Country agriculture profile · Europe & Central Asia
Romania
Romania has one of the largest agricultural areas in the European Union, spanning the fertile Danubian and Moldavian plains, the Transylvanian basin, and the Carpathian pastures. Maize and wheat anchor the arable sector alongside sunflower, barley and rapeseed, and the country sustains a deep-rooted viticulture. Its farm structure is strongly dualistic, pairing large commercial operations with a very large number of small, semi-subsistence family holdings. An EU member since 2007, Romania farms under the Common Agricultural Policy, though much of the once-extensive irrigation on the southern plains has fallen into disrepair.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Temperate continental
- Montane (Carpathians)
- Semi-arid (southeast / Dobruja)
Agroecological zones
- Wallachian and Moldavian plains
- Transylvanian plateau
- Carpathian mountains
- Danube Delta
Dominant crop systems
- Maize and wheat on the Danubian and Moldavian plains
- Sunflower, barley, and rapeseed
- Vineyards and orchards
- Dualistic large-commercial and semi-subsistence farming
Major livestock systems
- Extensive sheep and goat flocks
- Cattle for dairy and beef
- Smallholder pigs and poultry
Irrigation: Extensive irrigation schemes built on the southern plains have partly decayed, leaving much cropping rainfed and exposed to summer drought, with rehabilitation ongoing.
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 | 55.26 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land | 36.54 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 4,020.8 | kg per hectare | 2023 |
| Cereal production | 20,784,510 | metric tons | 2023 |
| Crop production index | 85.41 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 2.81 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 11.26 | % of total employment | 2024 |
| Rural population | 47.83 | % of total population | 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 |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 2,364.1 |
| 2013 | 3,863.2 |
| 2014 | 4,069.2 |
| 2015 | 3,543.9 |
| 2016 | 3,971.3 |
| 2017 | 5,227.7 |
| 2018 | 5,997.2 |
| 2019 | 5,457.5 |
| 2020 | 3,398.6 |
| 2021 | 5,187.8 |
| 2022 | 3,634.1 |
| 2023 | 4,020.8 |
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: 66.1 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (36.5) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (55.3). 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
- Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences "Gheorghe Ionescu-Șișești" (ASAS) — Coordinates national agricultural and forestry research institutes.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development — 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.
- A very large number of small, semi-subsistence farms produce substantial own-consumption output that is hard to capture in official statistics.
- Degraded irrigation infrastructure raises exposure to summer drought.
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