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Water abstraction in Europe for agriculture is very unevenly distributed: almost 90 % occurs in southern Europe, and only 10 % in the other parts of the continent. The area of arable land in Europe is around 113 million ha and its nearly 19 million ha is equipped for irrigation (irrigable area). Depending on the climatic conditions, the actually irrigated area is approximately 8 to 9 % of the total arable land. The shares of irrigated land are much higher in southern Europe, ranging from 28 % in Malta to 13 % in Spain and Portugal. Agriculture covers 40 to 60 % of the total water consumption in Europe, especially on irrigated land. Water consumption by agriculture shows the highest fluctuation throughout the year, since the demand for irrigation water rises sharply during spring and summer, especially in southern Europe. In southern Member States, agricultural water abstraction reaches approximately 80 % of total water abstraction (based on Eurostat data on agriculture (EEA, 2018b, 2019k).