Data extracted in October 2024.
Planned article update: 18 October 2025.
Highlights
Meat production, EU, 2004-2023
This article presents information on livestock and meat production in the European Union (EU).
Editorial note: Throughout this article, which deals with time periods when the United Kingdom was a Member State of the European Union, the acronym EU, however, refers to EU-27, the post-Brexit composition of the European Union as of 1 February 2020.
The livestock population at any given moment describes the production system through the stocks of animals being farmed. The duration of a production cycle indicates how long is needed so that animals are ready to slaughter for meat, whilst others are being reared, or to give birth and in the case of cows, some sheep and goats can be milked.
The typical life-span of each of these groups in the cycle varies. For example, veal calves will typically be slaughtered within 8 months, beef cattle within the first 2 and a half years and dairy cows within 5 years.
Detailed figures on the age, sex, category and type of animals in production cycles are collected at a regional and national level. This is done through livestock surveys that are either carried out once or twice a year.
In this article, only aggregated data for national livestock herds are analysed. More detailed figures for analysis are available in Eurostat's free, online database. It should be noted that the livestock in this article do not include poultry populations, which are considered as domestic fowl. Poultry statistics and the structure of hatcheries are covered in a separate article.
Livestock population
Majority of EU livestock populations held in just a few countries
The EU has a sizeable livestock population: at the end of 2023, there were 133 million head of pigs, 74 million head of bovine animals and 68 million head of sheep and goats.
A majority of the EU's livestock is held in just a few of the Member States (see Figure 1).
Spain accounted for about one-quarter of the EU's pig (25.4%) and sheep (23.6%) populations in 2023, while Greece had a similar share of the EU's goat population (25.8%) and France a somewhat smaller share (22.8%) of the bovine population.
Some EU countries are relatively specialised in terms of livestock farming. For example, Ireland accounted for 8.8% of the EU's bovine animals in 2023 (slightly more than in Spain and Italy), while Denmark accounted for 8.6% of the EU's pig population (only slightly less than in France). After Spain, the second and third largest sheep populations in the EU were in Romania (17.9% of the EU total) and Greece (13.7%).
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(million head, 2023)
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_lscatl), (apro_mt_lspig), (apro_mt_lssheep) and (apro_mt_lsgoat)
Downward trend in livestock populations
During the past 2 decades, there has been a sharp reduction in livestock populations across the EU (see Figure 2). Between 2003 and 2023, the number of head of each livestock population decreased: the sharpest declines in percentage terms were recorded for the number of sheep and goats (both about 22%), while the smallest was in bovine animal numbers (about 9%).
Looking in more detail at developments between 2022 and 2023, the populations of sheep, pigs and bovine animals all decreased at a similar rate (between -1.0% and -1.5%) but that of goats was much sharper (down 5.2%).
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(index 2003=100 based on heads of animals, EU, 2003-2023)
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_lscatl), (apro_mt_lspig), (apro_mt_lssheep) and (apro_mt_lsgoat)
Until 2020/21, there was relative price stability for live cattle and live sheep and goats. This was not the case for live pigs, for which there was more cyclical volatility (see Figure 3). However, through much of the period between 2020 and 2023 prices rose sharply. The price of live pigs rose an estimated 23.1% in 2023, following an increase of 26.2% in 2022. The price of live sheep and goats rose an estimated 6.3% in 2023, following an increase of 10.2% in 2022. The price of live cattle also rose slightly in 2023 (+1.6%), after a sharp increase of 26.8% in 2022. Those price rises look to have topped out in the 3rd quarter of 2023.
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(index 2015=100, EU, 2015-2023)
Source: Eurostat (apri_pi15_outq)
Meat production
Better animal welfare improves animal health and food quality. Within the context of the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission plans to revise legislation concerning the slaughter of animals so that it is aligned with scientific evidence, broadening its scope, making it easier to enforce, and ultimately ensuring a higher level of animal protection/welfare.
