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
Latest (2024)
8.69 million animals
Change on year
up 17.5%
World rank
9th
of 198 countries
All-time high
12.97 million animals
in 1978
All-time low
4.28 million animals
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
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 9th of 198 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Australia, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.28 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 5.12 million animals | +19.6% |
| 1963 | 5.93 million animals | +15.9% |
| 1964 | 6.44 million animals | +8.5% |
| 1965 | 6.84 million animals | +6.3% |
| 1966 | 6.32 million animals | -7.6% |
| 1967 | 5.65 million animals | -10.6% |
| 1968 | 5.66 million animals | +0.1% |
| 1969 | 5.61 million animals | -0.8% |
| 1970 | 5.86 million animals | +4.5% |
| 1971 | 5.87 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 6.42 million animals | +9.4% |
| 1973 | 8.15 million animals | +26.9% |
| 1974 | 7.26 million animals | -10.9% |
| 1975 | 8.44 million animals | +16.3% |
| 1976 | 10.62 million animals | +25.8% |
| 1977 | 11.98 million animals | +12.9% |
| 1978 | 12.97 million animals | +8.2% |
| 1979 | 11.35 million animals | -12.5% |
| 1980 | 8.89 million animals | -21.7% |
| 1981 | 8.44 million animals | -5.1% |
| 1982 | 8.69 million animals | +3.0% |
| 1983 | 9.11 million animals | +4.9% |
| 1984 | 7.31 million animals | -19.7% |
| 1985 | 7.04 million animals | -3.8% |
| 1986 | 7.40 million animals | +5.2% |
| 1987 | 7.98 million animals | +7.9% |
| 1988 | 8.11 million animals | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 7.24 million animals | -10.7% |
| 1990 | 7.94 million animals | +9.6% |
| 1991 | 8.38 million animals | +5.5% |
| 1992 | 8.72 million animals | +4.1% |
| 1993 | 8.48 million animals | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 8.28 million animals | -2.3% |
| 1995 | 8.27 million animals | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 7.93 million animals | -4.0% |
| 1997 | 8.41 million animals | +6.0% |
| 1998 | 9.32 million animals | +10.8% |
| 1999 | 9.10 million animals | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 8.65 million animals | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 8.76 million animals | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 9.05 million animals | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 8.91 million animals | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 8.80 million animals | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 8.47 million animals | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 8.85 million animals | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 8.90 million animals | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 8.65 million animals | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 8.41 million animals | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 8.27 million animals | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 7.94 million animals | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 7.98 million animals | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 9.03 million animals | +13.2% |
| 2014 | 9.90 million animals | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 10.10 million animals | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 8.80 million animals | -12.9% |
| 2017 | 7.42 million animals | -15.6% |
| 2018 | 8.34 million animals | +12.4% |
| 2019 | 9.05 million animals | +8.5% |
| 2020 | 7.56 million animals | -16.5% |
| 2021 | 6.30 million animals | -16.6% |
| 2022 | 6.11 million animals | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 7.39 million animals | +20.9% |
| 2024 | 8.69 million animals | +17.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 8.69 million animals is above the median for high income countries, which is 161,025 animals, 54.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Australia's 8.69 million animals is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 117,197 animals, 74.1× the median. (29 countries reporting)
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 (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
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 9th out of 198 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).