Agricultural Land in Croatia Remains the Cheapest in the EU in 2023

Agricultural land in Croatia was, in 2023, the cheapest in the EU, despite a double-digit price increase, according to data from the European Statistical Office.

At the EU level, a hectare of arable land cost an average of €11,791 in 2023, which is 4.7% more expensive than in 2022, according to revised Eurostat data. The most expensive land was in Malta, where it cost €283,000, reflecting limited land availability and demands for alternative uses. Following Malta was the Netherlands, where it cost €91,154.

In Luxembourg, Austria, and Ireland, the average price ranged from €42,000 to €35,000. In Slovenia and Denmark, a hectare was approximately twice as expensive as the EU average. In Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Romania, and Bulgaria, the price was around the European average.

Arable land in Croatia was, in 2023, the cheapest in the EU, where buyers had to pay an average of €4,491 per hectare, which is 21.4% more than in 2022 when prices were more or less stagnant. The closest to Croatia in 2023 was Latvia, with an average price of €4,591 per hectare.

Eurostat did not have data for Belgium, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Portugal, and Austria.

Cheapest Rent in Slovakia

At the EU level, the rent for arable agricultural land and pastures was €173 per hectare in 2023, which is 2.4% more expensive than in 2022, according to revised data from the European Statistical Office. Among the EU countries for which Eurostat had data, the cheapest rent was in Slovakia, where an average of €67 per hectare was required.

Following Slovakia was Croatia, where tenants had to pay €74 per hectare, the same as in 2022 and 2021.

The highest rent in 2023 was paid in the Netherlands, averaging €914 per hectare. Denmark and Greece followed with rental prices of nearly €600 and €500, respectively. In the Czech Republic, Spain, and Slovenia, the rental price was nearly equal to the EU average.

Statisticians did not have data on rental prices for Belgium, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Cyprus, Germany, Portugal, France, and Lithuania.