Agricultural land prices across the European Union continued to rise in 2024, with Eurostat data showing a clear upward trend both in sales values and rental costs, although developments varied significantly by country.
On average, one hectare of arable land in the EU was priced at about 15,224 euros in 2024, up by 6.1% compared to the previous year, when the average stood at 14,343 euros. At the same time, the annual rent for one hectare of arable land and permanent grassland reached roughly 295 euros, marking a 6.4% increase from 277 euros in 2023.
Among the member states for which data are available, Malta recorded by far the highest average price per hectare of arable land, at 201,263 euros. It was followed by the Netherlands, where land cost an average of 96,608 euros per hectare, and Portugal, with prices reaching 76,556 euros.
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest land prices were observed in Latvia, where one hectare averaged 4,825 euros. Lithuania followed with 5,590 euros per hectare, while Slovakia reported an average price of 5,823 euros.
In Bulgaria, arable land prices also moved upward in 2024. According to Eurostat, the average price per hectare rose by 5.98% year on year, reaching 8,679 euros, compared to 8,189 euros in 2023. This corresponds to approximately 16,970 leva per hectare in 2024, up from around 16,015 leva a year earlier. Despite the increase, Eurostat data show that arable land remained cheaper than in Bulgaria in eight other EU member states.
Rental prices across the EU showed similarly wide differences. The highest average annual rent for one hectare of arable land was registered in the Netherlands, at 941 euros, followed by Denmark with 580 euros and Greece with 509 euros per hectare.
By contrast, the lowest rental costs were reported in Slovakia, where renting one hectare averaged 69 euros per year. Croatia followed with 76 euros, while Malta recorded an average annual rent of 92 euros.
In Bulgaria, the average rent for one hectare of arable agricultural land in 2024 amounted to 303 euros, or about 593 leva. This represented a decline of nearly 2.9% compared to 2023, when the average rental price stood at 312 euros, or roughly 610 leva per hectare.