World Bee Day: Greece Has the 3rd Highest Number of Beehives in the EU

Beekeeper removing a frame. Credit: COD Newsroom / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Greece ranks 3rd among each European Union countries for the fig of beehives connected its farms, with 1.2 cardinal hives recorded successful 2023, according to caller information from Eurostat. The findings travel arsenic the satellite marks World Bee Day connected May 20, a time acceptable speech to item the captious relation bees and different pollinators play for some radical and the planet.

Italy leads the bloc with astir 1.9 cardinal beehives, followed by Romania astatine 1.7 million. Greece comes successful third, up of Bulgaria, which recorded 1.0 cardinal hives.

These 4 countries unneurotic relationship for a important stock of the EU’s total, which reached 9.4 cardinal beehives connected farms successful 2023. That fig reflects a 16% emergence compared to 2020, erstwhile the bloc had 8.1 cardinal hives.

It is worthy noting that these figures seizure lone beehives located connected farms, arsenic workplace operation statistic bash not number hives kept extracurricular cultivation settings. The existent full crossed each EU farms and non-farm locations whitethorn beryllium higher.

Greece’s 1.2 cardinal beehives fertile 3rd crossed the EU

The maturation was not azygous crossed the bloc. Among countries with disposable data, 12 EU subordinate states reported much beehives successful 2023 than successful 2020. Italy recorded the biggest jump, adding implicit 822,000 hives, a emergence of 79%.

There were 9.4 cardinal beehives connected EU farms successful 2023. 🐝🐝

Highest numbers among EU countries in:
🇮🇹Italy (1.9 cardinal beehives connected farms
🇷🇴Romania (1.7 million)
🇬🇷Greece (1.2 million)

Read much 👉https://t.co/I9Ge2VuGFl#WorldBeeDay pic.twitter.com/IFW3DzAERV

— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) May 20, 2026

At the aforesaid time, 10 countries saw their hive numbers fall. Hungary recorded the steepest drop, losing astir 152,000 hives, a diminution of 34%, portion Spain saw its number shrink by astir 131,000 hives, oregon 14%.

Bees play a cardinal relation successful food production by pollinating a wide scope of crops grown successful some lukewarm and chill climates. They past acold winters by staying wrong their hives and drafting connected stored chromatic reserves.

EU’s ‘New Deal for Pollinators’ targets afloat betterment by 2030

The timing of this information merchandise aligns with broader EU efforts to support pollinators. In 2023, the European Commission enactment guardant a program called “A New Deal for Pollinators,” which updated a 2018 inaugural and responded straight to a European Citizens’ Initiative calling connected policymakers to support some bees and farmers.

The program calls connected EU institutions and subordinate states to instrumentality factual steps to reverse the diminution of chaotic pollinating insects by 2030.

Researchers and policymakers spot this extremity arsenic intimately connected to the EU’s broader Nature Restoration Regulation and its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.