EU: which countries have the fewest pigs

Ireland and Croatia recorded the biggest declines in pig numbers in the EU between December 2022 and December 2023, according to the latest statistics office data . Both countries saw a sharp decline in pig numbers, down 10% compared to 2022. Ireland's

pig population fell from 1,570,390 in 2022 to 1,407,610 in 2023. The pig herd size in Croatia has decreased from 945,000 to 847,000. The number of cattle fell from 422,000 to 415,000, according to Eurostat data.

In Bulgaria and Malta, a sharp increase in the number of pigs and cattle was recorded - by 21%. Spain and France remain the countries with the largest pig and cattle populations, respectively. At the same time, the number of pigs in both countries decreased: in Spain from 34,073,380 to 33,803,040, in France - from 16,986,190 to 16,806,90.

In Latvia, the largest reduction in the number of cattle was recorded - by 6% compared to 2022 year, followed by Lithuania, Estonia, Portugal, Finland and Hungary (by approximately 3%). Cyprus was the only country with modest growth of 1%, Eurostat said.

The largest populations of cattle are in France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. it is especially noted that the number of livestock: pigs, cattle, sheep and goats in the EU continued to decline in 2023, as in 2022, according to Eurostat data. Moreover, this decline in livestock numbers is in line with the trend observed over the past decade across the European Union.