Country agriculture profile · Europe & Central Asia
France
France is the European Union's largest agricultural producer by value and a cornerstone of European food supply, with a highly diversified sector spanning temperate cereals, oilseeds and sugar beet in the north, grain maize in the southwest, and internationally renowned viticulture and cheese production. Its farming operates within the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which shapes income support, environmental conditionality and market organisation. The country combines large, mechanised arable farms on the northern plains with quality-differentiated systems governed by protected designations of origin (AOP/AOC) for wines, cheeses and other foods. France is consistently among the world's leading exporters of wheat, wine and dairy products.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Temperate oceanic
- Semi-continental
- Mediterranean
- Mountain (Alpine and Pyrenean)
Agroecological zones
- Atlantic lowland cropland
- Mediterranean permanent crops
- Mountain and upland pasture
Dominant crop systems
- Rainfed soft wheat, barley and rapeseed on the northern plains (Beauce, Picardy)
- Grain maize in the southwest, partly irrigated
- Sugar beet in the northern basins
- Viticulture across classified wine regions (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhône)
- Mediterranean fruit, vegetables and permanent crops in the south
Major livestock systems
- Extensive beef cattle on grassland (Charolais, Limousin, Massif Central)
- Dairy cattle in Normandy, Brittany and the east
- Intensive pig and poultry production in Brittany
- Sheep on uplands and Mediterranean rangeland
Irrigation: Agriculture is predominantly rainfed, with irrigation concentrated in the southwest and Mediterranean south for grain maize, fruit and vegetables.
Latest verified data
Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural land | 52.5 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land | 31.36 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 6,280.8 | kg per hectare | 2024 |
| Cereal production | 53,553,470 | metric tons | 2024 |
| Crop production index | 94.72 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Livestock production index | 93.18 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 1.3 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 2.39 | % of total employment | 2024 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Cereal yield over time
Show data table
| Year | kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 7,084.8 |
| 2014 | 7,579.1 |
| 2015 | 7,590.5 |
| 2016 | 5,690.9 |
| 2017 | 7,306.7 |
| 2018 | 6,829.1 |
| 2019 | 7,491.9 |
| 2020 | 6,394.9 |
| 2021 | 7,171.3 |
| 2022 | 6,654.9 |
| 2023 | 7,274 |
| 2024 | 6,280.8 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Derived indicator
Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 59.7 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (31.4) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (52.5). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.
Documented crops & livestock
Agricultural institutions
- INRAE — National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment.
- Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Souveraineté alimentaire — National ministry of agriculture and food sovereignty.
- FranceAgriMer — National establishment for agricultural and fisheries products, providing market data and administering CAP measures.
Data coverage & limitations
Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.
- Statistics are dated, versioned and periodically revised; always read the year and dataset version rather than treating a figure as current.
- National and EU statistical definitions (for example utilised agricultural area and livestock categories) differ from those of other countries, limiting direct cross-country comparison.
- Overseas departments such as Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane have distinct tropical agriculture that country-level aggregates obscure.
- Wine and other quality-scheme output is economically significant but only partly reflected in tonnage-based production indicators.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- Authoritative
Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]European Commission — Agriculture and rural development (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture
Cited for: EU Common Agricultural Policy framework and farm statistics
- Type:
- Government agency
- Jurisdiction:
- European Union
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [3]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Cited for: Global agriculture and food production context
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12