18 December 2012: Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, has released the 2012 edition of the pocketbook on agriculture, fishery and forestry statistics.

The pocketbook presents an overview of the EU agricultural sector based on recent statistical data. Included are tables, graphs and charts summarizing: the types of farming found in the EU; the number of persons working in the agricultural sector; the proportion of organic farms and the area of land they occupy; the number of fish caught by European vessels over the last 15 years; and more. Chapters highlight: the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy’s 50th anniversary, which took place in 2012; the results of the last agricultural census at European level; the economy of the agricultural industry; agricultural production; agriculture and the environment; rural development; and forestry and fishery statistics.

Among other findings, the pocketbook reports that almost 23 million people were occupied on nearly 12 million farms in the EU27, according to the last agricultural census in 2010, and fish catches by EU27 vessels declined by almost 40% between 1995 and 2010.

The publication, titled “Agriculture, fishery and forestry statistics – main results – 2010–11,” can be downloaded as a PDF from the Eurostat website. [EU Press Release] [Eurostat Website]