Share of egg-laying hens in cage-free systems by country

Cage-free housing systems include barns and free-range (non-organic and organic) farms.

Countries reporting
26
Highest
100.0%
Austria
Lowest
22.9%
Estonia
Median
57.6%
Years covered
30
1996–2025
Data points
391

What the numbers show

Share of egg-laying hens in cage-free systems is currently reported for 26 countries. The highest value is 100.0% in Austria; the lowest is 22.9% in Estonia.

The median across all reporting countries is 57.6%, and the mean is 59.1%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.

Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 1 fell. The largest increase was in Lithuania (up 525.0%), and the largest decrease in Bulgaria (down 26.7%).

Share of egg-laying hens in cage-free systems: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Austria 100.0% 2025 up 2.1% flat
3 Sweden 99.3% 2025 up 18.9% rising
4 Germany 99.3% 2025 up 10.6% rising
5 Denmark 90.2% 2025 up 63.2% rising
6 Netherlands 85.2% 2025 up 4.4% rising
7 Slovenia 85.2% 2025 up 77.5% rising
8 United Kingdom 82.7% 2025 up 69.0% rising
9 Finland 81.0% 2025 up 141.1% rising
11 France 69.9% 2023 up 99.0% rising
12 Italy 66.8% 2025 up 98.0% rising
13 Belgium 66.0% 2024 up 67.4% rising
14 Romania 58.2% 2025 up 18.3% rising
15 Croatia 58.0% 2025 up 163.7% rising
16 Czechia 57.2% 2025 up 244.0% rising
17 Latvia 54.4% 2025 up 284.9% volatile
18 Slovakia 50.1% 2025 up 297.5% rising
19 United States 45.3% 2025 up 256.5% volatile
20 Cyprus 40.3% 2025 up 32.0% rising
21 Spain 40.2% 2025 up 384.9% volatile
22 Poland 37.8% 2025 up 227.7% rising
23 Bulgaria 35.5% 2025 down 26.7% falling
24 Portugal 32.9% 2024 up 239.8% volatile
25 Hungary 32.4% 2024 up 10.6% rising
26 Greece 23.5% 2020 rising
27 Lithuania 23.4% 2024 up 525.0% volatile
28 Estonia 22.9% 2025 up 109.6% rising

About this data

Indicator
Share of egg-laying hens in cage-free systems
Unit
%
Source
European Commission (2026) and other sources – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
29 places, 391 data points, 1996–2025
Last refreshed

Cage-free housing systems include barns and free-range (non-organic and organic) farms.