Laying hens by farming method in the EU
The European Commission publishes annual statistics on the number of laying hens and the farming systems used in the now 27 member states of the EU.
The total laying hen population in the EU has increased slightly compared to 2020.
In 2021, there were 376 million laying hens in the EU (372.4 million in 2020), or an increase of 1%. Table 1 shows the 6 largest egg-producing countries in the EU (including Belgium) and their farming systems.Germany remains the largest egg producer (58.1 million birds) in the EU, followed by Poland, France, Spain and Italy, who all have between 40 and 51 million laying hens.
Number of laying hens by farming method - 2021
| Member state | Total laying hens | % MS/EU | % Enriched | % Barn | % Free range | % Organic |
| Germany | 58.1M | 15.4 | 5.5 | 58.8 | 22.1 | 13.6 |
| Poland | 51.2M | 13.6 | 76.2 | 17.8 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
| France* | 48.3M | 12.8 | 54.1 | 11.7 | 23.0 | 11.2 |
| Spain | 47.1M | 12.5 | 73.3 | 16.1 | 9.1 | 1.6 |
| Italy | 40.5M | 10.8 | 35.6 | 54.5 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| Netherlands | 31.5M | 8.4 | 7.8 | 60.9 | 22.8 | 8.6 |
| Belgium | 10.8M | 2.9 | 36.2 | 42.8 | 13.5 | 7.4 |
| Portugal | 10.2M | 2.7 | 75.0 | 19.5 | 4.7 | 0.8 |
| Romania | 9.0M | 2.4 | 57.3 | 36.8 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
*Data 2019
EU Number of Laying Hens 2021 by way of keeping
Enriched cages: 44.9%; Barn: 35.6%; Free range: 12.8%; Organic: 6.6%
