With a population of around 150 million on the European Union's (EU) agricultural holdings, pigs represent the largest livestock category in the EU, ahead of bovines (about 89 million head).
Almost 40% of the EU's pigs were located in two Member States: Spain (30.1 million pigs) and Germany (27.6 million pigs). France (13.1 million), Denmark (12.8 million), the Netherlands (12.3 million) and Poland (11.9 million) also had large pig populations.
Twice as many pigs as inhabitants in Denmark
Pigs outnumber people in Denmark by slightly more than two-to-one (215 pigs per 100 inhabitants in 2016), the only Member State where this is the case. Nevertheless, the ratios are also high in the Netherlands (70 pigs per 100 inhabitants), in Spain (63:100) and in Belgium (54:100). Pigs are relatively scarcer in Greece and the United Kingdom (both 7 pigs per 100 inhabitants) and Bulgaria and Malta (both 9:100).
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