.9

117 201.4

117 081.1

34 186.3

37 491.5

44 748.2

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

2 428.2

1 427.7

:

2 484.0

1 634.1

 831.4

2 413.5

1 574.0

 954.4

 334.0

:

:

3 145.9

2 688.5

2 676.2

 796.1

 351.2

 5.4

 170.1

 788.8

 509.2

 79.4

 880.4

 999.3

12 006.4

13 521.1

13 115.8

5 704.1

5 600.7

6 397.2

 93.4

2 405.5

6 584.9

 137.5

1 997.7

6 239.8

 156.7

1 716.8

5 949.8

15 838.6

19 483.8

20 959.3

23 923.0

23 889.7

22 645.7

23 546.7

24 526.8

24 894.0

:

:

 310.1

 115.3

:

:

9 301.8

2 224.9

:

2 337.6

:

 428.5

 510.4

 740.1

1 208.2

9 611.9

 324.6

 202.1

 394.1

 102.9

 344.8

 224.5

 370.8

 101.3

1 794.4

1 945.5

 64.5

9 052.8

2 238.6

4 597.5

2 159.9

4 121.3

 399.4

 310.7

 669.7

1 093.5

7 052.6

 43.8

8 624.8

2 345.1

5 447.0

2 358.6

7 888.2

 398.8

 393.3

 444.5

1 168.8

7 667.0

 2.9

 911.1

1 944.1

4 242.0

8 029.5

2 937.8

:

:

:

 33.6

:

:

 565.5

 22.2

1 284.0

2 134.0

4 895.2

8 152.3

4 794.1

 3.0

 15.1

 17.8

 48.4

 119.7

1 950.2

3 085.0

6 404.7

9 964.1

4 388.2

 0.0

 235.3

 283.7

 65.2

 172.2

1 000.4

 1.0

 408.4

2 034.6

1 422.4

:

 740.2

:

 23.3

 164.5

 214.4

 663.7

 228.3

 64.4

 235.4

2 289.4

1 967.3

 704.3

 881.9

2 920.0

4 099.1

 19.6

 995.6

1 760.1

2 406.6

 865.9

 303.3

 220.3

 284.4

2 092.6

1 020.5

4 250.4

Source: Eurostat - Economic accounts for agriculture

70

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Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

II

Figure 2.1.4: Share of agricultural subsidies within 
agricultural income, 1998-2006

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

)

%

(
e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
P

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Factor income, EU-27
Factor income, EU-15

Entrepreneurial income, EU-27
Entrepreneurial income, EU-15

Agriculture

71

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II

Chapter 2.1
Agricultural income

In 2006, the gross value added (GVA) at producer prices amounts 
to € 137 billion in the EU-27. Less than 90% of this value is gen-
erated in the old 15 Member States (EU-15). Around 60% of the 
GVA of the agricultural industry in EU-27 are produced by France, 
Italy, Spain and Germany.

The value of all agricultural subsidies (product subsidies and other 
production subsidies) recorded in the EAA amounts to € 51 billion 
in the EU-27.

The proportion of subsidies within agricultural income has been 
growing steadily in recent years. The share of subsidies in factor 
income  increased  in  the  EU-27  from  29  percent  in  1998  to  38 
percent by 2006. In the case of entrepreneurial income, the share 
of  subsidies  increased  from  44  percent  in  1998  to  66  percent  by 
2006.  The  entrepreneurial  income  is  calculated  by  subtracting 
from the factor income the compensation of employees, the rents 
and any interest paid, adding to it the interest received. The ‘net’ 
factor income from agricultural activity without subsidies has been 
declining across the EU-27: a 7% decrease took place during the 
period between 1998 and 2006.

The  income  from  agricultural  activity  in  the  ten  new  Member 
States increased dramatically after their accession to the EU while 
that  of  farmers  in  the  old  Member  States  declined  somewhat. 
Consequently,  the  profitability  of  production  drew  closer  to  that 
of farms in the old Member States in terms of proportions. How-
ever,  the  level  of  average  income  per  unit  of  labour  input  is  still 
way  below  the  levels  observed  in  the  old  Member  States.  Trends 
in  income  processes  were  influenced  primarily  by  the  weather, 
but agricultural subsidies have also had a substantial impact. The 
increase of the level of subsidies stabilised the income levels in the 
new Member States in the wake of accession.

72

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Chapter 2.2
Output

II

2.2 Output

Table 2.2.1: Output value at producer prices of the 
agricultural industry

1995

2000

million €

2006

2000

2006

% of EU-15 % of EU-27

EU-27

EU-15

:

294 910.9

317 282.0

245 686.9

258 472.8

269 564.6

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

7 090.1

2 818.8

:

7 913.2

40 520.3

 312.0

5 167.1

9 847.1

25 744.0

54 328.4

35 865.8

:

:

 849.2

 246.6

:

:

19 366.8

5 219.0

:

5 771.8

:

 963.6

1 567.6

3 349.5

4 014.7

6 844.6

3 389.3

2 819.1

7 723.6

6 901.1

3 467.1

3 528.4

7 981.1

39 154.0

39 955.7

 365.5

5 153.3

9 847.8

32 693.5

56 607.1

40 995.9

 579.5

 467.1

1 140.4

 237.9

4 834.5

 130.9

19 638.7

5 189.2

12 406.3

5 996.8

7 971.5

 952.3

1 381.7

3 349.7

4 392.3

 482.0

5 388.2

9 936.0

36 004.1

57 631.6

43 186.1

 612.9

 752.0

1 375.3

 252.8

5 748.1

 112.5

21 597.1

5 557.4

15 101.9

6 124.0

13 899.1

1 001.4

1 636.6

3 451.0

4 165.4

21 242.6

20 648.5

21 433.2

Source: Eurostat - Economic accounts for agriculture

-

 100.0

 2.6

-

-

 3.0

 15.1

-

 2.0

 3.8

 12.6

 21.9

 15.9

-

-

-

 0.1

-

-

 7.6

 2.0

-

 2.3

-

-

-

 1.3

 1.7

 8.0

 100.0

 85.0

 2.2

 1.1

 1.1

 2.5

 12.6

 0.2

 1.7

 3.1

 11.3

 18.2

 13.6

 0.2

 0.2

 0.4

 0.1

 1.8

 0.0

 6.8

 1.8

 4.8

 1.9

 4.4

 0.3

 0.5

 1.1

 1.3

 6.8

Agriculture

73

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II

Chapter 2.2
Output

Table 2.2.2: Development of main elements of output 
value at producer prices of the agricultural industry

VOLUME
(at producer 
prices)

VALUE
(real, at 
producer 
prices)

VALUE
(real, at 
basic prices)

Share in 
EU-27 overall 
output value 
(producer 
prices, 2005)

2006 / 2005 (%)

Cereals

oilseeds

sugar beet

Fresh vegetables

plants and flowers

potatoes

Fruits

Wine

olive oil

Crop output

Cattle

pigs

sheep and goats

poultry

milk

Eggs

Animal output

Agricultural services

Secondary activities

-5.6

5.7

-17.8

-2.6

0.7

-4.8

3.6

-0.9

-12.7

-2.7

0.7

0.7

-0.4

-4.3

-1.0

-2.3

-0.6

+0.1

-0.2

5.0

14.3

-32.1

-0.7

-0.4

29.2

1.8

-2.1

-3.6

0.2

6.5

3.3

-0.4

-6.3

-4.5

2.1

-0.1

+0.9

+0.0

Source: Eurostat - Economic accounts for agriculture

-8.1

0.4

-30.1

-0.7

-0.4

28.6

1.7

-2.1

-25.4

-4.3

-1.0

3.3

-8.1

-6.2

-5.3

2.1

-2.2

+0.9

+0.0

%

9.2

1.5

1.9

9.1

6.2

2.3

6.7

4.8

1.7

51.3

8.1

9.7

1.7

4.4

14.1

1.8

41.6

4.4

2.8

74

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Chapter 2.2
Output

II

According  to  the  EAA  the  output  value  at  producer  prices  (the 
producer  price  excludes  subsidies  less  taxes  on  the  products)  of 
the  agricultural  industry  is  € 317 billion  in  2006  for  the  EU-27. 
The  new  Member  States  contribute  with  a  share  of  15%  to  this 
value.  With  an  output  value  of  € 58 billion  France  is  the  largest 
agricultural producer in value terms in the EU-27 followed by Italy, 
Germany  and  Spain  which  each  report  an  output  value  between 
€ 36 and € 43 billion.

