Number of pig farms declining in Austria
Like in many other European countries, the number of pig farms in Austria continues to decline steadily. As of December 1, 2025, the country had 15,800 farms keeping pigs, some 800 or 4.7% fewer than a year earlier, Statistik Austria reported in its annual review of the national livestock sector.
The average herd size increased slightly. With an average of 157 pigs per farm, the figure remained relatively stable compared with the 153 pigs per holding recorded at the end of 2024.
The number of pigs slaughtered increased by 2.3% to 4.77 million animals. This resulted in a production of 471,600 tonnes of pork, 3.0% more than a year earlier.
2,2% less pigs
With a total of 2.48 million animals on December 1, 2025, the number of pigs in Austria decreased by 2.2%, or 55,400 animals, compared with the previous year. The number of piglets and young pigs declined by 1.6% to 1.22 million, while the number of breeding pigs fell by 2.9% to 198,700. The fattening pig herd decreased by 2.7% to 1.06 million animals.
Number of piglets
Looking in more detail, the number of piglets dropped by 2.3% to 600,600 animals, while the number of young pigs fell by 1.0% to 621,300. Among fattening pigs, the number of animals weighing 50 to under 80 kg declined by 2.2% to 501,300. The number weighing 80 to under 110 kg fell by 4.8% to 420,600, while the number of pigs weighing at least 110 kg increased by 2.4% to 136,600.
Within the breeding herd, the number of young sows decreased by 0.1% to 40,900, while the number of older sows declined by 3.4% to 154,900. The number of covered sows totalled 136,600, a decrease of 2.2%.
The share of the federal states most heavily involved in pig farming — Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria — remained unchanged compared with the previous year at 94.1% of the national herd.
Prodcuction
With a production value of around €977 million in 2024, the pig sector accounted for 21% of total animal production, making it the second-largest segment after milk production, according to Austria’s Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Climate and Environmental Protection and Water Management.
Pig production in Austria has shown a slight downward trend in recent years, although the level of self-sufficiency remained above 100% in 2024. Despite this, significant volumes of pigs, pork and pork products have been imported since the country joined the European Union. At the same time, exports remain strong, resulting in an overall net surplus.
In the first 11 months of 2025, Austria imported 122,500 tonnes of pork and pork products, almost 5% less than in the same period of 2024. Exports of pork reached just over 122,000 tonnes, an increase of 5.4% year-on-year.
