These are provisional figures, the latest update from Eurostat of the counts made in December 2011. Most of the countries have returned final figures and the total stands at a little under 148.6 million, down more than 2.2 million animals from the 2010 figure of almost 150.8 million. The figure for 2002 for the EU–27 stood at more than 160 million and so the number of pigs has fallen by 10 million over the last decade.

Retaining its top spot in the EU pig rankings is Germany, where more than half a million more pigs (1.9 per cent) were counted in December 2011 than 12 months previously.

Spain keeps its place at number 2 in the rankings, despite a small reduction in the pig count from 2010.

With a slight increase in its pig population to almost 14 million animals, France has overtaken Poland as the EU's number 3 pig country. This is the result of an 11.6 per cent cut in Polish animal numbers to just over 13 million. In 2002, the figure stood at 19 million so the decade has seen a one–third fall in pig numbers there.

Other countries in the top 10 in the EU have registered only small changes and the rankings are unchanged with Denmark at number 5, the Netherlands at number 6, Italy at 7, Belgium at 8, Romania at 9 and the UK at number 10.

Compared to 2010, some of the central and eastern European member states recorded double-digit losses in pig numbers, including the Czech Republic (-19 per cent), Slovakia (-16 per cent), Lithuania (-15 per cent) and Slovenia (-12 per cent). The pig population in Malta, although small in EU terms, was one-third lower in December 2010 than in the previous year.