According  to  the  EAA  EU-27  agricultural  output  (at  producer 
prices in real value terms) in 2006 remained stable, due to a small 
increase  in  crop  production  (+0.2%)  and  a  small  decrease  in 
animal production (-0.1%). In crop production the fall in output 
volume  (-2.7%)  was  compensated  by  growth  in  producer  prices 
(+3.0%). The sharpest reductions in crop volumes were recorded 
for sugar beet (-17.8%) and olive oil (-12.7%). Producer prices of 
potatoes  (+35.7%),  olive  oil  (+10.4%),  cereals  (+11.2%)  and  oil 
seeds  (+8.2%)  rose  significantly.  Despite  the  drop  in  production 
volume, the producer price of sugar beet fell by 17.4%.
The  slight  decrease  in  the  value  of  animal  output  in  2006  is  the 
result  of  a  fall  in  production  volumes  (-0.6%)  and  a  rise  in  pro-
ducer prices (+0.5%). The increase in the output volume of cattle 
(+0.7%) was accompanied by growth in producer prices (+5.8%). 
On the other hand, in the case of poultry, both production volumes 
(-4.3%)  and  producer  prices  (-2.1%)  decreased  significantly.  The 
real value of pig production grew, mainly due to a rise in producer 
prices (+2.6%).

Please note that the concept of producer prices in EAA is some-
what  different  from  the  agricultural  price  statistics  (API).  The 
price  indices  in  EAA  are  related  to  previous  year,  while  API  is 
based  on  the  weighting  structure  of  2000.  There  are  also  differ-
ences in the values taken into account in the weighting scheme and 
the reference period.

Agriculture

75

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2006_4651.indd   76

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Chapter 2.3
Inputs

II

2.3 Inputs

Table 2.3.1: Intermediate consumption value by 
crop and animal production

Share of product specific inputs in

crop production1

animal production2

2000

2006

2000

2006

%

EU-27

EU-15

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

16.4

16.3

21.7

18.1

18.8

17.4

18.5

9.8

34.7

8.9

12.7

20.6

9.0

:

16.7

23.8

23.0

20.2

10.0

16.1

13.9

17.0

9.6

11.8

16.4

41.6

20.2

23.8

28.5

17.7

17.5

22.5

16.4

22.6

24.7

20.2

15.0

37.7

9.5

12.9

22.3

10.2

18.8

28.4

35.6

32.9

24.6

15.4

14.8

14.3

19.8

9.5

13.4

16.3

33.6

26.6

30.4

33.0

51.0

49.6

61.1

27.7

81.5

55.3

57.8

71.2

35.8

51.9

51.5

53.1

50.4

:

51.3

66.6

36.3

59.1

51.2

40.7

45.2

63.3

67.1

64.4

66.3

55.4

55.9

49.1

29.9

Source: Eurostat - Economic accounts for agriculture

1) inputs in crop production: seeds, fertilisers, plant protection products
2) inputs in animal production: feedingstuffs and veterinary costs

51.9

51.7

60.2

47.5

66.9

52.5

58.0

68.7

47.3

51.8

51.9

57.0

53.2

53.3

56.7

50.0

39.6

54.4

49.4

43.0

46.7

44.3

55.1

65.1

63.2

53.1

61.1

40.7

34.7

Agriculture

77

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II

Chapter 2.3
Inputs

Figure 2.3.1: Composition of the value of 
intermediate inputs consumed by the agricultural 
industry in EU-27, 2006

Agricultural 
services
7%

Maintenance 
of buildings 
2%

FISIM
2%

Other
15%

Maintenance 
of materials 
7%

Feedingstuffs
35%

Seeds and 
planting stock
5%

Energy, 
lubricants
12%

Fertilisers and 
soil improvers
7%

Veterinary 
expenses
3%

Plant protection products, 
herbicides, insecticides 
and pesticides
5%

In  the  EU-27,  intermediate  consumption  eats  up  almost  55%  of 
the  output  value  at  producer  prices  of  the  agricultural  industry. 
The  most  important  intermediate  input  to  agriculture  in  value 
terms is animal feed, which accounts for 35% of total intermedi-
ate  consumption.  Energy  and  lubricants  contribute  with  12%  to 
the  value  of  intermediate  inputs  consumed  by  the  agricultural 
industry.  The  most  important  intermediate  input  items  to  crop 
production are fertilisers, plant protection and seeds and plantings 
which together have a share of 17% in total agricultural intermedi-
ate consumption.

78

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Chapter 2.4
Agricultural Labour Input

II

2.4 Agricultural Labour Input

Table 2.4.1: Agricultural labour input

1995

:

7 325

 84

:

:

 90

 792

 70

 232

 645

1 102

1 137

1 579

:

:

:

 5

 780

 5

 221

 198

:

 619

:

 111

 203

 141

 90

 391

EU-27

EU-15

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

2000

1000 AWU

14 957

6 529

 75

 771

 166

 76

 685

 65

 172

 586

1 101

1 028

1 383

 24

 149

 187

 4

 676

 5

 220

 176

2 495

 503

3 645

 104

 143

 111

 77

 334

Source: Eurostat - agricultural Labour input

2006

2006/2005

12 225

5 708

 70

 564

 148

 63

 571

 37

 167

 600

 973

 927

1 157

 22

 133

 139

 4

 512

 4

 191

 161

2 236

 368

2 537

 90

 96

 93

 75

 289

%

97.4

98.1

97.4

90.0

94.3

96.7

98.0

98.8

100.0

98.9

95.6

98.3

99.8

99.1

96.0

92.1

96.9

98.4

100.0

97.3

97.8

97.6

99.5

97.7

98.9

96.7

96.8

98.7

96.9

Agriculture

79

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II

Chapter 2.4
Agricultural Labour Input

Figure 2.4.1: Agricultural labour input, 1995-2006

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

U
W
A
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

EU-27

EU-15

Agricultural labour input (ALI) data is the second element of the 
calculation  of  indicator  A  besides  factor  income.  The  data  pre-
sented  here  is  somewhat  different  from  the  FSS  data  in  chapter 
1.1. AWU data from ALI statistics is usually higher than FSS data, 
because it covers also the labour input of agricultural units below 
the  threshold  of  FSS  and  agricultural  work  used  for  agricultural 
services, inseparable secondary activities and hunting.

Over  the  period  between  2000  and  2006,  the  agricultural  labour 
input has declined by 18.3% in the EU-27. This rate of change has 
been slower in the EU-15 (-12.6%) than in other parts of the EU.

In 2006, total agricultural labour input has continued to fall in all 
Member States, with the exception of Ireland and Malta where it 
was stable. The strongest falls are estimated for Bulgaria (-10.0%), 
Lithuania (-7.9%), the Czech Republic (-5.7%), Spain (-4.4%) and 
Latvia  (-4%).  Overall,  EU  agricultural  labour  input  is  down  by 
2.6% in 2006.

80

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Chapter 2.5
Price indices

II

2.5 Price indices

Table 2.5.1: Deflated agricultural price indices, crop 
and animal output

Crop output*

Animal output

1998

2003

2006

1998

2003

2006

index year 2000 = 100

EU-27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

108.0

109.1

106.8

110.6

102.1

109.8

:

112.9

101.8

106.6

106.9

110.7

:

111.7

103.7

110.4

84.5

:

105.6

105.7

112.5

109.5

105.3

115.9

119.6

111.6

107.3

114.1

104.2

102.8

92.7

100.2

95.7

106.8

:

102.4

117.1

99.0

101.8

111.5

:

98.9

113.9

113.6

94.6

116.6

102.4

108.7

95.8

106.6

96.3

102.3

90.5

98.3

99.1

98.0

108.5

73.8

88.5

89.4

106.2

:

110.2

112.9

89.1

92.1

96.1

119.5

115.2

145.2

101.0

83.2

85.2

106.9

99.5

101.4

99.6

94.7

94.6

74.9

96.1

99.4

106.6

107.3

101.7

98.8

125.9

109.5

96.7

98.5

:

104.6

98.8

102.1

101.2

100.0

:

112.6

119.7

106.3

112.8

:

99.8

100.8

104.4

99.5

92.3

90.9

88.4

86.3

83.1

90.8

:

85.6

95.8

92.5

93.0

95.3

:

96.3

86.7

89.4

89.1

87.4

85.0

91.0

82.7

91.7

:

106.2

109.9

117.1

102.6

103.3

106.1

87.5

82.4

90.9

91.0

Source: Eurostat - agricultural prices and price indices

* Crop output, including fruits and vegetables 

91.5

91.0

74.1

84.6

88.8

92.0

:

84.7

97.9

91.7

89.5

91.9

102.0

116.7

105.1

91.0

85.3

83.9

84.9

94.5

91.0

86.8

96.7

85.9

72.3

94.7

87.6

105.3

103.0

Agriculture

81

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II

Chapter 2.5
Price indices

Figure 2.5.1: EU-25 output price indices of 
agricultural goods, 1998-2006

115.0

110.0

105.0

100.0

95.0

90.0

85.0

80.0

0
0
1
=
0
0
0
2
r
a
e
y
x
e
d
n

i

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Nominal

Deflated

2006 data for EE are missing

In 2006 the level of agricultural prices for EU-27 was 2.0% lower 
for crop output comparing with 2000 as well as for animal output 
by 8.5%.

