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Agrarian Census. Year 2020

The number of agrarian operations was 914,871 in 2020, 7.6% less than in the 2009 census. Total used agricultural area increased by 0.7% compared to 2009, to 23.9 million hectares. The average area per operation was 26.37 hectares, with an increase of 7.4%.

Agrarian census - Year 2020
Indicator Note Value Variation
Number of rural farms 914,871 -7.6
Number of livestock farms 1 169,576 -30.1
% Farms with legal personality 6.48 6.8
Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) 2 23,913,682 0.7
% Farms of ecological ranching 26 74.9
% Women chief of farms 28.59 32.1
  • Change in 2020 compared to 2009
    • The changes on thresholds and UGT may have influenced on the variations
    • Hectares
Latest data
Year 2020 Published: 04/05/2022
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The 2020 Agrarian Census responds to Regulation 2018/1091 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 18, 2018, regarding integrated statistics on agricultural holdings. It establishes the framework for analysis of the main structural characteristics of agricultural holdings and the integration of this information with information related to agricultural production and aspects related to agro-environmental development.

The census is carried out every ten years and is a priority for both the European Statistical System and for Spain.

Compared to previous censuses, the 2020 Agrarian Census is an innovative census, as it is based on the massive use of administrative records. This allows for incorporation of significant improvements compared to previous censuses: preparation of a higher quality census directory, reduction of the response burden of the informant units, reduction of the cost of the statistical operation, and the possibility of having annual information available in the future for farms requesting aid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The Census data has been obtained in collaboration with the Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea/Basque Institute of Statistics in the territorial scope of its community, in accordance with the agreement signed between the Basque Institute of Statistics and the INE.

The data refer to the agricultural year 2020, i. e. the season from 01 October 2019 to 30 September 2020, except for livestock breeding, for which the reference date is 30 September 2020.

The INE extends its thanks to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), especially the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA) and the Subdirectorate for Analysis, Coordination and Statistics. Thanks is also given for the support received from the Departments of Agriculture of the autonomous communities and the company Tragsatec.

The 2020 Agrarian Census is structured in two blocks: one main census detailing the primary characteristics to be collected as a census, and another complementary block of modular variables to be collected by sampling, on labour, rural development, housing and manure management.