Spain: The pig industry consolidates its leading EU position
Data from the November 2025 livestock census in Spain show a decrease in the country's pig population compared to the previous year. At the same time, the number of breeding sows has increased. Spain thus remains the country with the largest pig population within the European Union.
According to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, the pig population in Spain amounted to approximately 33.65 million animals in November 2025. Compared to the livestock census in November 2024, this represents a decrease of around 2.7%. However, the number of breeding sows showed the opposite trend: at 2.68 million animals, approximately 2.6% more were counted than a year earlier.
The picture was mixed in the other animal categories. The number of piglets up to 20 kg, at 10.08 million, was approximately 1.7% higher than the previous year. In contrast, the number of young pigs between 20 and 49 kg, at 6.56 million, was significantly lower than in November 2024, representing a decrease of 23.9%. At the same time, the number of fattening pigs increased, reaching approximately 14.31 million, compared to 13.40 million in the previous year (+6.8%).
Spain has the largest number of sows in the EU. Its lead over second place has increased significantly in recent years. While the Spanish sow population grew by 8.6% over the past ten years, it declined by 28.1% in Germany – the second-largest sow-keeping country in the EU - during the same period. In November 2025, approximately 1.42 million sows were counted in German barns.
A ten-year comparison reveals a clear contrast between pig farming in Spain and Germany: While the pig population in Spain has increased by 18.6% since 2015 and the number of breeding sows by 8.6%, the pig population in Germany declined by 22.1% during the same period. The number of breeding sows in Germany even decreased by 28.1%.
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