Country agriculture profile · Europe & Central Asia
Spain
Spain is one of the European Union's leading agricultural producers and the world's foremost producer of olive oil, with a Mediterranean-dominated sector built on olives, wine, citrus, fruit and vegetables alongside extensive dryland cereals on the central Meseta. A sharp contrast runs between rainfed dryland farming and highly productive irrigated horticulture, including the intensive greenhouse systems of the southeast that supply much of Europe's off-season produce. Livestock is dominated by a very large pig sector and by extensive sheep, goat and Iberian-pig grazing on the dehesa oak rangelands. Farming operates within the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and water availability is the defining long-term constraint on the sector.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Mediterranean
- Semi-arid continental (interior Meseta)
- Temperate oceanic (north)
- Arid (southeast)
Agroecological zones
- Mediterranean permanent crops
- Dryland cereal Meseta
- Irrigated coastal and river-valley horticulture
Dominant crop systems
- Olive groves across Andalusia and the interior
- Rainfed winter cereals (wheat, barley) on the central Meseta
- Viticulture across designated regions (La Rioja, La Mancha, Ribera del Duero)
- Irrigated citrus and horticulture along the Mediterranean coast and Guadalquivir valley
- Intensive greenhouse vegetable production in the southeast (Almería)
- Almonds and other tree nuts
Major livestock systems
- Intensive pig production, among the largest herds in the European Union
- Iberian pigs grazing dehesa oak rangeland
- Extensive sheep and goats for meat, milk and cheese
- Dairy and beef cattle in the wetter north
Irrigation: Irrigation is central to high-value output and is concentrated in the Mediterranean arc and the Ebro and Guadalquivir valleys, where water scarcity is a persistent constraint.
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 | 49.58 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land | 23.01 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Irrigated agricultural land | 15.12 | % of agricultural land | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 3,785.9 | kg per hectare | 2024 |
| Crop production index | 87.04 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Livestock production index | 118.7 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 2.75 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 3.47 | % 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 | 4,047.1 |
| 2014 | 3,248.5 |
| 2015 | 3,243.1 |
| 2016 | 3,877.8 |
| 2017 | 2,770.2 |
| 2018 | 4,205.5 |
| 2019 | 3,445.5 |
| 2020 | 4,501.5 |
| 2021 | 4,227.4 |
| 2022 | 3,307.4 |
| 2023 | 2,190.9 |
| 2024 | 3,785.9 |
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: 46.4 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (23.0) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (49.6). 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
- MAPA — Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación).
- INIA-CSIC — National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology, part of the Spanish National Research Council.
- FEGA — Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund, the national CAP paying agency.
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.
- Water scarcity and recurrent drought cause large year-to-year swings in output that single-year figures cannot convey.
- The economic weight of high-value permanent crops such as olives, wine and citrus is understated by 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