The  output  indices  of  agricultural  goods  for  European  Union 
(EU-27) went up by 12.3% in nominal terms compared to 2000. 
When adjusted to the inflation (deflated by means of the implicit 
price index of GDP) this becomes in fact a 5.3% decrease. 

The decline in producer prices that has been affecting the sector 
for years is having a negative impact on income from production 
in almost all of the Member States.

82

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Chapter 2.5
Price indices

II

Figure 2.5.2: Deflated price indices of agricultural 
output, % change 2000-2006 

BE
BG

CZ
DK
DE
*EE
IE
GR
ES
FR

IT
CY
LV
LT
LU
HU

MT
NL
AT
PL
PT
RO
SI
 SK

FI
SE
UK

-26

-2.3

-2.3

-14.1

-11

-11.7

-9.9

-9.1

-5.5

-7.8

-15.8

-15.7

18

8.5

11.1

16.1

26.4

-3.7

-3.8

-3.8

-6

-4.4

-4.8

-8.1

-10

4.7

0

%

10

20

30

-11.5

-27

-30

-20

% change 2000-2005

Real  price  indices  of  agricultural  output  developed  different-
ly  across  Member  States.  The  available  data  shows  that  only 
five  countries  registered  an  increase.  The  largest  increases  were 
observed in Lithuania 26.4%, Latvia 16.1% and Cyprus 11.1%. The 
largest decrease was observed in Slovakia where the output price 
indices decreased by 27% in the period between 2000 and 2006.

The  available  data  shows  that  in  2006  comparing  with  2005  the 
real  price  indices  of  agricultural  output  for  EU-27  registered  an 
increase of 2.9% following a decrease of 4.2% in 2005 compared 
with 2004. 

Agriculture

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II

Chapter 2.5
Price indices

Figure 2.5.3: Deflated price indices of means of 
agricultural production, % change 2000-2006

-2.7

-1.1

-5.1

-6.8

-4.8

-5

-0.2

-1

-0.1

-11.6

*BE*BE*BE
CZCZCZ
DKDKDK
DEDEDE
IEIEIE
GRGRGR
ESESES
FRFRFR
*IT*IT*IT
CYCYCY
LVLVLV
LULULU
HUHUHU
MTMTMT
NLNLNL
ATATAT
*PL*PL*PL
PTPTPT
SISISI
SKSKSK
FIFIFI
SESESE
UKUKUK

-20

-10

0

% change 2000-2005

0.9

0.9

0.1

4.5

1.5

13.5

35.8

1.9

2.9

8

7.1

7

8.2

10

%

20

30

40

Among the 20 Member States for which information is available 
for  2006,  in  8  countries  was  observed  a  negative  rate  of  change 
between -11.6% in Slovakia and -0.1% in Austria, in comparison 
with 2000. In contrast, the other 10 countries have positive rate of 
change  ranging  from  35.8%  in  Cyprus  to  0.9%  in  Denmark  and 
Germany.

The  data  available  for  EU-27  in  2006  shows  a  slight  decrease  of 
the deflated index of the purchase prices of the goods and services 
currently consumed in agriculture (input1) by 1.3% comparing to 
the previous year.

84

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products

III

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Main agricultural products

III

3 Main agricultural products

Eurostat’s  database  includes  a  collection  "agricultural  products" 
with  three  subcollections  on  animal  products:-  poultry  farming, 
milk  and  milk  products,  and  animal  production.  The  animal 
production  subcollection  contains  statistics  on  meat  production, 
livestock, the structure of rearing, and a table on the meat balance 
sheet.  Data  on  meat  production,  and  milk  and  milk  products, 
which  are  summarised  on  the  following  pages,  are  gathered  by 
Member States using surveys of farms, slaughterhouses or dairies, 
and using administrative sources. 

In addition to the data in this chapter, Tables 1.4.1, 1.4.2 and 1.4.3 
display information on livestock in the context of the structure of 
agricultural  holdings.  Table  2.2.2  shows  that  the  share  of  animal 
output in overall output value was 41.6% for EU-27 in 2005. Table 
2.5.1 contains deflated price indices for animal output.

The statistical subcollection “crop products” (within the collection 
“agricultural products”) in the Eurostat database relates to the areas 
under  cultivation  (expressed  in  hectares),  the  harvested  produc-
tion (expressed in tonnes) and the yield per hectare (expressed in 
100kg/hectare).

The data are obtained by sample surveys, which are supplemented 
by  estimates  based  on  expert  observations  and  administrative 
data. The sources are not the same for each Member State; they are 
adapted according to national conditions and statistical practices.

As  mentioned  in  chapter  1  (see  figure  1.3.2)  the  principal  crops 
grown  on  arable  land  are  cereals.  In  2005,  EU-27  accounted  for 
more than 12.5 % of the world’s cereal harvest. 

Fruit  and  vegetables  are  important  crops  in  value  terms.  They 
represent 30% of the total crop output (see table 2.2.2). Their pro-
duction distribution among the EU-27 countries can be both very 
wide  (for  example,  apples)  and  highly  concentrated  for  example, 
eggplant).  In  general,  climatic  conditions  in  the  south  of  Europe 
are favour the production of fruit and vegetables.

Agriculture

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Chapter 3.1
Meat

III

3.1 Meat

Table 3.1.1: Slaughter by species, 1000t, 2006

Cattle

Pigs

Sheep

Goats

Equidae

Poultry

EU-27

BE

BG1

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

GR

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO1

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

7941.5

268.9

29.8

79.7

128.7

1193.0

14.5

572.2

60.7

671.2

1509.5

1110.6

4.0

20.7

47.3

9.3

33.5

1.4

355.0

214.6

355.3

105.3

25.3

37.9

21.4

87.1

137.4

847.1

21529.4

1006.2

74.5

358.5

1748.6

4662.2

35.1

209.0

122.8

3229.6

2262.8

1556.1

52.5

37.8

106.2

9.8

487.6

8.2

1229.8

505.3

2071.4

338.6

91.8

33.6

122.3

208.1

264.4

696.5

Source: Eurostat - agricultural products

1) BG, ro: 2005 data

1000 t

984.1

75.0

1.4

17.7

1.5

1.7

43.4

0.5

70.3

75.4

226.6

121.4

63.0

3.0

0.4

0.3

0.1

0.9

0.0

5.3

0.0

1.1

11.8

2.6

0.1

0.9

0.6

4.2

330.1

0.0

6.7

0.1

0.0

0.4

0.0

0.0

39.0

11.7

7.8

3.0

3.9

0.1

0.3

0.0

0.3

0.0

0.1

0.0

0.4

0.8

0.0

0.0

0.3

0.0

0.0

0.1

:

3.0

:

0.1

0.0

2.5

:

0.0

0.0

5.3

5.6

:

:

98.4

230.6

169.7

1008.9

:

:

153.7

1256.7

:

41.3

628.5

:

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.0

10.1

0.2

0.0

0.3

0.0

0.3

0.9

0.0

:

20.6

65.7

0.1

384.2

3.9

:

101.6

1058.0

247.3

155.1

48.1

94.2

87.2

102.2

1533.2

Agriculture

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III

Chapter 3.1
Meat

Figure 3.1.1: Trend in slaughter by species, EU-15

120

110

100

90

80

70

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Pigs

Cattle

Sheep

Goats

The  number  of  pigs  slaughtered  rose  rapidly  between  1997  and 
1999,  fell  back  moderately  between  1999  and  2001,  and  then 
slowly picked up again from 2001 to 2006. The slaughter of cattle 
declined between 1995 and 2001, recovered partially in 2002, and 
fell  moderately  in  2006.  Slaughter  of  sheep  fell  sharply  between 
2000 and 2001 and has remained relatively stable since then. The 
number of goats slaughtered has been decreasing since 1997, and 
especially since 2002.

Figure 3.1.2: Slaughter weight, percent of EU-27, 2006

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Cattle

Pigs

Sheep

Goats

EU-15

EU-25

EU-27

One effect of the enlargement of the European Union from 15 to 
25 Member States in 2004 was to increase the Union’s production 
of  meat  from  pigs,  cattle  and  goats.  The  further  enlargement  to 
27  Member  States  also  led  to  a  significant  increase  in  goatmeat 
production. Recent enlargements have not led to a large increase 
in sheepmeat production.

90

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Chapter 3.1
Meat

III

Figure 3.1.3: Slaughter of cattle and pigs by 
Member State, 2006

6000

5000

4000

t
0
0
0
1

3000

2000

1000

0

DE

ES

FR

IT

PL

DK

NL

UK

Others

Cattle

Pigs

Cattle and pigs are by far the most important species of animals 
reared for meat in the European Union. Five Member States - Ger-
many, Spain, France, Italy and Poland - contributed more than 63% 
of the total for these two species.

