How the distribution of the pig population in Europe has changed over the last 10 years

Significant changes in the distribution of the pig population occurred in the EU-27 between 2013 and 2023. Countries such as Spain have significantly increased their share, while others such as Germany have seen a marked decrease.

We have seen Spain achieve a significant (almost 8%) increase in their share of the total pig population in the EU over the last 10 years. Their share has increased from 17.97% to 25.79%, establishing themselves as the country with the highest share of the European pig population.

Germany’s share fell from 19.83% to 15.89%, a decrease of 3.94%. Despite the decline, it remains the second largest source of pig numbers in the EU.

While Denmark maintained an almost stable participation, rising from 8.74% to 8.51%, other countries showed slight decreases: France (from 9.47% to 8.83%), the Netherlands (from 8.47% to 7.84%), Poland (from 7.75% to 7.31%.) ) and Belgium (from 4.48% to 4.05%). Romania’s share decreased significantly (from 3.65% to 2.40%).

In contrast, the shares of Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria increased from 6.04% to 6.86%, from 1.42% to 1.63% and from 0.41% to 0.54% respectively. Ireland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Malta showed little change or maintained a stable share.

Spain thus showed the largest increase in its share of the EU pig population, reinforcing its position as the leader in the sector. Although Germany’s share declined, it continues to be an important player. The shares of France and Denmark remained relatively stable, while Italy and Portugal showed moderate growth. On the other hand, countries such as Romania saw their shares decline significantly.

Tags: Bulgaria, Italy, pork, Czech Republic, Romania, France, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands