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According to the requirements of the EU legislation, the Baltic States, same as other EU countries, had to carry out an Agricultural Census in 2020. It had to be ensured that only the smallest agricultural holdings, which together possess no more than 2 per cent of the total area of utilised agricultural land or keep no more than 2 per cent of the total number of livestock units, would be not included into the survey. A uniform EU methodological statistical data preparation system enables a comparison between Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian agricultural indicators.

Main indicators of agriculture, 2020

Number of farms, 2020

Average farm size by land area, 2020

The 2020 census showed that the number of farms in Lithuania was the largest – by 64 per cent more than in Estonia and Latvia taken together, while the aver­age farm size in Lithuania was the smallest. In Estonia, on the contrary, the number of farms was the smallest, while the average size of a farm was almost four times as large as in Lithuania. The comparison of 2020 and 2010 data has revealed decline in the number of farms in Lithuania (by 34 per cent) and Latvia (17.3 per cent) and a somewhat more distinct decline (about 25 per cent) in Estonia. However, in terms of utilised agricultural area, the average farm size was on the increase in all three Baltic States.

Number of farms and their average size

Distribution of land area, 2020
Per cent

Distribution of land area, 2020

The largest relative share (94.4 per cent) of utilised agricultural area, compared to the total land area of farms, was found in Lithuania, while the largest relative share (24.6 per cent) of forest area – in Latvia, where utilised agricultural area made up only 6.4 per cent of the total land area of farms.

Structure of farms by utilised agricultural area, 2020
Per cent

Farms by area of utilised agricultural land, 2020

Structure of farms by area of utilised agricultural land, 2020
Per cent

The farm structure by utilised agricultural area in Lithuania and Latvia was similar, while in Estonia there were more small farms. In Estonia farms with under 5 hectares of utilised agricultural area made only 8.5 per cent, while in Lithuania and Latvia – 50.1 and 47.1 per cent of all farms. In Lithuania, 21.5 per cent of farms fell within medium-sized groups, i.e. from 10 to 50 ha of utilised agricultural area, while in Estonia and Latvia – 38.7 and 24.4 per cent respectively. The largest number of farms (3.7 per cent of all farms) with more than 500 hectares of utilised agricultural area was recorded in Estonia. In Latvia, such farms made up 0.9, in Lithuania – 0.4 per cent of all farms.

Structure of crop area, 2020

Crop area, 2020
Thous. ha

Structure of crop area, 2020
Per cent

Crop structure in Estonia and Latvia was similar: the largest area (more than half of the total crop area) was covered with cereals, somewhat smaller (about quarter) – forage crops, even smaller (about 11 per cent) – industrial plants. In Lithuania 63.9 per cent of the total crop area was covered with cereals, 13 per cent – industrial plants, 11.9 per cent – forage crops, 6 per cent – leguminous crops.

Number of farm animals, 2020

In 2020, more livestock of all types was kept in Lithuania than in Estonia or Latvia, except for goats: there were more goats in Latvia than in Lithuania. Latvia outnumbered Estonia in all types of livestock. In Lithuania, farms keeping cattle made up about 28 per cent of all farms. In Latvia, 23.8 per cent of farms kept cattle, in Estonia – 23 per cent.

Average number of cattle per farm, 2020

Average number of farm animals per farm, 2020

Nonetheless, cattle farms were the largest in Estonia, where the average number of cattle per cattle farm was 99.7, in Latvia – 25 in Lithuania – 17.6.

Pig farms were the largest in Estonia. Despite the fact that only 0.6 per cent of all Estonian farms kept pigs, the average number of pigs per farm keeping pigs was 4,228.8. In Latvia and Lithuania, pig farms were much smaller: in Latvia, a pig farm kept, on average, 90 pigs, in Lithuania – 64.5 pigs.

Farms by number of cattle, 2020

Farms by number of pigs, 2020

Structure of farms by type of farming, 2020

Number of farms by type of farming, 2020

In 2020, in the Baltic States, the structure of farms by type of farming was not homogeneous: the largest relative share of farms that specialise in field crops was in Latvia – as much as 61 per cent of all farms, while in Estonia and Lithuania such farms made up 53 and 43 per cent of all farms. In Estonia, about a quarter of all farms specialised in grazing livestock, in Latvia and Lithuania, such farms made up 18 and 15.2 per cent. Meanwhile, mixed cropping and livestock farms were the most popular in Lithuania, where such farms made up about 16.5 per cent of all farms; in Latvia, they made up 10.7, in Estonia – 6.6 per cent of all farms.

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Estijos statistikos duomenų bazė

Latvijos statistikos duomenų bazė