1.1. Contact organisation
[4D0] European Commission (including Eurostat)
1.2. Contact organisation unit
[4D1_E1] Eurostat - Agriculture and fisheries
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
European Commission, Eurostat
L-2920, LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
25 August 2026
2.2. Metadata last posted
25 August 2026
2.3. Metadata last update
25 August 2026
Cropping patterns describe the share of utilised agricultural area (UAA) under the main agricultural land cover types (arable land, permanent grassland and land under permanent crops), providing insights into the relationship between the environmental conditions and farming systems across the EU.
Cropping patterns vary considerably across the EU as a result of differences in climate, soils, topography, water availability, farm structure and market conditions. They also evolve over time in response to technological developments, policy measures and changing economic and environmental conditions. Monitoring changes in cropping patterns helps assess the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems and supports the evaluation of agricultural, environmental and climate policies.
Cropping patterns are influenced by a wide range of interacting drivers, including policy measures. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remains one of the principal policy frameworks influencing cropping patterns in the EU. Under the CAP 2023–2027, Member States implement CAP Strategic Plans that combine EU-wide objectives with interventions tailored to national and regional conditions. Consequently, the influence of the CAP on cropping patterns varies across Member States.
Several CAP instruments directly or indirectly affect cropping patterns. These include enhanced conditionality requirements and eco-schemes, which encourage farming practices that comply high EU standards for public, plant, and animal health and welfare and that contribute to EU climate targets, as well as support to organic farming and to areas with natural constraints (ANC).
Other EU policies also influence cropping patterns. The Water Framework Directive and the Nitrates Directive should be noted, including requirements such as growing catch crops in designated areas. Legislation underpinning the Natura 2000 network of protected areas (the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive) limit human activities to ensure that the sites are managed in a manner compatible with the conservation objectives of protected habitats and species.
Changes in cropping patterns also have an impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As such, they are relevant for achieving the climate-neutrality objectives set into the European Climate Law and the carbon-removal targets of the revised Regulation on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). Land management decisions, particularly regarding permanent grasslands and cropland management, influence greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals. More broadly, cropping patterns contribute to the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and wider efforts to increase the resilience and sustainability of European food production.
The indicator on cropping patterns is part of the Agri-environmental indicators (AEIs) of the European Union (EU) which track the integration of environmental concerns into the CAP at EU, national and regional levels.
4.1. Data description
Cropping patterns are defined as trends in the share of the utilised agricultural area (UAA) under the main agricultural land cover types (arable land, permanent grassland and land under permanent crops). The table shows the share of main land types in utilised agricultural area (UAA) from 2005 onwards.
The data are collected by the Member States (plus Norway, the United Kingdom until 2016 and for some years Iceland, Switzerland, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) on the level of agricultural holdings (farms) within the scope of Integrated Farm Statistics (IFS). The legal basis for IFS is Regulation (EU) 2018/1091.
The sum of the three main agricultural land cover types does not necessarily equates to 100% for each country, because kitchen gardens are not included in the dataset. Kitchen gardens are part of the UAA, but their share is negligible: they occupy only 0.1 % of the UAA in the EU. They are, however, included in the main datasets (from 2005: ef_lus_main;1990-2007: ef_lu_ovcropaa) and in the AEI-article on cropping patterns.
4.2. Unit of measure
Percentage of utilised agricultural area (UAA)
4.3. Reference Period
Reference year
4.4. Accuracy - overall
The indicator is produced according to the high-level quality standards of European Statistics. Details on accuracy can be found in the metadata of the source datasets (see link in "Related metadata" at the end of the report).
4.5. Source data
4.5.1. Source data - Organisation
European Statistical System (ESS)
4.5.2. Source data - Comment
Data provider: Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), Unit E1: Agriculture and fisheries
Data source: Integrated farm statistics, table ef_fsi_lus - Main farm land use
5.1. Frequency of dissemination
5.1.1. Frequency of dissemination - Grade
Every 3+ years5.1.2. Frequency of dissemination - Comment
Farm structure data are collected from agricultural censuses every ten years and from sample surveys every 3 or 4 years in between. The time series available in this table is 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2020 and 2023. More information can be found in the metadata of the source dataset (see link in "Related metadata" at the end of the report).
5.2. Timeliness
5.2.1. Timeliness - Grade
> T+2 years5.2.2. Timeliness - Comment
The deadlines for the transmission of IFS data are set by Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1091.
Results are disseminated following validation, confidentiality treatment and tabulation, around 2 years after the reference year.
6.1. Reference area
6.1.1. Reference Area - Grade
All EU MS6.1.2. Reference Area - Comment
Data are presented for all EU Member States, plus Norway, and for the United Kingdom until 2016. For some years data are presented for Iceland, Switzerland, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
6.2. Comparability - geographical
6.2.1. Comparability - geographical - Grade
> 75% EU MS6.2.2. Comparability - geographical - Comment
Comparability across countries is considered to be high.
Further details on comparability can be found in the metadata of the source dataset (see link in "Related metadata" at the end of the report).
6.3. Coverage - Time
6.3.1. Time Coverage - Grade
> 10 years6.3.2. Time Coverage - Comment
This table covers data from 2005 onwards.
Generally, farm structure data have been collected since 1966. The online database is available from 1990 onwards. Historic data about the main land types in hectares from 1990-2007 are available in the dataset ef_lu_ovcropaa in Eurobase - Eurostat's dissemination database.
6.4. Comparability - over time
6.4.1. Comparability - over time - Grade
> 4 data points6.4.2. Comparability - over time - Comment
The implementation of the Integrated Farm Statistics (IFS) in 2020 introduced a division of the target population into two components: the ‘main frame’ includes agricultural holdings above physical thresholds defined in the legislation, while the ‘frame extension’ covers smaller holdings below these thresholds. In the legislative framework, data collection requirements for below-threshold units vary across time. This variability leads to gaps in data availability for the entire population of agricultural holdings and poses challenges for the comparability of results. To address this issue, an estimation procedure based on imputation techniques applied at the level of microdata has been developed to produce consistent estimates for below-threshold units where data are missing, which have been published in the Eurobase datasets under Farm structural indicators [ef_fsi]. More details about the estimation procedure can be found in the Statistics Explained article Farm structure - estimation of missing data.
Further details on comparability can be found in the metadata of the source dataset (see link in "Related metadata" at the end of the report).
7.1. Dissemination format - Publications
No paper publication
7.2. Dissemination format - online database
Eurobase table tai05 - Share of main land types in utilised agricultural area (UAA)
7.3. Dissemination format - other
Statistics explained article about cropping patterns in Eurostat's dedicated section on agri-environmental indicators.
Cropping patterns is one of a set of 28 indicators was developed by the Commission in close collaboration with Member States following the last Commission Communication on Agri-environmental indicators of 2006.