Agriculture

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III

Chapter 3.1
Meat

Table 3.1.2: Cattle slaughter by type of animal, 2006

Total 
cattle1

Calves

Heifers

Cows

Bullocks

Bulls

EU-27

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

GR

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

7941.4

268.9

29.8

79.7

128.7

1193.0

14.5

572.2

60.7

671.2

1509.5

1110.6

4.0

20.7

47.3

9.3

33.5

1.4

355.0

214.6

355.3

105.3

25.3

37.9

21.4

87.1

137.4

847.1

789.9

54.1

:

0.5

1.7

43.1

0.5

0.0

14.7

31.9

239.3

142.4

0.0

2.2

1.4

0.6

0.2

0.0

206.0

8.7

7.3

20.3

:

2.2

0.1

0.8

4.5

1.4

1000 t

1224.1

5.3

:

5.9

13.8

141.0

1.5

138.8

7.4

193.0

157.7

154.6

:

1.9

7.8

1.4

4.2

0.1

2.3

27.9

56.6

14.5

:

3.8

1.6

8.6

12.5

252.2

2224.5

126.7

:

32.2

55.6

422.8

6.4

107.9

6.5

103.6

628.1

133.1

:

6.0

17.5

2.8

18.9

0.6

125.2

62.2

131.6

15.7

:

6.0

11.4

28.1

46.2

112.0

804.7

0.3

:

0.1

1.7

12.2

0.2

284.7

0.0

0.0

99.4

1.0

:

0.0

0.0

0.4

0.1

0.0

0.0

8.7

0.3

1.6

:

0.2

0.0

0.0

15.4

372.1

2898.3

82.5

:

41.0

55.9

573.8

5.8

40.4

32.1

342.7

385.1

676.3

:

10.6

20.6

4.2

10.2

0.8

21.6

107.2

159.7

53.2

:

25.8

8.4

49.6

58.8

109.4

Source: Eurostat - agricultural products

1) Total cattle: 2005 data for BG and ro

92

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Figure 3.1.4: Carcass weight for cattle, 2006

Chapter 3.1
Meat

III

BE

FR

LU

AT

DE

UK

IE

SI

IT

NL

SE

CZ

FI

PT

HU

MT

ES

SK

PL

DK

GR

EE

LT

CY

LV

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Kg

Adult cattle

Calves

There  was  considerable  variation  between  Member  States  in  the 
weight of cattle slaughtered. For adult cattle, i.e. heifers, cows, bul-
locks  and  bulls,  carcass  weight  ranged  from  214  kg  for  Latvia  to 
more that twice that weight, 430 kg, for Belgium.

Agriculture

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Chapter 3.2
Milk

III

3.2 Milk

Table 3.2.1: Cow’s milk collected and products 
obtained, 2006

Cow’s 
milk 
collected

Drinking 
milk

Cream 
for direct 
consumption

Skimmed 
milk 
powder

Butter

Cheese

EU-27

132186.4

35162.0

2836.9

789.1

2392.6

4492.1

638.1

55.6

608.0

466.8

1000 t

2601.5

136.9

1.3

42.4

56.1

1035.6

1936.0

8039.3

65.3

104.3

:

18.9

27.0

:

41.1

37.6

65.0

74.9

113.1

335.1

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

GR

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

26821.2

5971.4

562.3

191.2

438.5

1994.8

605.9

5233.7

731.4

5759.2

22850.2

9936.3

138.4

592.3

1296.8

254.6

1445.5

41.3

10655.2

2672.0

8813.0

1850.9

1107.0

511.0

961.6

2347.6

3130.3

82.6

539.6

427.9

3551.2

3761.5

2913.6

78.7

80.3

80.7

:

502.9

27.6

0.0

786.0

1346.7

953.8

191.3

156.2

235.7

732.7

951.7

27.5

11.4

7.5

95.5

387.0

114.9

3.6

23.4

34.1

:

8.9

0.4

:

60.0

241.2

17.2

39.4

13.8

33.6

42.7

90.4

7.3

68.5

0.0

1.1

266.8

:

0.0

:

:

0.0

:

0.0

:

4.0

124.4

6.8

5.3

:

5.7

17.5

13.0

8.1

143.2

0.7

45.3

405.1

111.8

0.5

5.4

14.4

:

7.9

0.0

105.7

32.0

158.8

28.6

7.7

:

8.8

56.9

30.0

13920.2

6822.4

321.2

:

118.1

32.8

136.8

12.5

134.7

1685.5

1033.0

1.6

19.7

69.5

:

70.5

0.4

711.5

148.0

584.0

55.7

61.4

20.4

43.5

99.9

118.9

397.3

Source: Eurostat - agricultural products

Agriculture

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III

Chapter 3.2
Milk

Figure 3.2.1: Trend in collection of cows’ milk and 
products made from cows’ milk, EU-15

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Cows’ milk collected
Cream for direct consumption
Butter

Drinking milk
Skimmed milkpow der
Cheese

The quantity of cows’ milk collected remained remarkably stable 
in the EU-15 between 1995 and 2006, due to the milk quota sys-
tem. As for the products obtained, there was a notable increase in 
the production of cheese and (to a lesser extent) cream for direct 
consumption. Production of butter has shown a moderate decline, 
especially since 2003, while the production of skimmed milk pow-
der, which is a residual product, registered a marked fall.

Figure 3.2.2: Cows’ milk and products, 2006, percent 
of EU-27

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Cows’ milk 
collected

Drinking 
milk

Cream for direct 
consumption

Skimmed 
milkpow der

Butter

Cheese

EU-15

EU-25

EU-27

The enlargement of the European Union from 15 to 25 Member 
States  in  2004  resulted  in  a  significantly  larger  volume  of  cows’ 
milk collected and of milk products obtained. The further enlarge-
ment  to  27  Member  States  in  2007  produced  a  much  smaller 
increase. Nevertheless, the 15 Member States which made up the 

96

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Chapter 3.2
Milk

III

EU between 1995 and 2004 still contribute more than 80% of the 
cows’ milk collected and products obtained from cows’ milk.

Figure 3.2.3: Cows’ milk collected, %, 2006

Others
9.6%

AT
2.0%

DE
20.3%

SE
2.4%

BE
2.1%

DK
3.4%
IE
4.0%

ES
4.4%

PL
6.7%

IT
7.5%

FR
17.3%

NL
8.1%

UK
10.5%

Six Member States - Germany, France, the United Kingdom,  the 
Netherlands,  Italy  and  Poland  -  together  contributed  more  than 
70% of the cows’ milk collected in the EU.

Figure 3.2.4: Utilization of milk, %, 2005

Other manufactured 
products
2.8%

Drinking milk
13.1%

Cheese
33.3%

Butter
29.5%

Cream for direct 
consumption
12.8%

Other fresh 
products
5.1%

Milk pow der
3.5%

Of  the  milk  collected,  almost  one  third  was  used  to  produce 
fresh  products.  Drinking  milk  and  cream  for  direct  consump-
tion  each  accounted  for  about  13%  of  the  milk.  Other  fresh 
products,  such  as  yoghurt  and  milk-based  drinks,  made  up 
about  5%.  Over  two  thirds  of  the  milk  was  used  for  manufac-
tured products, with butter and cheese each representing about 
30% of the total milk volume.

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Chapter 3.3
Main crops

III

3.3 Main crops

Table 3.3.1: Harvested production of some of the 
main crops, million tonnes, 2006

Cereals total 
(including rice) 1

Potatoes 2

Sugar 
beet 3

Rape 4

Sunflower

EU-27

EU-25

271 300

50 100

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

2 617

5 513

6 550

8 615

43 484

 619

1 945

3 574

19 080

61 750

20 260

 635

1 159

1 856

 161

14 674

 0

1 975

4 460

21 776

1 167

15 670

 494

3 133

3 790

4 181

20 830

1000 t

126 750

125 570

5 334

 25

3 138

2 300

15 820

15 620

 32

 22

 880

 430

20 647

5 316

 0

:

1 600

6 873

29 765

14 156

 0

 456

 640

 0

2 271

 0

5 931

2 493

9 696

 319

1 154

 246

1 371

 952

2 189

8 500

 85

 14

 0

 9

4 131

 6

 0

 130

 171

 16

 331

 0

 13

 137

1 584

 0

 179

 7

 260

 148

 223

1 706

57 310

52 900

2 593

 386

 692

1 361

10 031

 153

 0

 855

2 502

6 347

1 783

 125

 517

 409

 16

 574

 18

 0

 655

8 982

 577

4 016

 107

 263

 576

 773

5 815

6 745

4 069

 0

1 119

 101

 0

 66

 0

 0

 12

 552

1 441

 325

 0

 0

 0

 0

1 248

 0

 0

 85

 6

 3

1 556

 0

 229

 0

 0

 2

Source: Eurostat - agricultural products

1) Cereals: 2005 data for iE
2) potatoes: 2005 data for uK
3) sugar beet: 2005 data for BG, DE, iT, nL and uK
4) rape: 2005 data for BG, iE, iT and uK

Agriculture

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III

Chapter 3.3
Main crops

Figure 3.3.1: Trend in the production of cereals, 
potatoes and sugar beet, EU-27

t
n
o

i
l
l
i

M

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Cereals

Potatoes

Sugar beet

Figure 3.3.2: Trend in the production of rape and 
sunflower, EU-27

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

t
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Rape

Sunflower

Knowing that 2003 and 2004 were years with a strong influence of 
the weather, cereals production remain quite stable. 