Data is collected on the number and weight of carcasses at slaughterhouses, whose meat is deemed fit for human consumption. In this article, 'meat' should be understood as the carcass weight from slaughterhouses.
Pigmeat
Pigmeat production: from a high to a low in 2 years
The EU produced a provisional 20.6 million tonnes of pigmeat in 2023. This was 2.8 million tonnes less than the peak level in 2021, the equivalent of an 11.8% decline. It was also the lowest level of production during the 15 year period under review.
The 2 main pigmeat producing countries in the EU are Spain (4.9 million tonnes in 2023) and Germany (4.2 million tonnes). After 8 successive years of growth in Spain, pigmeat production declined moderately in 2022 (-2.2%) and 2023 (-3.9%). Pigmeat production in Germany declined for a seventh consecutive year and at a relatively sharp rate (-6.3% in 2023, following on from -9.6% in 2022). There were also lower pigmeat production levels in 2023 among all the other main EU producer countries, with the strongest rates of decline being in the Netherlands (-13.1%) and Denmark (-19.9%).
Poultrymeat
Poultrymeat production in 2023 rose back towards its 2020 high
The EU produced an estimated 13.3 million tonnes of poultrymeat in 2023, which was the equivalent of a 2.3% increase compared with the amount in 2022. This rebound, should be seen against the backdrop of a strong upward trend in production through until 2020. The level of poultrymeat production in 2023 was 3.5 million tonnes more than in 2008.
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_pann)
In 2023, the main poultrymeat producers in the EU were Poland (representing 20.6% of EU production, with 2.7 million tonnes), Spain (12.8%, with 1.7 million tonnes), Germany (11.8%, with 1.6 million tonnes), France (11.5%, with 1.5 million tonnes) and Italy (10.0%, with 1.3 million tonnes). There were higher production levels of poultrymeat in 2023 in each of these principal producer countries, with a particularly strong increase in Italy (+10.0%).
Veal and beef
Beef is the meat from the slaughter of bovine animals of at least 1 year old. Certain cattle breeds are reared specifically for their beef, although beef can also come from dairy cattle. In this article veal is considered as the meat from bovine animals younger than 1 year (usually male calves and young cattle). Male calves from dairy cows are of no use for producing milk and their growth potential for producing beef meat is not optimal.
Lower level of production of bovine meat in 2023
The EU produced a provisional 6.4 million tonnes of bovine meat (beef and veal carcasses) in 2023, which was about 255 000 tonnes less than in 2022 (equivalent to decline of 3.8%). This downturn in production for a fifth consecutive year has now offset the higher production that came after the end of milk quotas on 31 March 2015 and the associated rise in cow slaughter as some of the smallest farms abandoned dairy production (see Figure 4).
Slightly more than three-quarters of the EU's beef in 2023 (see Figure 5) was produced in 6 countries: France (20.7%), Germany (17.3%), Ireland (10.9%), Italy (9.7%), Poland (9.3%) and Spain (9.1%).
Slightly more than three-quarters of the EU's veal meat was produced in 4 countries: the Netherlands (27.5%), Spain (21.9%), France (18.3%) and Italy (9.6%).
Sheep and goat meat
Accelerated decline in production in 2023
The EU produced an estimated 0.4 million tonnes of sheep and goat meat in 2023, an estimated 7% less than in 2022. Sheepmeat accounted for the vast majority (about 90%) of the combined total output.
Three-quarters of the EU's sheepmeat in 2023 was produced in 4 countries: Spain (26.5%), France (18.4%), Ireland (17.7%) and Greece (11.6%). Among EU countries, the main producers of goatmeat are Greece and Spain.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
Livestock and meat statistics
Livestock and meat statistics are collected by EU Member States under Regulation (EC) No 1165/2008, which covers bovine, pig, sheep and goat livestock; slaughtering statistics on bovine animals, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry; and production forecasts for beef, veal, pig meat, sheep meat and goat meat. Livestock surveys cover sufficient agricultural holdings to account for at least 95% of the national livestock population, as determined by the last survey on the structure of agricultural holdings.
