# Number of chickens

Number of chickens present in the country, laying hens and birds raised for meat alike, as published in FAOSTAT's crops and livestock products domain. FAO publishes thousands of birds; Invokely multiplies by 1,000.

## Key facts

- Number of chickens in the World was 27,680,730,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Number of chickens in the United States was 1,555,000,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- China had the highest number of chickens of 179 countries in 2024, at 5,243,707,000 head, and Nauru the lowest, at 5,000 head. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Published for 199 places, with figures from 1961 to 2024.
- Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

- Indicator id: `chicken_stocks`
- Unit: head
- Note: A count on one day of the year, while broilers live a few weeks, so it understates the number of birds raised in a year. 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/chicken-population
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/chicken_stocks

## Latest figures

| Place | Period | head | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|
| World | 2024 | 27,680,730,000 | FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112). 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 | 1,555,000,000 | FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112). 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/chicken-population/countries.md) (198 places)
- [EU countries](https://invokely.ai/rankings/chicken-population/eu-countries.md) (27 places)