Whereas an average decrease in the EU-27 production of potatoes 
(-32%) and sugar beet (-8%) was observed between 2000 and 2006, 
there  was  an  average  increase  in  the  production  of  rape  (+41%) 
and sunflower (+18%).

The policy of encouraging the production and use of biofuels such 
as biodiester, which is produced using rape and sunflower seed, has 
probably contributed to this increase.

100

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Chapter 3.3
Main crops

III

Figure 3.3.3: Share of main crops production between 
Member States, 2006

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Cereals

Potatoes

Sugar beet

Rape

Sunflower

BG

HU

RO

DE

IT

UK

FR

PL

Others

Poland is the third largest producer of cereals in EU-27.

The two main producers of potatoes, Germany and Poland, repre-
sent more than 33% of the EU-27 production.

The  two  main  producers  of  sugar  beet  and  rape  -  France  and 
Germany - together account for more than 40% and almost 60%, 
respectively, of the EU-27 production of these crops.

Romania  -  the  biggest  producer,  and  Bulgaria  the  fourth  largest 
producer of sunflower seeds together make up 40% of the EU-27 
production.

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Chapter 3.4
Cereals

III

3.4 Cereals

Table 3.4.1: Harvested production of the main 
cereals, 2006

Wheat

Barley

EU-27

EU-25

126454

117626

1719

3302

3506

4802

56111

54792

367

546

1898

3270

22428

11967

220

768

1380

5576

35432

7092

9

598

810

76

4379

0

1207

1396

7060

260

5526

134

1343

684

2001

14747

303

1096

188

8318

10404

1282

54

307

742

50

1081

0

269

914

3161

94

773

62

642

1972

1112

5239

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

Grain 
maize1

1000 t

55750

45180

576

1588

606

0

3220

0

0

1710

3461

12853

9671

0

0

5

2

8441

0

253

1472

1261

536

8985

276

838

0

0

0

Rye

Rice

6532

6484

0

13

75

130

2644

18

0

23

159

122

9

0

117

90

6

95

0

12

94

2622

25

36

2

30

51

118

43

2780

2750

0

20

0

0

0

0

0

181

762

99

1564

0

0

0

0

10

0

0

0

0

150

19

0

0

0

0

0

Source: Eurostat - agricultural products

1) Grain maize: 2005 data for nL

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III

Chapter 3.4
Cereals

Figure 3.4.1: Trend in the production of wheat, 
barley and grain maize, EU-27

150.00

120.00

90.00

60.00

t
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

30.00

0.00

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Wheat

Barley

Grain Maïze

Figure 3.4.2: Trend in the production of rye and rice, 
EU-27

12.00

10.00

8.00

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

t
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Rye

Rice

Except  in  2003  and  2004,  when  the  climatic  conditions  had  a 
strong influence on cereals production, the trend for wheat, barley, 
grain maize and rice production has been quite stable, while rye 
production has decreased.

104

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Chapter 3.4
Cereals

III

Figure 3.4.3: Share of cereal production between 
Member States, 2006

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Wheat

Barley

Grain maïze

Rye

Rice

DE

FR

PT

DK

HU

RO

EL

IT

UK

ES

PL

Others

France and Germany, the two main producers of wheat and barley, 
together account for 46% of wheat and 40% of barley production 
in EU-27.

Romania and Hungary, the third and fourth largest producers of 
grain maize, account for more than 31% of EU-27 production.
Germany and Poland have a share of over 80% of EU-27 rye pro-
duction.

Only eight countries in the European Union produce rice; of these, 
Italy accounts for over 56 % of the EU-27 rice production.

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III

Chapter 3.4
Cereals

Figure 3.4.4: Harvested production of cereals by 
type, EU-27, 2006

Grain maize 
21%

Barley 
21%

Rye 
2%

Rice 
1%

Others 
10%

Wheat 
45%

Wheat, barley and grain maize are the main cereal types grown in 
the European Union.

Out  of  the  harvested  production  of  cereals  of  over  271  million 
tonnes, wheat production makes up more than 125 million tonnes 
(i.e.  45%  of  total  cereals  production).  Barley  and  grain  maize 
achieve similar production levels and, at around 56 million tonnes, 
represent 42% of the harvested production of cereals.

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Chapter 3.5
Fruits and vegetables

III

3.5 Fruits and vegetables

Table 3.5.1: Harvested production (1000 t) of some 
fruit and vegetables, 2006

Tomatoes 1 Carrots 2 Onions 3 Apples 4

Pears 5

Oranges 6

1000 t

EU-27

15828.69

5255.27

5033.60

11771.13

2762.96

6820.07

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

229.61

212.97

15.01

17.64

53.24

1.22

:

1550.00

3679.80

750.74

6357.22

34.50

0.31

0.84

0.07

204.56

15.91

675.00

39.11

246.66

:

239.40

13.27

22.77

69.10

53.02

20.27

50.61

55.67

504.16

337.27

9.96

:

0.20

:

36.90

199.10

:

1151.20

614.83

640.08

337.04

361.09

1.80

31.64

33.46

0.28

83.80

1.24

541.00

77.20

833.22

:

7.00

13.57

7.57

0.04

94.74

7.29

920.00

99.74

:

5.39

13.12

17.68

:

317.21

26.13

134.09

31.78

857.03

4.29

:

262.93

660.70

2246.35

2164.32

10.80

33.90

75.05

3.82

537.35

0.10

365.00

509.14

239.67

579.44

119.18

30.78

3.26

19.23

590.20

2304.89

571.54

193.87

251.26

4.61

35.56

38.74

18.26

83.09

2.95

12.97

56.65

100.61

632.54

373.35

234.70

229.15

:

:

9.02

:

:

:

55.39

590.00

224.71

897.81

1.10

1.31

0.06

0.21

32.84

0.19

222.00

117.24

59.30

168.98

60.06

11.45

0.52

:

1.69

29.14

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

880.00

3210.90

0.65

2470.66

28.80

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.09

0.00

0.00

0.00

227.97

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

Source: Eurostat - Crop production

1) Tomatoes: 2005 data for BE, CZ, EE
2) Carrots: 2005 data for BE, EE
3) onions: 2005 data for BE, EE
4) apples: 2005 data for BE, BG, CZ, EE, Fr
5) pears: 2005 data for BE, Fr sE
6) oranges: 2005 data for Fr

In  the  European  Union,  the  most  important  vegetables  in  terms 
of production are tomatoes (around 15.8 millions tonnes), carrots 
(around 5.3 millions tonnes) and onions and Carrots (around 5.2 
millions  tonnes)  whereas  the  most  important  fruits  are  apples 
(around  11.8  millions  tonnes),  oranges  (around  6.87  millions 
tonnes) and pears (around 2.8 millions tonnes).
While  apple  and  pear  production  is  spread  among  the  Member 
States, orange production is located in the Mediterranean countries.

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III

Chapter 3.5
Fruits and vegetables

Figure 3.5.1: Trends in the production of some 
vegetables, EU-27

s
e
n
n
o
t
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

20

15

10

5

0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Tomatoes

Carrots

Onions

Whereas  the  onion  and  carrot  productions  remain  quite  stable 
over  years,  tomato  production  is  varying  considerably  (-10  % 
between 2000 and 2002, +17% between 2002 and 2004 and -15% 
between 2004 and 2006).

Figure 3.5.2: Trends in the production of certain 
fruits, EU-27

s
e
n
n
o
t
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

16

12

8

4

0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Apples

Pears

Oranges

While  pear  production  seems  to  be  stable,  apple  production  is 
decreasing on average. For oranges, 2006 seems to have been the 
best crop year.

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Chapter 3.5
Fruits and vegetables

III

Figure 3.5.3: Percentage share of certain vegetables 
in total vegetable production, EU-27, 2005

Other 
vegetables
56%

Tomatoes
28%

Carrots
8%

Onions
8%

Tomato  is  clearly  the  main  vegetable  produced  in  EU-27  with  a 
share of nearly one third of the total EU-27 vegetable production.

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III

Chapter 3.5
Fruits and vegetables

Figure 3.5.4: Share of carrot, tomato and onion 
production between Member States, EU-27, 2006

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Carrots

Tomatoes

Onions

ES

PL

FR

PT

IT

UK

NL

Others

More  than  60%  of  the  tomatoes  produced  come  from  Italy  and 
Spain,  while  more  than  50%  of  carrot  production  comes  from 
Poland, United Kingdom, France and Spain; half of the onions are 
grown in Spain, the Netherlands and Poland.

Figure 3.5.5: Share of apple, pear and orange 
production between Member States, EU-27, 2006

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Apples

BE

FR

DE

IT

Pears

EL

PL

Oranges

Others

ES

PT

As  for  fruit,  almost  60%  of  apples  come  from  Italy,  France  and 
Poland;  over  50%  of  pears  and  over  80%  of  oranges  come  from 
Italy and Spain.

