Data / Number of chickens / World

Number of chickens in World

Number of chickens in the World was 27,680,730,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is up 2.1% from 2023.

2024, head27,680,730,000 Estimated
Change on 2023+2.1%
Series high27,680,730,0002024
Series low3,906,216,0001961

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

Get an email when a new figure is out or this one is revised.

Number of chickens in World, 1961 to 2024

05B10B15B20B25B30B19611971198119912001201120241961: 3,906,216,000 head1962: 4,048,266,000 head1963: 4,162,664,000 head1964: 4,230,748,000 head1965: 4,349,174,000 head1966: 4,445,126,000 head1967: 4,665,949,000 head1968: 4,822,623,000 head1969: 4,987,904,000 head1970: 5,209,083,000 head1971: 5,380,488,000 head1972: 5,538,232,000 head1973: 5,661,733,000 head1974: 5,803,304,000 head1975: 5,892,599,000 head1976: 6,061,004,000 head1977: 6,258,358,000 head1978: 6,586,930,000 head1979: 6,923,284,000 head1980: 7,217,897,000 head1981: 7,513,200,000 head1982: 7,747,450,000 head1983: 7,958,039,000 head1984: 8,274,055,000 head1985: 8,613,401,000 head1986: 9,058,319,000 head1987: 9,558,960,000 head1988: 9,930,714,000 head1989: 10,252,032,000 head1990: 10,619,453,000 head1991: 10,809,018,000 head1992: 11,185,593,000 head1993: 11,703,749,000 head1994: 12,288,056,000 head1995: 12,651,466,000 head1996: 13,329,075,000 head1997: 13,960,924,000 head1998: 12,942,946,000 head1999: 13,420,553,000 head2000: 14,120,529,000 head2001: 14,667,691,000 head2002: 15,852,064,000 head2003: 15,919,015,000 head2004: 16,486,248,000 head2005: 16,977,482,000 head2006: 17,373,920,000 head2007: 18,083,994,000 head2008: 18,786,785,000 head2009: 19,578,125,000 head2010: 20,109,259,000 head2011: 19,868,328,000 head2012: 20,425,762,000 head2013: 20,923,553,000 head2014: 21,128,839,000 head2015: 21,886,672,000 head2016: 22,606,087,000 head2017: 24,699,021,000 head2018: 25,123,685,000 head2019: 25,781,599,000 head2020: 25,978,406,000 head2021: 26,128,374,000 head2022: 26,734,785,000 head2023: 27,108,079,000 head2024: 27,680,730,000 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
202427,680,730,000 Estimated
202327,108,079,000 Estimated
202226,734,785,000 Estimated
202126,128,374,000 Estimated
202025,978,406,000 Estimated
201925,781,599,000 Estimated
201825,123,685,000 Estimated
201724,699,021,000 Estimated
201622,606,087,000 Estimated
201521,886,672,000 Estimated
201421,128,839,000 Estimated
201320,923,553,000 Estimated
201220,425,762,000 Estimated
201119,868,328,000 Estimated
201020,109,259,000 Estimated
200919,578,125,000 Estimated
200818,786,785,000 Estimated
200718,083,994,000 Estimated
200617,373,920,000 Estimated
200516,977,482,000 Estimated
200416,486,248,000 Estimated
200315,919,015,000 Estimated
200215,852,064,000 Estimated
200114,667,691,000 Estimated
200014,120,529,000 Estimated
199913,420,553,000 Estimated
199812,942,946,000 Estimated
199713,960,924,000 Estimated
199613,329,075,000 Estimated
199512,651,466,000 Estimated
199412,288,056,000 Estimated
199311,703,749,000 Estimated
199211,185,593,000
199110,809,018,000 Estimated
199010,619,453,000 Estimated
198910,252,032,000 Estimated
19889,930,714,000 Estimated
19879,558,960,000 Estimated
19869,058,319,000 Estimated
19858,613,401,000 Estimated
19848,274,055,000 Estimated
19837,958,039,000 Estimated
19827,747,450,000 Estimated
19817,513,200,000 Estimated
19807,217,897,000 Estimated
19796,923,284,000 Estimated
19786,586,930,000 Estimated
19776,258,358,000 Estimated
19766,061,004,000 Estimated
19755,892,599,000 Estimated
19745,803,304,000 Estimated
19735,661,733,000 Estimated
19725,538,232,000 Estimated
19715,380,488,000 Estimated
19705,209,083,000 Estimated
19694,987,904,000 Estimated
19684,822,623,000 Estimated
19674,665,949,000 Estimated
19664,445,126,000 Estimated
19654,349,174,000 Estimated
19644,230,748,000 Estimated
19634,162,664,000 Estimated
19624,048,266,000 Estimated
19613,906,216,000 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, 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): Chickens, stocks, 1000 head (item 1057, element 5112), Number of chickens, 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/chicken-population/world. 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, 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/chicken-population/world.

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, 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/chicken-population/world (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{food_number_of_chickens_world_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, 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/chicken-population/world. 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, 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/chicken-population/world
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/chicken-population/world.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

What is the latest number of chickens in World? Cite the source.
get_value {"indicator":"chicken_stocks","place":"world"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=chicken_stocks&place=world

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

What is the number of chickens in World?

Number of chickens in the World was 27,680,730,000 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is up 2.1% from 2023.

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 World?

27,680,730,000 head in 2024, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Related statistics for World

All statistics for World | World in figures