# Number of cattle

Number of cattle (domestic cattle, not buffaloes) present in the country, as published in FAOSTAT's crops and livestock products domain. FAO asks for the count on one day of the year, usually the census or survey date, so the reference day differs between countries.

## Key facts

- Number of cattle in the World was 1,578,614,149 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Number of cattle in the United States was 87,157,400 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Brazil had the highest number of cattle of 190 countries in 2024, at 238,180,757 head, and Niue the lowest, at 113 head. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Published for 197 places, with figures from 1961 to 2024.
- Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

- Indicator id: `cattle_stocks`
- Unit: head
- Note: FAO fills gaps in national reporting with its own estimates and imputations, which are marked as estimated, and revises past years when countries send new figures.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/cattle_stocks

## Latest figures

| Place | Period | head | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|
| World | 2024 | 1,578,614,149 | FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data. |
| United States | 2024 | 87,157,400 | FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data. |

## Rankings

- [Countries](https://invokely.ai/rankings/cattle-population/countries.md) (196 places)
- [EU countries](https://invokely.ai/rankings/cattle-population/eu-countries.md) (27 places)