Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Iceland
Iceland: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 22,453 animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Iceland, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
In 2024, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Iceland stood at 22,453 animals.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and up 27.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Iceland peaked at 41,500 animals in 1967 and was at its lowest, 17,658 animals, in 2014.
Iceland ranks 145th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 36,382 animals | 27,021 animals | 41,500 animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 34,337 animals | 28,826 animals | 38,117 animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 25,843 animals | 22,635 animals | 29,871 animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 23,822 animals | 21,834 animals | 25,948 animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 21,217 animals | 17,863 animals | 24,252 animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 21,370 animals | 17,658 animals | 22,841 animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 22,640 animals | 21,462 animals | 23,459 animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More agriculture & rural data for Iceland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.41 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.7% (2025)
- Rural population 22,689 (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Rural population 5.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.7% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.7% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 3,160 hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Iceland?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Iceland was 22,453 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 Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 41,500 animals in 1967.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 17,658 animals in 2014.
- How does Iceland rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Iceland ranks 145th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland 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).