Agricultural land prices and rents - statistics

Data extracted in January 2026

Planned article update: January 2027

Highlights

In 2024, the average price of one hectare of arable land in the EU was €15 224

In 2024, renting one hectare of arable land or permanent grassland was most expensive in the Netherlands (an average of €941)

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 2024, the average price of one hectare of arable land in the EU was €15 224. This average price was 38 times more than the average annual rental price of €403 per hectare of arable land.

Among the 23 EU countries for which 2024 data are available, the price of one hectare of arable land varied from a low of €4 825 on average in Latvia to €201 263 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 EU countries (see Figure 1).

At regional level, the highest prices for arable land were in the Dutch region of Flevoland (an average €187 109 per hectare). By contrast, the lowest was in the Swedish region of Övre Norrland (an average €1 933 per hectare).

Buying arable land was usually more expensive than buying permanent grassland. The average price of one hectare of arable land in the EU was €15 224 whereas the average price of one hectare of permanent grassland in 2024 was €11 753. Arable land was more expensive than permanent grassland in all countries, except Luxembourg, and almost all regions.

Permanent grassland was cheapest in Bulgaria at €1 877 per hectare in 2024, about 4.5 times less than the equivalent cost of one hectare of arable land (at €8 679). 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 €1 775 per hectare of permanent grassland and €36 968 per hectare of arable land). In terms of absolute value, it was widest in Wien (the difference between €56 700 per hectare of permanent grassland and the average €180 000 per hectare of arable land).

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 agricultural land prices, annual rental prices of one 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 €295 per hectare in 2024. Renting one hectare of arable land and/or permanent grassland in 2024 was most expensive in the Netherlands (€941 on average), followed by Denmark (€580) and Greece (€509). It was lowest in Slovakia (€69 on average), Croatia (€76) and Malta (€92), the latter reflecting a government-imposed cap under the Agricultural Leases (Reletting) Act.

Among the EU's regions, renting one hectare of arable land and/or permanent grassland in 2024 was most expensive in the Spanish region of Canarias (€2 785 on average), followed by Flevoland (€1 825) and North Brabant (€1 098) in the Netherlands.

By contrast, rental prices were lowest in Mellersta Norrland and Övre Norrland in Sweden (both €36 per hectare on average in 2024), followed by Stredné Slovensko (€43 per hectare) and Východné Slovensko (€44 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 one hectare of permanent grassland in 2024 ranged from a low of €38 on average in Slovakia to €407 on average in Ireland. The equivalent range for arable land was from €82 on average in Slovakia to €540 on average in Ireland.

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 one hectare of free agricultural land without buildings or plantations during the reference period (a calendar year). Depending on the EU country, 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 one 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 countries.

Eurostat has estimated the EU average land price and rent as weighted averages based solely on data from the 24 EU countries, for which data are available. Weighting was based on land areas from the 2023 Integrated Farm Structure Survey.

Until 2024, data collection was conducted on a voluntary basis, which accounts for the partial coverage across EU countries.

In the context of the SAIO Regulation, Eurostat adapted the methodology used to calculate EU aggregates, in particular in the estimations of the weighting values. To avoid a break in the time series, EU aggregates were subsequently recalculated for the entire period using this new methodology.

Source data for tables and graphs

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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

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)

Legislation

EU agricultural land price and rent statistics are based on an ESS agreement of October 2018 between Eurostat and the Member States.