Number of cattle in Sri Lanka

Number of cattle in Sri Lanka was 1,125,450 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is up 0.3% from 2023. That is the 103rd highest of 190 countries in 2024.

2024, head1,125,450

Change on 2023+0.3%

Rank103rd of 190Countries ranked

Series high1,903,5761965

Series low945,1502016

Next release: Thursday, 31 December 2026, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Number of cattle in Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024

head. Source: FAOSTAT, Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-12-31.

All 64 values

Period	head
2024	1,125,450
2023	1,122,370
2022	1,127,630
2021	1,131,080
2020	1,103,570
2019	1,086,010
2018	1,110,740
2017	1,000,880
2016	945,150
2015	1,088,110
2014	1,104,780
2013	1,169,040
2012	1,235,540
2011	1,191,850
2010	1,169,670
2009	1,136,860
2008	1,195,610
2007	1,206,490
2006	1,184,710
2005	1,185,020
2004	1,160,900
2003	1,138,700
2002	1,112,950
2001	1,153,200
2000	1,147,600
1999	1,191,500
1998	1,178,400
1997	1,578,800
1996	1,644,000
1995	1,704,100
1994	1,702,500
1993	1,704,100
1992	1,567,562
1991	1,476,800
1990	1,772,700
1989	1,819,900
1988	1,788,000
1987	1,807,900
1986	1,782,500
1985	1,782,800
1984	1,737,900
1983	1,699,800
1982	1,698,600
1981	1,720,400
1980	1,644,300
1979	1,622,500
1978	1,541,300
1977	1,691,600
1976	1,743,754
1975	1,711,618
1974	1,717,711
1973	1,673,400
1972	1,617,011
1971	1,624,954
1970	1,593,306
1969	1,584,462
1968	1,659,603
1967	1,659,266
1966	1,745,759
1965	1,903,576
1964	1,851,187
1963	1,588,807
1962	1,363,785
1961	1,517,191

Rankings

Countries by number of cattle 196 places
EU countries by number of cattle 27 places

Definition

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.

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.

How to cite

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.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111) (Number of cattle, Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip

MLA 9

Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 31 Dec. 2025, https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/sri-lanka. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2025. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Number of cattle, Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/sri-lanka.

Harvard

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/sri-lanka (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{food_number_of_cattle_sri_2024,
  author = {{Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}},
  title = {{Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/sri-lanka. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
TI  - Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, Sri Lanka, 1961 to 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
PB  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/sri-lanka
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/sri-lanka.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the number of cattle in Sri Lanka?

Where does this figure come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest number of cattle in Sri Lanka?

1,903,576 head in 1965, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of cattle in other countries

Related statistics for Sri Lanka

All statistics for Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka in figures