Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Ireland
Ireland: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 1.91 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.91 million animals
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
35th
of 198 countries
All-time high
2.13 million animals
in 1999
All-time low
488,500 animals
in 1964
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Ireland, 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 Ireland stood at 1.91 million animals.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Ireland peaked at 2.13 million animals in 1999 and was at its lowest, 488,500 animals, in 1964.
Ireland ranks 35th of 198 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Ireland, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 640,100 animals | — |
| 1962 | 585,600 animals | -8.5% |
| 1963 | 598,900 animals | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 488,500 animals | -18.4% |
| 1965 | 490,700 animals | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 617,700 animals | +25.9% |
| 1967 | 952,000 animals | +54.1% |
| 1968 | 816,000 animals | -14.3% |
| 1969 | 831,700 animals | +1.9% |
| 1970 | 903,900 animals | +8.7% |
| 1971 | 914,700 animals | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 782,900 animals | -14.4% |
| 1973 | 869,900 animals | +11.1% |
| 1974 | 1.36 million animals | +56.1% |
| 1975 | 1.75 million animals | +28.7% |
| 1976 | 1.30 million animals | -25.9% |
| 1977 | 1.46 million animals | +12.5% |
| 1978 | 1.47 million animals | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 1.46 million animals | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 1.67 million animals | +14.2% |
| 1981 | 1.19 million animals | -28.9% |
| 1982 | 1.24 million animals | +4.3% |
| 1983 | 1.26 million animals | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 1.40 million animals | +10.8% |
| 1985 | 1.52 million animals | +8.7% |
| 1986 | 1.70 million animals | +11.7% |
| 1987 | 1.59 million animals | -6.4% |
| 1988 | 1.45 million animals | -8.4% |
| 1989 | 1.37 million animals | -5.8% |
| 1990 | 1.58 million animals | +15.3% |
| 1991 | 1.71 million animals | +8.5% |
| 1992 | 1.72 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 1.60 million animals | -6.8% |
| 1994 | 1.44 million animals | -10.2% |
| 1995 | 1.51 million animals | +5.4% |
| 1996 | 1.65 million animals | +9.0% |
| 1997 | 1.80 million animals | +9.1% |
| 1998 | 1.92 million animals | +6.8% |
| 1999 | 2.13 million animals | +11.0% |
| 2000 | 1.89 million animals | -11.6% |
| 2001 | 1.89 million animals | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 1.78 million animals | -5.9% |
| 2003 | 1.86 million animals | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 1.81 million animals | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 1.69 million animals | -7.1% |
| 2006 | 1.77 million animals | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 1.77 million animals | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 1.66 million animals | -6.0% |
| 2009 | 1.60 million animals | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 1.72 million animals | +7.3% |
| 2011 | 1.64 million animals | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 1.48 million animals | -9.7% |
| 2013 | 1.59 million animals | +7.1% |
| 2014 | 1.75 million animals | +10.1% |
| 2015 | 1.66 million animals | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 1.74 million animals | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 1.85 million animals | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 1.90 million animals | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 1.85 million animals | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 1.88 million animals | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 1.79 million animals | -4.8% |
| 2022 | 1.91 million animals | +6.7% |
| 2023 | 1.87 million animals | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 1.91 million animals | +1.9% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 1.91 million animals is above the median for high income countries, which is 161,025 animals, 11.8× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 1.91 million animals is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 433,650 animals, 4.4× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 669,022 animals | 488,500 animals | 952,000 animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.23 million animals | 782,900 animals | 1.75 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.44 million animals | 1.19 million animals | 1.70 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.71 million animals | 1.44 million animals | 2.13 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.77 million animals | 1.60 million animals | 1.89 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.72 million animals | 1.48 million animals | 1.90 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.87 million animals | 1.79 million animals | 1.91 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More agriculture & rural data for Ireland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 22.64 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0106 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,391 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.9559 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3541 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Ireland?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Ireland was 1.91 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.13 million animals in 1999.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 488,500 animals in 1964.
- How does Ireland rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Ireland ranks 35th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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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