Bovine and pig livestock statistics are produced twice a year, with reference to a given day in May/June and a given day in November/December. Those EU Member States whose bovine animal populations are below 1.5 million head or whose pig populations are below 3.0 million head may produce these statistics only once a year, with reference to a given day in November/December. The November/December results are available for all EU Member States and are used in this article.
Sheep livestock statistics are only produced once a year, with reference to a given day in November/December, by those EU Member States whose sheep populations are 500 000 head or above; the same criteria and thresholds apply for statistics on goat populations.
Agricultural price statistics
EU agricultural price statistics are based on voluntary agreements between Eurostat and the Member States.
National statistical institutes or Ministries of Agriculture are responsible for collecting absolute prices and calculating corresponding average prices for their country, as well as for calculating price indices and periodically updating the weights.
Price indices are reported quarterly and annually. Absolute prices are reported annually. The agricultural prices expressed in national currency are converted into euro by Eurostat using fixed exchange rates or average financial market exchange rates (annual), in order to allow comparisons between the Member States. Eurostat is responsible for calculating indices for the EU.
Context
Statistics on livestock and meat production (based on the slaughter of animals fit for human consumption) give some indication of supply-side developments and adjustments, which are important for monitoring the common agricultural policy (CAP).
One of the objectives of the first CAP was to secure the availability of food supplies for the then European Economic Community. The CAP has evolved, requiring more agricultural market transparency for all actors and EU citizens. Statistics for livestock and meat, as with other agricultural products, help provide feedback on market signals.
In order to limit uncertainty, the EU institutions in charge of market support interpret market signals using livestock numbers for their forecasts. The number of breeders (for dairy or meat production) as well as animal stocks being grown and fattened, contribute to preparing measures that ensure a more stable — or at least more secure — market, which aims to benefit both EU consumers and farmers.
The EU has introduced a range of legislation covering the traceability of livestock, in part as a response to various food safety concerns. For most animal species, this traceability concerns a system of identification — usually through ear-tags or tattoos — coupled with a national register that details animals as they are reared, held or handled at each stage of the food chain. The European Commission has been active in harmonising animal health measures and systems of disease surveillance, diagnosis and control; it has also developed a legal framework for trade in live animals and animal products. Ensuring the high quality of food is one of the various challenges to be met in order to secure this food supply.
These laws and others are based on rules for animal welfare that reflect freedom from hunger and thirst: freedom from discomfort: freedom from pain, injury and disease: freedom to express normal behaviour, and: freedom from fear and distress.
Explore further
Database
- Agriculture (agr), see:
- Agricultural production (apro)
- Poultry farming (apro_ec)
- Livestock and meat (apro_mt)
- Meat production (apro_mt_p)
- Livestock (apro_mt_ls)
- Structure of rearing (apro_mt_str)
Thematic section
Publications
- Agriculture, forestry and fishery statistics — 2020 edition (statistical book)
Selected datasets
- Agriculture (t_agr), see:
- Agricultural production (t_apro)
- Livestock and meat (t_apro_mt)
- Agricultural prices and price indices (t_apri)
- Producer price indices, animals and animal products (tag00050)
Methodology
- Animal production (ESMS metadata file — apro_anip_esms)
External links
- European Commission — Agriculture and rural development — food, farming, fisheries
- European Commission — Agriculture and rural development — beef
- European Commission — Agriculture and rural development — pork
- European Commission — Agriculture and rural development — poultry
- European Commission — Agriculture and rural development — lamb, mutton and goatmeat
- European Commission — Agriculture and rural development — short- and medium term outlook and market reports for EU arable crops, dairy and meat markets
Legislation
- Regulation (EC) No 617/2008 of 27 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards marketing standards for eggs for hatching and farmyard poultry chicks
- Regulation (EC) No 1165/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 concerning livestock and meat statistics
- Summaries of EU Legislation: Statistics — livestock and meat under the common agricultural policy