110

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Agriculture and 
environment

IV

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Agriculture and environment

IV

4

Agriculture and environment

In  a  Communication  from  2006,  the  Commission  adopted  a  list 
of 28 agri-environmental indicators to be maintained and further 
developed5 which will: 

• Provide information on the farmed environment;
• Track the impact of agriculture on the environment;
• Assess the impact of agricultural and environmental policies on 

the environmental management of farms;

• Inform agricultural and environmental policy discussions;
• Illustrate agri-environmental relationships to the wider public.

These agri-environmental indicators are necessary:

• To assess the impact of policy decisions;
• To identify shortcomings in current measures and needs for new 

policy initiatives;

• Where appropriate, to improve the targeting and tailoring of the 

measures to local conditions.

5 COM(2006) 508 final

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IV

Chapter 4.1
Pesticides and fertilisers

4.1 Pesticides and fertilisers

Table 4.1.1: Spendings on fertilisers and soil 
improvers

EU-27

BE

BG*

CZ*

DK

DE

EE*

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT*

LU

HU

MT*

NL

AT

PL*

PT

RO*

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

2000

64.2

164.6

76.8

31.2

74.2

102.2

9.9

76.2

64.7

43.7

98.5

68.7

:

12.2

34.2

77.0

36.0

117.1

128.6

33.3

39.2

32.4

13.6

64.9

24.7

99.1

71.5

76.6

€/ha (UAA)

2005

58.5

155.7

41.8

26.1

63.5

72.7

13.1

61.8

50.2

38.3

92.3

76.9

:

:

35.8

75.3

49.3

123.3

125.9

32.5

39.5

40.5

32.8

53.3

33.5

91.8

64.7

56.9

Source: Eurostat, Economic accounts for agriculture and Farm structure survey

* = 2003 uaa
Eu27 = estimate
Values are at constant prices at 2000 level

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Chapter 4.1
Pesticides and fertilisers

IV

Bought  fertilisers  are  mainly  mineral  (inorganic)  fertilisers.  The 
application of fertilisers is a major contributory factor to increased 
potential  losses  through  leaching  of  nitrate  and  phosphate.  The 
intensity  of  fertiliser  use  has  implications  for  agricultural  pro-
duction  and  for  the  environment.  In  particular,  problems  arise 
when more fertilisers are used than needed. On the other hand, 
fertilisers and soil improvers are important inputs for agricultural 
production. 

The  price  of  nitrogen  fertilisers,  which  represent  an  important 
share of all fertilisers purchased, can show very large fluctuations 
linked to the price of energy. Increased spending does not neces-
sarily represent a rise in the volume of fertilisers bought. 

UAA  is  used  instead  of  the  combined  area  of  arable  land  and 
permanent crops because in many countries mineral fertilisers are 
regularly used on permanent grasslands. In some countries, such 
as Hungary, permanent grasslands are farmed very extensively.

Spending/UAA  on  fertilisers  is  the  highest  in  Belgium,  Neth-
erlands  and  Malta.  The  reasons  may  be  either  the  high  share  of 
horticulture  and  permanent  crops,  generally  intensive  farming 
throughout the country or higher prices of fertilisers. 

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IV

Chapter 4.1
Pesticides and fertilisers

Table 4.1.2: Spendings on plant protection products

EU-27

BE

BG

CZ*

DK

DE

EE*

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT*

LU

HU

MT*

NL

AT

PL*

PT

RO*

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

2000

75.3

218.3

:

36.0

62.0

111.6

5.2

60.6

72.1

51.9

144.0

71.0

:

9.1

24.2

76.5

39.2

83.5

299.7

67.0

29.8

37.9

11.3

98.7

54.6

22.6

37.9

147.6

€/ha (UAA)

2005

76.5

218.0

:

72.0

74.2

131.7

10.3

67.1

79.2

44.0

137.7

65.2

0.0

:

18.8

92.1

49.1

96.9

274.5

59.6

27.6

70.6

17.5

90.7

61.8

29.8

30.3

147.6

Source: Eurostat, Economic accounts for agriculture and Farm structure survey

* = 2003 uaa
Eu27 = estimate
Values are at constant prices at 2000 level
plant protection products (ppp) include insecticides, pesticides, herbicides and 
fungicides

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Chapter 4.1
Pesticides and fertilisers

IV

Plant protection products (PPP) are very important in agriculture 
to preserve the crops, but they can also have negative impacts on 
environment. Although there is no absolute relationship between 
the  use  of  PPP  and  the  potential  threat  to  the  environment  and 
health,  indicators  of  the  intensity  of  PPP  use  can  be  a  first  step 
towards a risk evaluation.

PPP represent a broad variety of commercial products and active 
ingredients. Data are collected on the amounts sold and the appli-
cation rates of commercial products. However, comparison can be 
difficult since some products are measured in litres, others in kilo-
grams and the active ingredient content can vary markedly from 
one product to another. Therefore the intensity is presented here as 
a relationship between spending and hectares. Prices are also very 
dependant  on  the  product,  from  cheap  older  products  requiring 
high dosages to more expensive modern products which require 
only a few grams per hectare. More detailed analysis would require 
additional data on prices and application rates.

Still, high intensity does not necessarily mean a threat to the envi-
ronment if the products are used properly. To analyse the possible 
pressures on the environment, data on the PPP content of the soil 
and the water courses are also needed. 

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IV

Chapter 4.2
Irrigation

4.2 Irrigation

Figure 4.2.1: Share of irrigable area by country, % of 
total arable area + permanent crops, 2005

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK

Irrigable

Not irrigable

Source: Eurostat, Farm structure survey

Irrigable area is the area that is equipped for irrigation. The areas 
actually irrigated depend on the weather conditions of a particular 
year while irrigable area refers to the irrigation potential. Data are 
from the FSS.

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Chapter 4.2
Irrigation

IV

Water  availability  problems  occur  when  the  demand  for  water 
exceeds the amount available during a certain period. Apart from 
causing  problems  providing  water  for  users,  overexploitation  of 
water  has  lead  to  the  drying-out  of  natural  areas  in  western  and 
southern  Europe,  and  to  salt-water  intrusion  in  costal  aquifers. 
(EEA 1995). 

The main types of environmental water impact arising from irriga-
tion are, according to Institute for European environmental policy 
(2000):
• water pollution from nutrients and pesticides due to increased 

run-off

• damage  to  habitats  and  aquifer  exhaustion  by  abstraction  of 

irrigation water

• salinisation, or contamination of water by minerals, of ground-

water sources

• ecological  effects  of  large-scale  water  transfers  associated  with 

irrigation projects

In the EU-25 (excluding Germany) the irrigable area was around 
15.6 million ha in 2005, which is approximately 13.5% of the total 
agricultural area.

The  share  of  irrigable  area  is  the  highest  in  the  Mediterranean 
countries: Greece (51%), Italy (43%), Portugal, Malta and Cyprus 
(approx. 30%) and Spain (23%). In these countries the irrigation is 
an essential element of many types of agricultural production. In 
the other areas of the EU, supplementary irrigation is used improve 
production in dry summers, with the Netherlands having the high-
est share of irrigable area (approx. 36%).

The intensity of water use does not only depend on the irrigable 
area but also on the type of equipment used. Sprinkler and drop 
irrigation are less water intensive than gravity irrigation, which is 
still  predominant  in  Spain,  Portugal  and  Italy.  Drop  irrigation  is 
more expensive than other irrigation methods and it tends to be 
concentrated in areas with high value crops. Before intensive water 
use can be considered to have a negative impact on environment, 
additional information is needed, for example, on the amount used 
for irrigation compared to the total amount of water available.

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IV

Chapter 4.3
Livestock density

4.3 Livestock density

Figure 4.3.1: Livestock density index by country, 2005

a
h
/
U
S
L

5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

MT NL BE DK CY IE LU SI DE UK FR IT AT PL EL HU CZ ES SE PT FI BG RO LT SK EE LV

Source: Eurostat, Farm structure survey

Livestock density is the number of livestock units (LU) per utilised 
agricultural  area  (UAA).  Livestock  numbers  are  converted  into 
livestock units using standard coefficients. The UAA is the sum of 
arable land, permanent grassland and permanent crops. 

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Chapter 4.3
Livestock density

IV

The  agri-environmental  indicators  related  to  cropping  and  live-
stock patterns provide an insight into environmentally important 
farming trends in the EU. Cropping and livestock patterns deter-
mine  land  use  intensity  in  agriculture  and  its  influence  on,  for 
example, soil, water and habitat diversity.

One of the most important indicators of livestock patterns is live-
stock density. The livestock density is highest in the Netherlands, 
Malta and Belgium. In most Member States the livestock density 
is below 1 LU/UAA. Livestock density at a country level is a very 
rough estimate, especially in large countries. A regional breakdown 
down would give a better picture. It is also necessary to count the 
livestock  density  of  each  category  of  livestock,  as  they  each  have 
different effects on the environment.

