According to the final results of the Federal Statistical Office’s latest livestock census, there were only around 14,550 pig farms as of May 3, 2026. This was about 700 farms, or 4.6%, fewer than the previous year. Compared to 2016, the number of farms has thus decreased by around 41%.
The final results were revised slightly downwards compared to the preliminary figures. The decline already apparent in the preliminary figures is confirmed in the final results and is even somewhat more pronounced.
As of the reporting date, approximately 20.95 million pigs were kept in Germany. This was about 38,000 animals, or 0.2%, more than in the previous year. Compared to 2016, however, the pig population is around 23% lower. Since the number of farms is declining significantly faster than the number of animals, the trend towards larger production units continues. While a farm kept an average of around 1,100 pigs in 2016, this number had risen to approximately 1,400 animals by 2026.
The number of fattening pigs (including piglets under 50 kg) remained almost unchanged compared to the previous year at 13.04 million animals (+0.2%). The number of piglets also changed only slightly, increasing by 0.2% to 6.51 million animals.
Structural change continued significantly in pig farming. The number of breeding sows decreased slightly by 0.2% to approximately 1.39 million animals. At the same time, the number of farms with sows fell by about 200, or 4.1%, to around 4,690 farms. Compared to 2016, this represents a decrease of approximately 48% in the number of farms keeping sows.
