Country agriculture profile · Europe & Central Asia
Hungary
Hungary is a classic Central European arable nation, its agriculture founded on the fertile loess and chernozem soils of the Great Hungarian Plain. Maize and wheat lead the cropping, complemented by sunflower, rapeseed and barley, and the country is well known for seed-maize and sunflower-seed production as well as historic wine regions such as Tokaj and Eger. Pig and poultry husbandry are the mainstays of livestock. An EU member since 2004, Hungary farms within the Common Agricultural Policy, with recurrent summer drought on the plains a defining management concern.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Temperate continental (warm, dry summers)
Agroecological zones
- Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld)
- Transdanubian hills
- Little Plain
Dominant crop systems
- Maize and wheat on the Great Plain
- Sunflower and rapeseed oilseeds
- Seed-maize and sunflower-seed production
- Historic vineyards (Tokaj, Eger)
Major livestock systems
- Intensive pig production
- Poultry
- Cattle, with heritage grey-cattle and Mangalica pig breeds
Irrigation: Most cropping is rainfed despite recurrent summer drought, with irrigation limited and concentrated along the Tisza and Danube and in horticulture.
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 | 55.7 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land | 45.41 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 5,629.7 | kg per hectare | 2024 |
| Cereal production | 12,689,330 | metric tons | 2024 |
| Crop production index | 62.75 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 2.71 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 4.24 | % of total employment | 2024 |
| Fertilizer consumption | 89.53 | kg per hectare of arable land | 2023 |
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 | 4,831.5 |
| 2014 | 5,897 |
| 2015 | 5,243.4 |
| 2016 | 6,486.6 |
| 2017 | 5,835.5 |
| 2018 | 6,286.2 |
| 2019 | 6,365.8 |
| 2020 | 6,659.1 |
| 2021 | 5,920 |
| 2022 | 4,032.1 |
| 2023 | 6,252 |
| 2024 | 5,629.7 |
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: 81.5 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (45.4) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (55.7). 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
- Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE) — Principal agricultural research and education institution, incorporating former NAIK institutes.
- HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network — National public research network coordinating state research institutes.
- Ministry of Agriculture — National agricultural policy and CAP implementation authority.
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, so each figure must be read with its year, unit, and dataset version.
- National definitions, survey methods, and coverage differ between countries, so cross-country comparisons should be made with care.
- Continental summer drought and limited irrigation drive marked year-to-year variability in crop yields.
- Farm structure spans large estates and many small holdings, complicating aggregate reporting.
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 context
- 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: Production and food-balance context
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12