Data / Number of chickens / South Africa

Number of chickens in South Africa

Number of chickens in South Africa was 175,199,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is unchanged from 2023. That is the 30th highest of 179 countries in 2024.

2024, head175,199,000 Estimated
Change on 2023-0%
Rank30th of 179Countries ranked
Series high200,000,0002011
Series low18,500,0001961

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 chickens in South Africa, 1961 to 2024

050M100M150M200M19611971198119912001201120241961: 18,500,000 head1962: 19,000,000 head1963: 19,500,000 head1964: 20,000,000 head1965: 20,500,000 head1966: 21,000,000 head1967: 21,500,000 head1968: 22,000,000 head1969: 22,000,000 head1970: 22,500,000 head1971: 26,000,000 head1972: 29,000,000 head1973: 33,500,000 head1974: 24,600,000 head1975: 25,000,000 head1976: 26,000,000 head1977: 27,000,000 head1978: 28,000,000 head1979: 29,000,000 head1980: 30,000,000 head1981: 31,000,000 head1982: 31,500,000 head1983: 32,000,000 head1984: 34,000,000 head1985: 36,000,000 head1986: 38,000,000 head1987: 40,000,000 head1988: 42,000,000 head1989: 44,000,000 head1990: 87,000,000 head1991: 88,000,000 head1992: 88,000,000 head1993: 92,000,000 head1994: 95,000,000 head1995: 100,000,000 head1996: 110,000,000 head1997: 115,000,000 head1998: 113,000,000 head1999: 119,000,000 head2000: 126,000,000 head2001: 138,000,000 head2002: 148,000,000 head2003: 144,000,000 head2004: 145,000,000 head2005: 121,000,000 head2006: 125,840,000 head2007: 141,000,000 head2008: 170,000,000 head2009: 185,000,000 head2010: 197,000,000 head2011: 200,000,000 head2012: 200,000,000 head2013: 161,600,000 head2014: 160,700,000 head2015: 162,000,000 head2016: 163,870,000 head2017: 167,033,000 head2018: 171,063,000 head2019: 174,303,000 head2020: 177,524,000 head2021: 177,561,000 head2022: 175,203,000 head2023: 175,215,000 head2024: 175,199,000 head
head. Source: FAOSTAT, Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-12-31.
All 64 values
Periodhead
2024175,199,000 Estimated
2023175,215,000 Estimated
2022175,203,000 Estimated
2021177,561,000 Estimated
2020177,524,000 Estimated
2019174,303,000 Estimated
2018171,063,000 Estimated
2017167,033,000 Estimated
2016163,870,000 Estimated
2015162,000,000
2014160,700,000
2013161,600,000
2012200,000,000 Estimated
2011200,000,000 Estimated
2010197,000,000 Estimated
2009185,000,000 Estimated
2008170,000,000 Estimated
2007141,000,000 Estimated
2006125,840,000
2005121,000,000
2004145,000,000 Estimated
2003144,000,000 Estimated
2002148,000,000 Estimated
2001138,000,000 Estimated
2000126,000,000 Estimated
1999119,000,000 Estimated
1998113,000,000 Estimated
1997115,000,000 Estimated
1996110,000,000 Estimated
1995100,000,000 Estimated
199495,000,000 Estimated
199392,000,000 Estimated
199288,000,000 Estimated
199188,000,000 Estimated
199087,000,000 Estimated
198944,000,000 Estimated
198842,000,000 Estimated
198740,000,000 Estimated
198638,000,000 Estimated
198536,000,000 Estimated
198434,000,000 Estimated
198332,000,000 Estimated
198231,500,000 Estimated
198131,000,000 Estimated
198030,000,000 Estimated
197929,000,000 Estimated
197828,000,000 Estimated
197727,000,000
197626,000,000
197525,000,000
197424,600,000
197333,500,000
197229,000,000
197126,000,000
197022,500,000
196922,000,000 Estimated
196822,000,000 Estimated
196721,500,000
196621,000,000
196520,500,000 Estimated
196420,000,000 Estimated
196319,500,000 Estimated
196219,000,000 Estimated
196118,500,000 Estimated

Rankings

Definition

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.

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.

How to cite

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.

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): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112) (Number of chickens, South Africa, 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): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112), Number of chickens, South Africa, 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/chicken-population/south-africa. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2025. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112). Number of chickens, South Africa, 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/chicken-population/south-africa.

Harvard

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112), Number of chickens, South Africa, 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/chicken-population/south-africa (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{food_number_of_chickens_south_2024,
  author = {{Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}},
  title = {{Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112): Number of chickens, South Africa, 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/chicken-population/south-africa. Publisher attribution: 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.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
TI  - Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112): Number of chickens, South Africa, 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/chicken-population/south-africa
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/chicken-population/south-africa.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the number of chickens in South Africa?

Number of chickens in South Africa was 175,199,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is unchanged from 2023. That is the 30th highest of 179 countries in 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest number of chickens in South Africa?

200,000,000 head in 2011, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of chickens in other countries

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All statistics for South Africa | South Africa in figures