A high livestock density may indicate that livestock farming in an 
area is creating some pressures on the environment. It most prob-
ably signals intensive farming associated with the use of external 
feed, greater use of inputs like fertilisers and pesticides, and might 
also  indicate  problems  with  manure.  But  it  is  also  possible  that 
an intensive farm is managed environmentally well. On the other 
hand,  a  low  livestock  density  is  not  necessarily  environmentally 
positive,  as  it  may  indicate  greater  use  of  mineral  fertilisers  or  a 
lack of grazing areas. More information is needed to evaluate the 
situation correctly.

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IV

Chapter 4.4
Greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture

4.4 Greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture

Figure 4.4.1: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector, 
EU-25, 2004

Fugitive Emissions 
from Fuels
1.7%

Fuel combustion 
in Transport
19.4%

Fuel combustion 
of Manufacturing 
Industries and 
Construction
13.2%

Fuel combustion of 
Energy Industries
30.4%

Other (energy) 
15.5%

Industrial 
Processes
7.6%

Agriculture
9.2%

Waste
2.7%

Other 
(non-energy)
0.3%

Source:  European  Environment  agency  /  European  Topic  Centre  on  air  and  Climate 
Change, un Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

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Chapter 4.4
Greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture

IV

Climate change and the need to avoid its potential consequences is 
an issue of high priority within the EU. Parties to the Kyoto Proto-
col agreed an 8% emission reduction target to be achieved in 2008-
2012. However, the target is for the EU as a whole and without any 
specific targets for each type of gas.

Greenhouse gases are:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2), 82.7% of total greenhouse gas emissions. 

The main emission source is fossil fuel combustion.

• Methane  (CH4),  7.9%  of  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions.  The 
main sources are waste, agriculture and fugitive emissions from 
fuels.

• Nitrous  oxide  (N2O),  8.1%  of  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions. 
The  main  sources  are  agriculture,  industrial  processes  and  car 
catalysts.

• Industrial fluorinated gases (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluoro-car-
bons, sulphurhexafluoride), 1.4% of total greenhouse gas emis-
sions. They are mainly used in refrigeration and air conditioning 
applications, magnesium casting and aerosols.

Agriculture  contributed  9.2%  of  the  total  EU-25  emissions  of 
greenhouse gases in 2004. The main sources of agriculture-related 
greenhouse gas emissions are enteric fermentation, manure man-
agement and agricultural soil management.

Methane  emissions  mainly  occur  from  enteric  fermentation  in 
ruminant animals (cattle and sheep) and from the decomposition 
of  manure  under  anaerobic  conditions.  Nitrous  oxide  emissions 
are  generated  during  manure  storage  and  by  the  conversion  of 
nitrogen  in  soils.  Methane  and  nitrous  oxide  emissions  are  thus 
closely related to the livestock production. 

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Population structure, 
education and 
employment in thinly 
populated areas

V

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Population structure, education and employment in thinly populated areas

V

5

Population structure, education and 
employment in thinly populated areas

This chapter presents some statistics based on the degree of urban-
isation concept dividing the EU territory in thinly populated areas, 
intermediate areas and densely populated areas.

The definition of the “degree of urbanisation” is based on the fol-
lowing criteria:
• densely populated area: contiguous set of local areas each of hav-
ing a density >500 inhabitants per km2 and a population of at 
least 50.000 inhabitants for the whole set,

• intermediate area: contiguous set of local areas not belonging to 
a densely populated area each having a density >100 inhabitants 
per km2 and either a population of at least 50.000 inhabitants for 
the whole set or located adjacent to a densely populated area.
• thinly  populated  area:  contiguous  set  of  local  areas  neither 
belonging  to  a  densely  populated  area  nor  to  an  intermediate 
area.

A set of local areas totalling less than 100 km2 and not reaching the 
required density but entirely enclosed within a densely-populated 
or intermediate area, is considered to form part of that area. If it is 
enclosed within a densely populated area and an intermediate area 
it is considered to form part of the intermediate area. 

It  is  noted  that  a  “local  area”  corresponds  to  the  commune  or 
municipality  in  most  of  the  Member  States.  This  concept  is  also 
used for the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Survey on Income and 
Living Conditions (EU-SILC).

Data presented in this publication are extracted from the Labour 
Force Survey collections (2005 and 2006) of Eurostat.

Data  from  the  following  Member  States  were  not  available  for 
2005:
Bulgaria,  Poland,  Romania  and  Slovakia.  Therefore,  the  terms 
EU-15 and EU-23 are used. Swedish data in relation to population 
structure  could  not  be  used  because  data  on  the  age  group  0-14 
years were not available. For population data the terms EU-14 and 
EU-22 are used.
2006 data were not available for Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.

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Chapter 5.1
Old age dependency ratio

V

5.1 Old age dependency ratio

Table 5.1: Old age dependency ratio by degree of 
urbanisation, EU-22, 2005

Densely populated 
area

Intermediate area

Thinly populated 
area

Retirement age to working age population (in %)1

EU-22

EU-14

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PT

SI

FI

UK

24

24

27

21

22

28

25

15

22

22

22

28

18

25

19

22

24

18

19

21

21

26

18

22

25

26

25

19

22

28

:

:

29

20

24

29

11

:

:

19

22

19

21

22

23

22

24

26

29

30

25

20

26

28

24

17

48

31

32

33

21

24

24

19

22

-

26

25

37

22

27

29

Source: Labour Force survey

1) population aged 65 years and over related to the population between 15 and 64. 
These are rough estimations of the real retirement and working ages.

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V

Chapter 5.1
Old age dependency ratio

Figure 5.1: Ratio of retirement age to working age 
population (in %) by degree of urbanisation, by 
Member State*, 2005

EL

PT

IT

FR

ES

UK

DE

FI

NL

DK

BE

AT

LT

LV

EE

HU

SI

CY

CZ

LU

IE

MT

0

10

20

30

40

50

thinly populated 
areas

Intermidiate 
areas

densely
populated areas

%

* Data not available for Bulgaria, poland, romania and slovakia

130

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Chapter 5.1
Old age dependency ratio

V

The  ratio  population  of  retirement  age  to  population  of  work-
ing age is also called the “old age dependency ratio” and gives an 
impression of the age of a given population.

From  an  EU-wide  perspective  the  youngest  populations  live  in 
densely populated areas, the oldest ones in thinly populated areas.
However,  remarkable  differences  between  Member  States  exist 
e.g. while the old age dependency ratio in densely populated areas 
in Ireland is only 15, in Belgium, Germany and Italy this value is 
almost double.

In  thinly  populated  areas  these  differences  are  even  larger:  in  the 
southern Member States (Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Greece) 
the old age dependency ratio reaches values from 31% to 48%, while 
corresponding values in Ireland and Luxembourg are below 20%.

On the Member State level, big differences exist between the dif-
ferent area types only in the southern countries and in Finland and 
the United Kingdom. In the other Member States the differences 
are not large.

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V

Chapter 5.2
Education

5.2 Education

Table 5.2: Percentage of population with high 
education level (ISCED 5-6) by age group and by 
degree of urbanisation, 2005

25-34 years

55-64 years

25-64 years

Densely 
popu-
lated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
popu-
lated 
area

Densely 
popu-
lated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
popu-
lated 
area

Densely 
popu-
lated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
popu-
lated 
area

EU-24

EU-15

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PT

SI

FI

SE

UK

34.5

34.4

41.5

23.4

50.7

26.2

47.8

48.8

30.3

45.8

46.2

17.8

47.6

28.7

54.1

43.4

30.3

18.9

38.9

27.8

23.7

32.1

41.3

47.6

35.3

24.5

23.8

39.4

12.6

35.3

18.5

:

:

15.8

34.5

33.3

13.8

29.4

:

:

37.0

19.6

:

27.1

16.2

13.3

24.8

39.9

33.7

33.8

23.6

22.1

30.0

9.8

24.2

17.5

18.2

34.8

8.2

31.4

25.8

11.9

27.4

15.8

25.1

23.2

10.7

-

24.6

13.1

14.9

22.3

33.3

32.1

30.4

20.3

20.5

23.4

18.9

36.7

24.0

43.3

21.2

14.7

19.3

21.5

10.1

17.4

29.6

26.2

20.8

23.5

8.3

25.8

16.8

11.3

29.0

36.8

36.4

21.7

Source: Labour Force survey

%

15.1

14.7

19.4

8.1

22.9

20.8

:

:

8.9

10.2

12.5

6.1

-7.4

:

:

18.8

14.2

:

22.4

12.9

4.3

17.2

30.6

26.5

25.5

14.7

14.0

13.9

8.0

21.7

20.0

22.5

14.7

3.1

7.5

8.7

5.1

11.6

11.6

11.6

-14.3

7.6

-

21.6

12.0

3.7

(10,0)

21.8

21.4

28.3

27.9

27.8

31.9

22.6

45.1

27.2

44.3

36.2

25.7

34.4

32.3

14.8

34.5

29.0

38.3

31.5

28.0

11.8

33.5

23.1

18.0

31.7

42.5

41.2

28.3

19.7

20.2

30.0

10.7

31.5

22.1

:

:

13.9

24.4

20.5

9.9

18.0

:

:

26.0

16.9

:

24.3

17.5

8.5

18.9

37.9

29.8

31.1

18.2

19.1

25.4

9.6

23.2

21.5

23.8

24.9

6.6

18.9

14.8

8.3

18.1

14.3

18.1

19.2

8.8

-

24.5

13.2

8.0

16.4

29.2

25.1

30.3

132

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Chapter 5.2
Education

V

Table  5.2  illustrates  the  level  of  education  in  the  Member  States 
by  age  group.  The  indicator  chosen  is  the  percentage  of  people 
with a high educational level, i.e. who graduated from a university 
or similar establishment or who finished post university gradua-
tion (ISCED 5-6). The age groups 25-34 y and 55-64 y have been 
chosen to illustrate the trend in the 3 area types by Member State 
over  the  last  30  years.  The  age  group  25-64  y  shows  the  present 
educational level of the workforce.

