Number of cattle in World

Number of cattle in the World was 1,578,614,149 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is up 0.3% from 2023.

2024, head1,578,614,149 Estimated

Change on 2023+0.3%

Series high1,578,614,1492024

Series low942,122,0971961

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 World, 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	1,578,614,149 Estimated
2023	1,574,141,046 Estimated
2022	1,555,410,381
2021	1,540,784,473
2020	1,526,880,528
2019	1,505,102,500
2018	1,488,157,584
2017	1,480,255,616
2016	1,470,779,878
2015	1,451,329,498
2014	1,439,191,732
2013	1,432,327,901
2012	1,428,660,570
2011	1,416,742,920
2010	1,412,123,996
2009	1,409,791,484
2008	1,415,189,980
2007	1,402,871,232
2006	1,392,084,959
2005	1,375,682,780
2004	1,360,517,521
2003	1,346,073,125
2002	1,332,192,713
2001	1,320,641,636
2000	1,319,670,536
1999	1,316,521,397
1998	1,313,066,905
1997	1,311,768,147
1996	1,332,924,534
1995	1,330,057,910
1994	1,321,016,835
1993	1,310,377,228
1992	1,309,777,478
1991	1,302,206,293
1990	1,299,122,399
1989	1,291,426,005
1988	1,274,153,574
1987	1,268,378,674
1986	1,268,268,786
1985	1,261,444,212
1984	1,256,544,676
1983	1,249,448,026
1982	1,242,183,541
1981	1,228,366,016
1980	1,216,682,145
1979	1,210,627,837
1978	1,205,679,621
1977	1,204,063,622
1976	1,199,300,412
1975	1,187,875,123
1974	1,166,714,169
1973	1,138,667,102
1972	1,119,270,076
1971	1,096,587,746
1970	1,081,581,057
1969	1,069,826,761
1968	1,064,606,627
1967	1,049,721,175
1966	1,027,693,877
1965	1,008,857,195
1964	987,525,060
1963	970,331,395
1962	957,121,229
1961	942,122,097

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

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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, World, 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, World, 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/world. 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, World, 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/world.

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, World, 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/world (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{food_number_of_cattle_world_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, World, 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/world. 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, World, 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/world
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/world.
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 World?

Number of cattle in the World was 1,578,614,149 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is up 0.3% from 2023.

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 World?

1,578,614,149 head in 2024, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Related statistics for World

All statistics for World | World in figures