Hungary had 163,000 agricultural holdings operating on June 1, 2026, down by 35,000 farms, or 17%, compared with 2023, according to preliminary results from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office’s Agrárium 2026 survey. Compared with 2016, the number of farms has fallen by 41%.
The decline has been accompanied by further concentration of agricultural land. The average agricultural area per farm increased by 18% between 2023 and 2026, reaching almost 33 hectares, while the average arable area per farm stood at 34 hectares.
Crop farms still dominate, but mixed farming is growing
Crop-producing farms remained the largest category, representing 68.2% of all holdings, while livestock farms accounted for 14.7% and mixed farms for 12.3%. The number of crop farms fell by 22% over the past three years, while livestock farms declined by 16%. Mixed farms moved in the opposite direction, increasing by 28% compared with 2023.
Hungary’s agricultural area remained just below 5 million hectares. Arable land accounted for 82%, grassland for 15%, orchards for 1.7% and vineyards for 1.2%. Average farm sizes differed significantly by activity. Arable farms averaged 34 hectares, grassland farms almost 17 hectares, orchards 4.3 hectares and vineyards 3.1 hectares.
Only 10% of farm managers are under 40
Around 37% of farm managers were aged 65 or older, while only 10% were under 40, a distribution that was essentially unchanged from three years earlier. Seven out of ten farms were managed by men.
Formal agricultural education also remains limited. 48% of farm managers had no agricultural qualification, although the share has declined, while more than 12% now have a university-level agricultural qualification, equivalent to roughly one in eight farm managers.
Wheat and sunflower dominate crop production
Cereals occupied around 2.2 million hectares in 2026, while industrial crops covered another 1 million hectares, together accounting for more than four-fifths of Hungary’s arable land. Winter wheat remained the largest crop by area at 986,000 hectares, followed by sunflower at 781,000 hectares and barley at 372,000 hectares. Corn acreage continued to decline and fell below 600,000 hectares in 2026.
Livestock becomes increasingly concentrated
The concentration trend is also visible in livestock farming. Hungary had 889,000 cattle in June, up 1.8% from December 2025, while the pig population declined by 2.2% to just over 2.8 million animals.
The total livestock population measured in livestock units increased by 19% compared with 2023, but production has become concentrated in fewer, larger farms. Holdings with more than 100 livestock units now account for 83% of Hungary’s total livestock population, up from 73% in 2013.
* The Agrárium 2026 survey was carried out between May 15 and July 15 across 969 settlements, covering around 47,000 individual farms, 14,000 agricultural organizations and 4,500 major individual farms.
