Spain produces almost half of the world’s olive oil
Spain are World Cup champions.
The Spaniards dethroned reigning champions Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday, capturing the country’s second global soccer title.
And with Spain on the minds of many, Farms.com thought it appropriate to look at that country’s ag industry and how it compares with the United States.
| Spain | United States |
Number of farms | 914,871 in 2020 ag census. Spain conducts its ag questionnaires every 10 years. | 1.9 million in 2022 ag census. The U.S. does its ag census every five years. |
Average farm size | 64 acres | 463 acres |
Annual ag exports | Over US$85 billion annually | About $171 billion annually |
Top exports to each other | Exported US$837 million of olive oil to the U.S. in 2025 | Exported US$784 million of corn to Spain in 2025 |
Dominant agricultural region(s) | Andalusia in the south is the world’s leading producer of olive oil. Farmers there grow cereals, sunflowers, and nuts too. | The Midwest for its grain and cereal production. California for specialty crops like fruits and vegetables. |
Agriculture and agri-food as a percentage of national GDP | About 11 percent | About 6 percent |
Unique challenge farmers face | Water availability and desertification. U.N. estimates 75 percent of the country is at risk of becoming a desert in the next century. | Scale and sustainability. Larger operations, higher input costs, and thin margins leave farmers with little room for error to for the farm’s successful future. |
Where modern tech fits into ag | Producing goods while managing limited resources | Doing more, more efficiently. |
Domestic farm equipment manufacturers | Sola Maquinaria Agricola – seed drills, tillage equipment Jympa – soil preparation equipment Herculano – trailers and implements | John Deere Case IH AGCO |
And as it turns out, one current Spanish player has ties to agriculture.
Felix Williams, the father of Nico Williams, who was born in Pamplona, a Spanish region known for its vegetables, grew up in a farming family in Kintampo, a farming hub in Ghana.
Felix and Nico’s mother, Maria, crossed the Sahara Desert on foot into Spain to build a better life for their family.