Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia
Australia: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 8.69 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
The most recent figure for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia is 8.69 million animals, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 17.5% on the previous year and down 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia peaked at 12.97 million animals in 1978 and was at its lowest, 4.28 million animals, in 1961.
Australia ranks 8th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.76 million animals | 4.28 million animals | 6.84 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.89 million animals | 5.86 million animals | 12.97 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.02 million animals | 7.04 million animals | 9.11 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.48 million animals | 7.93 million animals | 9.32 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.75 million animals | 8.41 million animals | 9.05 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.68 million animals | 7.42 million animals | 10.10 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.21 million animals | 6.11 million animals | 8.69 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 40.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.3% (2025)
- Rural population 3.39 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 12.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 19.46 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia was 8.69 million animals in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.97 million animals in 1978.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.28 million animals in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Australia ranks 8th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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