In general, the percentage of people with a high level of education 
increased in EU-23 over the last 30 years, whereas in some Mem-
ber States (e.g. Germany) the level remained almost unchanged.

The Scandinavian and some Baltic Member States are at the top in 
the age groups (25-34y, 55-64y) in almost all types of areas, where-
as some southern Member States (Italy, Portugal, Greece) show the 
lowest share of highly educated people in both age groups.

However, the situation clearly improved over time in some Mem-
ber States (Ireland, Cyprus, Spain).

The difference between densely populated areas and intermediate 
and thinly populated areas was and still is very clear, with a gap of 
about 10 percentage points. This situation has not changed.

In  almost  all  Member  States  (with  the  exception  of  the  United 
Kingdom)  the  percentage  of  people  with  high  education  level  is 
clearly higher in densely populated areas than in intermediate and 
thinly populated areas.

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V

Chapter 5.3
Employment

5.3 Employment 

Table 5.3: Employment rate by age group and by 
degree of urbanisation, 2005

15-64 years

15-24 years

Densely 
populated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
populated 
area

Densely 
populated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
populated 
area

EU-22

EU-14

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PT

SI

FI

SE

UK

64.2

64.2

58.9

66.4

74.3

63.4

70.0

67.3

59.6

64.8

60.1

58.0

68.4

66.2

65.7

66.2

62.8

53.5

72.8

65.8

65.9

64.1

72.7

72.8

69.8

65.1

65.4

63.7

63.3

76.7

67.1

:

:

60.8

62.2

64.8

58.2

68.1

63.9

:

61.8

56.8

54.5

73.8

68.5

68.7

64.8

68.3

72.1

75.7

Source: Labour Force survey

%

65.2

66.1

61.8

65.7

75.6

67.0

60.9

67.0

62.7

60.9

66.3

56.0

69.6

60.2

60.5

62.7

52.3

-

74.7

68.6

69.4

67.4

67.5

72.6

74.2

37.3

38.0

24.3

23.2

61.2

38.7

38.0

48.8

22.7

36.9

26.1

24.5

33.9

34.3

23.0

27.2

20.8

45.5

63.1

46.3

33.2

24.6

49.8

41.0

50.9

38.0

39.1

30.1

27.1

59.2

42.4

:

:

28.1

38.4

31.8

27.7

37.1

:

:

22.6

20.3

(37.9)

69.3

52.1

39.8

30.2

41.3

35.7

57.4

39.2

42.0

24.7

29.0

65.0

45.6

24.3

44.7

34.0

39.1

34.8

26.3

43.2

27.8

19.6

25.8

22.4

-

68.9

56.9

35.5

35.2

41.4

41.1

56.5

134

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Chapter 5.3
Employment

V

25-54 years

55-64 years

Densely 
populated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
populated 
area

Densely 
populated 
area

Inter-
mediate 
area

Thinly 
populated 
area

77.1

76.9

75.3

83.3

81.6

75.5

82.3

77.7

74.5

76.6

77.0

72.9

82.3

81.3

83.7

82.0

80.7

61.6

82.0

80.4

80.1

84.0

83.5

82.3

79.4

78.8

78.8

82.0

80.8

85.4

79.6

:

:

73.1

72.8

81.2

73.2

81.8

79.3

:

80.2

73.7

65.1

84.3

83.3

81.2

83.5

81.0

84.4

85.5

%

78.2

78.4

81.0

83.3

85.0

78.4

77.4

78.2

74.3

71.5

82.9

70.0

81.9

77.4

78.7

79.3

68.4

-

83.8

81.7

82.2

84.5

81.4

84.3

84.6

44.0

43.8

32.8

51.2

61.1

44.1

62.3

51.5

37.7

44.3

39.5

32.0

49.2

50.5

52.8

33.1

41.9

31.8

46.8

30.9

43.9

31.8

59.2

69.2

55.8

41.6

41.8

30.6

41.0

63.8

46.2

:

:

45.7

41.6

37.2

29.7

51.2

:

:

31.1

32.0

:

45.0

29.9

53.4

29.2

52.1

69.6

60.0

45.2

46.4

35.1

43.7

55.6

45.1

52.5

51.7

49.4

41.8

35.1

32.4

52.5

44.4

48.8

30.6

25.6

-

51.0

30.5

61.0

32.3

49.9

68.7

58.0

EU-22

EU-14

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PT

SI

FI

SE

UK

Source: Labour Force survey

( ) : small sample size may affect the reliability of the data

Agriculture

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V

Chapter 5.3
Employment

A  comparison  of  EU-23  averages  on  densely,  intermediate  and 
thinly  populated  areas  shows  no  differences  as  regards  employ-
ment rates of the total workforce (15-64 y).

This also holds true for the selected age groups (15-24 y, 25-54 y, 
55-64 y).

If  one  looks  at  the  figures  for  the  individual  countries  it  is  clear 
that employment rates in some Member States (United Kingdom, 
Finland,  Sweden,  Ireland,  Cyprus,  The  Netherlands,  Denmark) 
for the total workforce are high i.e. around and above 70% in all 3 
different areas. 

In general, regardless of the type of area, the employment rates are 
highest in the 25-54 y age group (around 80% for most Member 
States). Employment rates in the 15-24 y group vary widely among 
the  Member  States  (from  20%  to  69%)  and  also  in  the  55-64  y 
group (from 26% to 70%). 

When comparing the 3 different types of areas of individual Mem-
ber States, differences in employment rates may be seen in some 
Member States with higher employment rates in densely populated 
areas versus thinly populated areas in some Member States but the 
inverse in others.

136

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Chapter 5.4
Youth unemployment ratio

V

5.4 Youth unemployment ratio

Table 5.4: Youth unemployment ratio by degree of 
urbanisation, 2006

Densely 
populated area

Intermediate 
area

Thinly 
populated area

Total

%

EU-24

EU-15

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

SI

FI

SE

UK

8.1

8.2

8.1

6.3

5.5

7.3

3.7

4.8

7.4

8.9

9.0

7.6

4.1

5.0

2.4

(5.6)

3.7

8.9

5.0

7.9

9.3

8.0

(4.6)

9.3

10.2

9.3

7.0

6.9

5.8

5.8

4.6

6.2

:

:

10.0

8.8

8.2

6.4

(4.1)

:

:

(4.0)

4.6

:

3.8

4.3

10.0

6.1

6.4

10.1

11.2

7.3

7.9

7.5

8.3

5.5

5.8

7.2

4.7

4.7

10.3

8.0

7.6

7.0

(4.3)

5.0

2.7

(4.0)

6.3

-

(4.9)

4.0

10.9

6.3

5.4

9.8

11.3

6.8

7.8

7.7

7.1

5.9

5.4

6.9

4.3

4.7

8.2

8.6

8.6

7.0

4.1

5.0

2.6

4.5

5.1

8.6

4.6

5.4

10.2

6.9

5.6

9.7

11.0

8.7

Source: Labour Force survey

The youth unemployment ratio represents the unemployed aged 15-
24 years as a percentage of the total population of this age group.

EU-22  data  suggest  that  the  problem  of  youth  unemployment  is 
almost equally distributed across the different types of areas. Sig-
nificant differences by degree of urbanisation can not be detected. 
The  youth  unemployment  ratio  is  significantly  higher  in  thinly 
populated areas than in the other areas in only four Member States 
(Belgium, Greece, Cyprus and Hungary). It is the other way round, 
i.e.  lowest  ratios  can  be  found  in  thinly  populated  areas  in  most 
Member States.

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European Commission

Agriculture – Main statistics 2005-2006

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2007 — 137 pp. — 10,5 x 21 cm

ISBN 978-92-79-05698-7

Theme: Agriculture and fisheries
Collection: Pocketbooks

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