Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Italy
Italy: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 2.61 million animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
2.61 million animals
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
27th
of 198 countries
All-time high
5.19 million animals
in 1985
All-time low
2.51 million animals
in 2014
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Italy, 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 Italy is 2.61 million animals, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 3.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Italy peaked at 5.19 million animals in 1985 and was at its lowest, 2.51 million animals, in 2014.
That places Italy 27th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Italy, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.90 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 4.12 million animals | +5.7% |
| 1963 | 3.81 million animals | -7.7% |
| 1964 | 3.21 million animals | -15.6% |
| 1965 | 3.35 million animals | +4.3% |
| 1966 | 3.95 million animals | +17.8% |
| 1967 | 4.27 million animals | +8.3% |
| 1968 | 4.58 million animals | +7.1% |
| 1969 | 5.02 million animals | +9.6% |
| 1970 | 5.19 million animals | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 5.13 million animals | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 4.81 million animals | -6.2% |
| 1973 | 4.92 million animals | +2.3% |
| 1974 | 4.97 million animals | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 4.51 million animals | -9.3% |
| 1976 | 4.63 million animals | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 4.78 million animals | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 4.68 million animals | -2.0% |
| 1979 | 4.98 million animals | +6.4% |
| 1980 | 5.12 million animals | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 4.90 million animals | -4.3% |
| 1982 | 4.79 million animals | -2.3% |
| 1983 | 4.86 million animals | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 5.13 million animals | +5.5% |
| 1985 | 5.19 million animals | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 5.10 million animals | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 4.97 million animals | -2.4% |
| 1988 | 4.92 million animals | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 4.87 million animals | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 4.88 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 4.95 million animals | +1.5% |
| 1992 | 5.06 million animals | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 4.86 million animals | -4.0% |
| 1994 | 4.75 million animals | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 4.73 million animals | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 4.63 million animals | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 4.61 million animals | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 4.41 million animals | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 4.49 million animals | +1.9% |
| 2000 | 4.43 million animals | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 4.26 million animals | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 4.33 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 4.21 million animals | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 4.20 million animals | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 4.08 million animals | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 4.05 million animals | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 3.96 million animals | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 3.82 million animals | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 3.81 million animals | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 3.83 million animals | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 3.56 million animals | -7.1% |
| 2012 | 3.41 million animals | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 3.01 million animals | -11.8% |
| 2014 | 2.51 million animals | -16.5% |
| 2015 | 2.63 million animals | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 2.75 million animals | +4.6% |
| 2017 | 2.56 million animals | -6.9% |
| 2018 | 2.77 million animals | +8.1% |
| 2019 | 2.73 million animals | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 2.69 million animals | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 2.77 million animals | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 2.80 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 2.54 million animals | -9.2% |
| 2024 | 2.61 million animals | +2.6% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 2.61 million animals is above the median for high income countries, which is 161,025 animals, 16.2× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Italy's 2.61 million animals is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 433,650 animals, 6.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.02 million animals | 3.21 million animals | 5.02 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.86 million animals | 4.51 million animals | 5.19 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.98 million animals | 4.79 million animals | 5.19 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.74 million animals | 4.41 million animals | 5.06 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.11 million animals | 3.81 million animals | 4.43 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.98 million animals | 2.51 million animals | 3.83 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.68 million animals | 2.54 million animals | 2.80 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Italy
- 24 United Kingdom 2.85 million animals compare
- 25 Bangladesh 2.81 million animals compare
- 26 Zimbabwe 2.74 million animals compare
- 28 Spain 2.48 million animals compare
- 29 Kazakhstan 2.44 million animals compare
- 30 Paraguay 2.31 million animals compare
More agriculture & rural data for Italy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.12 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0207 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 894.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.3131 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3032 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Italy?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Italy was 2.61 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 5.19 million animals in 1985.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.51 million animals in 2014.
- How does Italy rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Italy ranks 27th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Italy 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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