Definition

Agricultural land is a basic source of food security in the country. The indicator shows the area of arable land per capita and is calculated as the quotient between the area of arable land and the number of inhabitants. The area of arable land per capita is calculated for Slovenia for the period 2000–2020 and a comparison with the other EU member states is given for the selected years (2000, 2010, 2019). The indicator also shows the structure of agricultural land use on agricultural holdings by main land categories (arable land, permanent crops and permanent grassland) and is expressed as a share in total utilized agricultural area.

The area of arable land in Slovenia did not change significantly between 2000 and 2020. According to the data of Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SORS) on the use of agricultural land, there were slightly over 176 thousand hectares of arable land in Slovenia in 2020, which is 3 % more than in 2000. In 2020, almost two million and one hundred thousand people lived in Slovenia, which is 108 thousand more (around 5 %) than in 2000.

In 2000, the average area of arable land per capita was just over 8 ares (0.08 hectares) per capita and practically did not change in the entire analyzed period 2000–2019.

In comparison with other Member States of the European Union, Slovenia belongs to the countries with the smallest share of arable land per capita (2019: Malta: 2 ares per capita, Netherlands: 6 ares per capita). In 2019, the Baltic States (Lithuania (79 ares per capita, Latvia (69 ares per capita) and Estonia 52 ares per capita) had the largest share of arable land per capita. In 2019, compared to the year 2000, the area of arable land per capita in Lithuania increased by 65%, and in Latvia by as much as 69%. In the same period, the largest decline was recorded in Ireland. In 2019, only 9 ares of arable land per capita were cultivated in Ireland, which is more than two thirds less than in 2000, when they had28 ares per capita.

According to the 2016 Census of Agricultural Holdings, the structure of agricultural land use in the EU–28 on average comprises arable land 58%, meadows and pastures 34% and permanent crops more than 6%. The shares of individual land uses vary significantly between EU Member States. Slovenia, which has only a good third of all utilized agricultural area in the structure of use, belongs, together with Ireland and Portugal, to the group of countries with the smallest share of arable land. The largest share of arable land in the structure of agricultural land use is in the Scandinavian countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark), where the share of arable land is 85% and more.

The differences are also reflected in the average area of individual land uses per agricultural holding. In 2016, the average agricultural holding in the EU–28 cultivated 14.8 ha of arable land, 2.7 ha of permanent crops and 13.5 ha of permanent grassland. In Slovenia, the average agricultural holding cultivates almost five times less arable land (3.2 ha of arable land / agricultural holding). This ranks Slovenia, together with Malta and Romania, among the countries with the lowest average area of arable land per agricultural holding among the EU–28 countries. The largest area of arable land per agricultural holding is in the Czech Republic, where they cultivate as much as 145.7 ha of arable land.