Laying hens in cages and cage-free housing in Netherlands

Netherlands: Laying hens in cages and cage-free housing was 4.43 million hens in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
4.43 million hens
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
10th
of 29 countries
All-time high
6.23 million hens
in 2017
All-time low
2.46 million hens
in 2021
Years of data
12
2013–2025

Laying hens in cages and cage-free housing in Netherlands, 2013–2025

02.0M4.0M6.0M2013201920252013: 5.1M hens2014: 5.0M hens2015: 6.0M hens2016: 6.1M hens2017: 6.2M hens2018: 5.3M hens2019: 4.5M hens2020: 5.0M hens2021: 2.5M hens2022: 3.4M hens2023: 4.4M hens2025: 4.4M hens

Source: European Commission (2026) and other sources – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in hens.

Analysis

In 2025, laying hens in cages and cage-free housing in Netherlands stood at 4.43 million hens.

The figure is down 26.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, laying hens in cages and cage-free housing in Netherlands peaked at 6.23 million hens in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2.46 million hens, in 2021.

Netherlands ranks 10th of 29 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 5.47 million hens 4.52 million hens 6.23 million hens 7
2020s 3.94 million hens 2.46 million hens 5.04 million hens 5

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 7 Portugal 6.00 million hens compare
  2. 8 Romania 5.43 million hens compare
  3. 9 Hungary 5.42 million hens compare
  4. 11 Bulgaria 4.10 million hens compare
  5. 12 Belgium 3.82 million hens compare
  6. 13 Greece 3.56 million hens compare

See the full ranking of 29 places →

More reference data data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

Frequently asked questions

What is laying hens in cages and cage-free housing in Netherlands?
Laying hens in cages and cage-free housing in Netherlands was 4.43 million hens in 2025, according to European Commission (2026) and other sources – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest laying hens in cages and cage-free housing recorded in Netherlands?
The highest recorded value was 6.23 million hens in 2017.
What is the lowest laying hens in cages and cage-free housing recorded in Netherlands?
The lowest recorded value was 2.46 million hens in 2021.
How does Netherlands rank for laying hens in cages and cage-free housing?
Netherlands ranks 10th out of 29 countries with data for 2025.
Is laying hens in cages and cage-free housing rising or falling in Netherlands?
Over the last ten years it is down 26.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Netherlands data come from?
The figures come from European Commission (2026) and other sources – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Laying hens in cages and cage-free housing. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Laying hens in cages and cage-free housing
Unit
hens
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

Includes battery and enriched cage systems.