Number of cattle in Zimbabwe

Number of cattle in Zimbabwe was 5,741,397 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 0.2% from 2023. That is the 47th highest of 190 countries in 2024.

2024, head5,741,397
Change on 2023-0.2%
Rank47th of 190Countries ranked
Series high6,614,0001977
Series low3,397,2101966

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

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Number of cattle in Zimbabwe, 1961 to 2024

3M4M5M6M7M19611971198119912001201120241961: 3,553,100 head1962: 3,614,260 head1963: 3,715,000 head1964: 3,501,193 head1965: 3,546,600 head1966: 3,397,210 head1967: 3,939,653 head1968: 4,071,000 head1969: 4,802,000 head1970: 5,190,000 head1971: 5,542,000 head1972: 5,601,000 head1973: 5,642,000 head1974: 5,732,000 head1975: 6,132,000 head1976: 6,316,000 head1977: 6,614,000 head1978: 6,027,000 head1979: 5,569,000 head1980: 5,279,000 head1981: 5,286,000 head1982: 5,662,000 head1983: 5,547,000 head1984: 5,465,000 head1985: 5,499,000 head1986: 5,783,000 head1987: 5,918,000 head1988: 5,820,000 head1989: 5,846,000 head1990: 6,407,000 head1991: 5,349,000 head1992: 6,024,000 head1993: 4,180,000 head1994: 4,300,000 head1995: 4,500,000 head1996: 5,436,214 head1997: 5,400,000 head1998: 5,668,000 head1999: 6,068,760 head2000: 6,186,000 head2001: 6,270,000 head2002: 5,673,000 head2003: 5,405,000 head2004: 5,227,000 head2005: 5,227,000 head2006: 4,987,000 head2007: 5,048,000 head2008: 5,012,000 head2009: 5,331,000 head2010: 5,773,620 head2011: 6,058,388 head2012: 6,100,000 head2013: 6,150,000 head2014: 4,868,357 head2015: 5,477,338 head2016: 5,528,242 head2017: 5,333,343 head2018: 5,320,047 head2019: 5,057,563 head2020: 5,195,154 head2021: 5,478,648 head2022: 5,533,727 head2023: 5,754,985 head2024: 5,741,397 head3M4M5M6M7M19611983200520241961: 3,553,100 head1962: 3,614,260 head1963: 3,715,000 head1964: 3,501,193 head1965: 3,546,600 head1966: 3,397,210 head1967: 3,939,653 head1968: 4,071,000 head1969: 4,802,000 head1970: 5,190,000 head1971: 5,542,000 head1972: 5,601,000 head1973: 5,642,000 head1974: 5,732,000 head1975: 6,132,000 head1976: 6,316,000 head1977: 6,614,000 head1978: 6,027,000 head1979: 5,569,000 head1980: 5,279,000 head1981: 5,286,000 head1982: 5,662,000 head1983: 5,547,000 head1984: 5,465,000 head1985: 5,499,000 head1986: 5,783,000 head1987: 5,918,000 head1988: 5,820,000 head1989: 5,846,000 head1990: 6,407,000 head1991: 5,349,000 head1992: 6,024,000 head1993: 4,180,000 head1994: 4,300,000 head1995: 4,500,000 head1996: 5,436,214 head1997: 5,400,000 head1998: 5,668,000 head1999: 6,068,760 head2000: 6,186,000 head2001: 6,270,000 head2002: 5,673,000 head2003: 5,405,000 head2004: 5,227,000 head2005: 5,227,000 head2006: 4,987,000 head2007: 5,048,000 head2008: 5,012,000 head2009: 5,331,000 head2010: 5,773,620 head2011: 6,058,388 head2012: 6,100,000 head2013: 6,150,000 head2014: 4,868,357 head2015: 5,477,338 head2016: 5,528,242 head2017: 5,333,343 head2018: 5,320,047 head2019: 5,057,563 head2020: 5,195,154 head2021: 5,478,648 head2022: 5,533,727 head2023: 5,754,985 head2024: 5,741,397 head
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
Periodhead
20245,741,397
20235,754,985
20225,533,727
20215,478,648
20205,195,154
20195,057,563
20185,320,047 Estimated
20175,333,343
20165,528,242
20155,477,338
20144,868,357
20136,150,000 Estimated
20126,100,000 Estimated
20116,058,388
20105,773,620
20095,331,000
20085,012,000
20075,048,000
20064,987,000
20055,227,000
20045,227,000
20035,405,000
20025,673,000
20016,270,000
20006,186,000
19996,068,760
19985,668,000
19975,400,000 Estimated
19965,436,214
19954,500,000
19944,300,000 Estimated
19934,180,000
19926,024,000
19915,349,000
19906,407,000
19895,846,000
19885,820,000
19875,918,000
19865,783,000
19855,499,000
19845,465,000
19835,547,000
19825,662,000
19815,286,000
19805,279,000
19795,569,000
19786,027,000
19776,614,000
19766,316,000
19756,132,000
19745,732,000
19735,642,000
19725,601,000
19715,542,000
19705,190,000
19694,802,000
19684,071,000
19673,939,653
19663,397,210
19653,546,600
19643,501,193
19633,715,000
19623,614,260
19613,553,100

Rankings

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, Zimbabwe, 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, Zimbabwe, 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/zimbabwe. 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, Zimbabwe, 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/zimbabwe.

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, Zimbabwe, 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/zimbabwe (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{food_number_of_cattle_zimbabwe_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, Zimbabwe, 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/zimbabwe. 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, Zimbabwe, 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/zimbabwe
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/zimbabwe.
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 Zimbabwe?

Number of cattle in Zimbabwe was 5,741,397 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 0.2% from 2023. That is the 47th highest of 190 countries in 2024.

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 Zimbabwe?

6,614,000 head in 1977, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of cattle in other countries

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