Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada
Canada: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 3.41 million animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
3.41 million animals
Change on year
down 3.4%
World rank
18th
of 198 countries
All-time high
5.48 million animals
in 1976
All-time low
2.91 million animals
in 2015
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
Canada recorded 3.41 million animals for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.4% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada peaked at 5.48 million animals in 1976 and was at its lowest, 2.91 million animals, in 2015.
That places Canada 18th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.60 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 3.66 million animals | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 3.73 million animals | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 4.12 million animals | +10.5% |
| 1965 | 4.67 million animals | +13.4% |
| 1966 | 4.41 million animals | -5.7% |
| 1967 | 4.35 million animals | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 4.44 million animals | +2.2% |
| 1969 | 4.08 million animals | -8.1% |
| 1970 | 4.02 million animals | -1.5% |
| 1971 | 4.21 million animals | +4.7% |
| 1972 | 4.04 million animals | -4.1% |
| 1973 | 3.95 million animals | -2.1% |
| 1974 | 4.28 million animals | +8.3% |
| 1975 | 5.20 million animals | +21.4% |
| 1976 | 5.48 million animals | +5.4% |
| 1977 | 5.35 million animals | -2.3% |
| 1978 | 4.76 million animals | -11.0% |
| 1979 | 3.97 million animals | -16.7% |
| 1980 | 4.06 million animals | +2.3% |
| 1981 | 4.25 million animals | +4.8% |
| 1982 | 4.39 million animals | +3.1% |
| 1983 | 4.33 million animals | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 4.22 million animals | -2.5% |
| 1985 | 4.23 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 4.10 million animals | -3.1% |
| 1987 | 3.70 million animals | -9.7% |
| 1988 | 3.58 million animals | -3.4% |
| 1989 | 3.62 million animals | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 3.35 million animals | -7.4% |
| 1991 | 3.15 million animals | -6.0% |
| 1992 | 3.23 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 3.03 million animals | -6.2% |
| 1994 | 3.06 million animals | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 3.15 million animals | +2.7% |
| 1996 | 3.51 million animals | +11.4% |
| 1997 | 3.63 million animals | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 3.76 million animals | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 3.94 million animals | +4.8% |
| 2000 | 3.84 million animals | -2.5% |
| 2001 | 3.80 million animals | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 3.84 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 3.52 million animals | -8.3% |
| 2004 | 4.44 million animals | +26.2% |
| 2005 | 4.47 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 4.16 million animals | -7.1% |
| 2007 | 3.82 million animals | -8.1% |
| 2008 | 3.84 million animals | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 3.71 million animals | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 3.75 million animals | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 4.05 million animals | +8.0% |
| 2012 | 3.96 million animals | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 3.91 million animals | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 3.17 million animals | -19.1% |
| 2015 | 2.91 million animals | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 3.09 million animals | +6.2% |
| 2017 | 3.29 million animals | +6.6% |
| 2018 | 3.46 million animals | +5.2% |
| 2019 | 3.60 million animals | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 3.54 million animals | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 3.71 million animals | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 3.65 million animals | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 3.53 million animals | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 3.41 million animals | -3.4% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 3.41 million animals is above the median for high income countries, which is 161,025 animals, 21.2× the median. (64 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.12 million animals | 3.60 million animals | 4.67 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.53 million animals | 3.95 million animals | 5.48 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.05 million animals | 3.58 million animals | 4.39 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.38 million animals | 3.03 million animals | 3.94 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.94 million animals | 3.52 million animals | 4.47 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.52 million animals | 2.91 million animals | 4.05 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.57 million animals | 3.41 million animals | 3.71 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More agriculture & rural data for Canada
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 31.61 % change on previous year (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,092 current US$ per person (2022)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1712 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Canada was 3.41 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 5.48 million animals in 1976.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.91 million animals in 2015.
- How does Canada rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Canada ranks 18th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada 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
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