Italy has around 1.9 million beehives across its farming network, more than any other European country, according to new data from Eurostat.
The data, which was published to coincide with World Bee Day earlier this week, showed that Romania also has a high number of beehives on farms (1.7 million), followed by Greece (1.2 million) and Bulgaria (1.0 million).
The number of beehives located on farms across the European Union reached 9.4 million in 2023, the data showed.
This represented an increase of 1.3 million beehives, or 16%, compared with 2020, when there were 8.1 million beehives recorded on EU farms.
According to Eurostat, the data provides only a partial picture of beekeeping activity in the bloc, as the statistics cover beehives located on farms rather than all beehives across the EU.
Largest increase
Eurostat said the number of beehives increased in 12 EU countries over the period.
The largest increase between 2020 and 2023 was recorded in Italy, where the number of beehives rose by more than 822,000, representing growth of 79%.
Declines were recorded in 10 countries, with the largest reductions seen in Hungary and Spain. Hungary recorded a decline of more than 152,000 beehives, down 34%, while Spain saw a reduction of more than 131,000, or 14%.
Several countries, including Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Denmark, did not report statistically significant numbers of beehives on farms.
A New Deal for Pollinators
In 2023, the European Commission introduced A New Deal for Pollinators, updating the EU Pollinators Initiative, which was first launched in 2018.
The initiative forms part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and complements the Nature Restoration Regulation. Read more here.
