Data extracted in January 2025.
Planned article update: January 2026.
Highlights
Each factor of production used in agriculture typically earns a type of income; labour receives a wage, entrepreneurs profit, capital earns interest and land generates rental income. Understanding land prices and rents is also a key element in understanding the future prospects of agriculture.
The level of land prices depends on a number of factors; these include national factors (such as laws), regional factors (such as climate and proximity to networks) and localised productivity factors (such as soil quality, slope or drainage). The market forces of supply and demand, including the influence of foreign ownership rules, can also influence the price of agricultural land. Competition for land comes not only from farmers but also from others planning to use land for purposes other than agriculture. As such, it is interesting to see prices at a point in time and note the developments in prices for regions over time.
This article analyses the differences in agricultural land prices and rents between EU countries. It presents data from the most recent data collection.
Agricultural land prices in the EU
In 2023, the average price of 1 hectare of arable land in the EU was €11 791. This average price was 90 times more than the average annual rental price of €131 per hectare. Among the 22 EU countries for which 2023 data are available, the price of 1 hectare of arable land varied from a low of €4 491 on average in Croatia to €283 039 on average in Malta. Data for Malta reflect the limited availability of agricultural land and the pressure for alternative uses, resulting in prices higher than in other Member States (see Figure 1).
At regional level, the highest prices for arable land were in the Austrian region of Wien (an average €189 000 per hectare). By contrast, the lowest was in the Swedish region of Övre Norrland (an average €1 951 per hectare).
Source: Eurostat (apri_lprc)
Buying arable land was usually more expensive than buying permanent grassland. The average price of 1 hectare of arable land in the EU was about €2 212 more than the average price of 1 hectare of permanent grassland in 2023 (at €9 578). Arable land was more expensive than permanent grassland in all countries and regions.
Permanent grassland was cheapest in Bulgaria at €1 986 per hectare in 2023, 4 times less than the equivalent cost of 1 hectare of arable land (at €8 215). The percentage difference between the price of permanent grassland and arable land was widest in the region of Voreio Aigaio in Greece (twenty-fold difference between €1 774 per hectare of permanent grassland and €36 824 per hectare of arable land). In terms of absolute value, it was widest in Wien (the difference between the average €189 000 per hectare of arable land and €58 200 per hectare of permanent grassland being €130 800 per hectare).
Agricultural land rental prices
Not all land is owned by the farmer working it. Many farmers rent their land, as either a short or long-term business decision. The cost of renting land is another factor that farmers have to absorb in their business. Mirroring the variation in arable land prices, annual rental prices of 1 hectare of agricultural land (average of arable land and permanent grassland) also vary starkly between countries and regions within countries.
As with agricultural land prices, there were also considerable variations in land rents between countries and regions. Within the EU, the average rental price of arable land and / or permanent grassland was €173 per hectare in 2023. Renting 1 hectare of arable land and/or permanent grassland in 2023 was most expensive in the Netherlands (€914 on average), followed by Denmark (€594) and Greece (€498). It was lowest in Slovakia (€67 on average), Croatia (€74) and Malta (€91).
Among the EU's regions, renting 1 hectare of arable land and/or permanent grassland in 2023 was most expensive in the Dutch region of Flevoland (€1 787 on average), followed by Canarias in Spain (€1 164) and Noord-Brabant (€1 111) in the Netherlands.
By contrast, rental prices were lowest in Mellersta Norrland and Övre Norrland in Sweden (both €24 per hectare on average in 2022), followed by Stredné Slovensko (€40 per hectare) and Východné Slovensko (€43 per hectare) in Slovakia. Permanent grasslands are the main agricultural land use in those regions.
Among the EU countries that reported separate rental prices for arable land and permanent grassland, renting permanent grassland was always cheaper than renting arable land. The rent of 1 hectare of permanent grassland in 2023 ranged from a low of €41 on average in Slovakia to €390 on average in Ireland. The equivalent range for arable land was also from €89 on average in Slovakia to €560 on average in Ireland.
Source: Eurostat (apri_lrnt)
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
Agricultural land prices and rents are now being collected on an annual basis and a common methodology has been developed as a basis for comparable statistics. These datasets were made available publicly in 2018.
Key indicators and concepts
Agricultural land prices refer to the price of 1 hectare of free agricultural land without buildings or plantations during the reference period (a calendar year). Depending on the EU Member State, these prices can be collected from the owner of the agricultural land who is selling (selling prices) or from the physical person/legal person/legal entity who is purchasing the land for agricultural purposes (purchase prices).
Agricultural land rents refer to the price of renting 1 hectare of agricultural land without buildings or plantations for 1 year. The renting price should be collected from the agricultural holdings renting the land for agricultural purposes (renting price paid). The reference period is the calendar year.
The prices and rents expressed in national currency are converted into euro by using the corresponding annual exchange rate, to allow comparisons among EU Member States.
Eurostat has estimated the EU average land price and rent as weighted averages based solely on data from the 22 and 21 Member States, respectively, for which data are available. Weighting was based on land areas from the 2020 Agricultural Census.
Context
Agricultural land values and rents
Policymakers follow developments in the land market to evaluate the impact of policies on it. Statistics on land prices and rents, expressed as absolute prices, facilitate an insight into various key issues (sales versus rental markets, effect of new users, CAP changes, environmental pressures, etc.). In addition, absolute prices help to properly assess how the farmland value relates to agricultural income and hence whether farms remain viable given changes in agricultural land prices and rents. Furthermore, regional data enable the identification of the situations where land prices are a driving factor in terms of structural change. These policy requirements have driven the need for reliable and comparable data on agricultural land prices and rents.
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Agriculture (agri), see:
- Land prices and rents (apri_lpr)
- Agricultural land renting prices for one year by region (apri_lrnt)
- Agricultural land prices by region (apri_lprc)
- Agricultural land renting prices for one year by region - historical data (until 2009) (apri_lrnt_h)
- Agricultural land prices by region - historical data (until 2009) (apri_lprc_h)
Thematic section
Publications
- Agriculture, forestry and fishery statistics — 2020 edition (Statistical book)
Legislation
EU agricultural land price and rent statistics are based on an ESS agreement of October 2018 between Eurostat and the Member States.