Business Forum • 24 February, 2026 at 3:13 PM
In 2024, the value added from the European Union's agricultural industry accounted for 1.2% of GDP, a 0.1 percentage point (pp) increase compared to 2009, according to data from Eurostat.
The agricultural industry's weight in the national economy remains significantly higher in Romania, where it reached 2.5% of GDP. This figure places the country second in the EU, surpassed only by Greece at 3.2% and followed by Spain at 2.3%.
Other notable ratios were recorded in Bulgaria, Italy, and Croatia, all at 1.8%. Conversely, 12 member states reported ratios below 1.0%, with Luxembourg and Malta recording the lowest at 0.2%.
Despite its high ranking, the relative importance of the sector in the local economy has seen a major shift. Between 2009 and 2024, the ratio of agricultural value added to GDP declined most sharply in Romania, falling by 2.2 pp.
This represents the largest decrease in the union, followed by Bulgaria with a 1.4 pp drop. During the same period, 15 EU countries saw increases, led by Greece (up 0.9 pp) and Latvia (up 0.6 pp).