According to the last data released by the Statistical Office of the European Union there is a tendency in the European Union for larger holdings, as the average size of EU holdings which in 2003 was of 12 ha. per holding was by the end of 2010 of 14 ha. These figures are part of the preliminary results of the Agricultural census 2010.

The Agricultural census 2010 gathers data on the structure of agricultural activities, covering mainly the number and size of farms, the type of crops grown, the number and types of livestock, and the labour force involved. The data released by the statistical office of the European Union Eurostat, show that in 2010 there were just over 12 million agricultural holdings and a utilised agricultural area (UAA) of 170 million hectares in the European Union. Compared to 2003, number of holdings decreased by 20%.

According to this census seven Member States accounted in 2010 for more than 80% of agricultural holdings in the European Union as a whole: Romania with 3.9 million holdings represented 32% of the total, followed by Italy with 13.5%, Poland with 12.5%, Spain with 8.2%, Greece with 5.9%, Hungary with 4.8% and France with 4.3%.

However, in terms of utilised agricultural area (UAA), France is the member state with a larger UAA accounting for 27.1 million of ha. which represent 15.9% of the total in the European Union, followed by Spain (14%), Germany (9.8%) and the United Kingdom (9.4%). The census also shows that utilised agricultural area decreased in eighteen Member States between 2003 and 2010 and increased in nine.

The Agricultural census 2010 published for the first time at this early stage by Eurostat is carried out in the EU Member States as well as the EFTA countries every ten years. Between 2000 and 2010, intermediate surveys were carried out every two to three years.