From 2015-2018, which country was the world's leading producer of olive oil?

Olives and olive oil are strongly associated with Mediterranean cooking, so it should come as no surprise that the world’s top producer of olives (and, thereby, olive oil) is Spain.

Olives are renowned for their health benefits, and the oil derived from them is widely used for cooking purposes. The olive tree’s fruit (also called the olive) is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil, a core ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, as well as a major export. Top markets for both olives and their oil include the Unites States, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Olive trees are believed to have been introduced to Iberia (the peninsula occupied by Spain and Portugal) by the Phoenicians and Greeks as much as 7,000 years ago. Many olive trees in the groves around the Mediterranean Sea are centuries old, with some dated at 2000 years. An olive tree on the island of Brijuni in Croatia, has a radiocarbon dating age of about 1,600 years, and still bears fruit (about 30 kg or 66 lb per year), which is made into olive oil.

The European Union is the largest producer of olive oil at global level, accounting for 69% of the world production, and Spain is the biggest producer of olive oil in the EU. From 2015-2018, on average, Spain accounted for 63% of the whole EU production, with the average production being 1.3 million tonnes (1,433,000 US tons) of oil per year. Spain is followed by Italy (17%), Greece (14%) and Portugal (5%).