Number of pigs on farms in Denmark 2011-2021

In Denmark, the number of farms with pigs decreased overall in the past years and amounted to 2.6 thousand farms in 2021. This might be a result of Denmark having more and more large, modern and high-tech farms, on which farmers are able to breed many animals, instead of having many small farms with only a few animals. Despite the reduced number of farms, the number of pigs on Danish farms decreased only slightly and remained almost the same. As of 2021, there were roughly 13 million pigs on farms.

 Pork production 

The breeding of pigs and production of pig meat has been a major industry in Denmark for a long time. The country has one of the leading pig industries in the world. Pig meat produced in Denmark is characterized by its high quality; pig farmers constantly try to improve the welfare of live pigs. Among the 13 million pigs living on farms in 2021, the number of pigs for slaughtering was approximately 3.1 million animals.

Export trade

Today, Danish pork and bacon is popular worldwide, and Denmark is among the world’s largest pig meat exporters. Most of the domestically produced pig meat is for export, as international trade is essential for the Danish economy. The value of for example fresh or chilled pork exported from Denmark fluctuated over the past years and amounted to roughly 8.1 million Danish kroner in 2020.