Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Nigeria
Nigeria: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 3.31 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
3.31 million animals
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
20th
of 198 countries
All-time high
3.31 million animals
in 2024
All-time low
649,648 animals
in 1962
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Nigeria, 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 Nigeria is 3.31 million animals, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Nigeria peaked at 3.31 million animals in 2024 and was at its lowest, 649,648 animals, in 1962.
That places Nigeria 20th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Nigeria, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 688,389 animals | — |
| 1962 | 649,648 animals | -5.6% |
| 1963 | 678,654 animals | +4.5% |
| 1964 | 768,538 animals | +13.2% |
| 1965 | 809,528 animals | +5.3% |
| 1966 | 766,867 animals | -5.3% |
| 1967 | 719,486 animals | -6.2% |
| 1968 | 698,418 animals | -2.9% |
| 1969 | 850,773 animals | +21.8% |
| 1970 | 863,207 animals | +1.5% |
| 1971 | 839,732 animals | -2.7% |
| 1972 | 725,838 animals | -13.6% |
| 1973 | 1.02 million animals | +40.0% |
| 1974 | 1.02 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 824,550 animals | -18.8% |
| 1976 | 1.08 million animals | +31.5% |
| 1977 | 1.01 million animals | -7.1% |
| 1978 | 1.13 million animals | +12.2% |
| 1979 | 1.25 million animals | +10.9% |
| 1980 | 1.64 million animals | +31.2% |
| 1981 | 1.51 million animals | -8.2% |
| 1982 | 1.69 million animals | +11.8% |
| 1983 | 1.86 million animals | +10.3% |
| 1984 | 1.94 million animals | +4.4% |
| 1985 | 2.02 million animals | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 1.98 million animals | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 1.92 million animals | -3.1% |
| 1988 | 2.01 million animals | +4.6% |
| 1989 | 1.40 million animals | -30.5% |
| 1990 | 1.44 million animals | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 1.50 million animals | +4.1% |
| 1992 | 1.21 million animals | -19.2% |
| 1993 | 1.47 million animals | +21.4% |
| 1994 | 1.80 million animals | +22.0% |
| 1995 | 1.83 million animals | +1.7% |
| 1996 | 2.14 million animals | +16.7% |
| 1997 | 2.14 million animals | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 2.14 million animals | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 2.14 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 2.14 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 2.43 million animals | +13.4% |
| 2002 | 2.75 million animals | +13.1% |
| 2003 | 2.37 million animals | -13.9% |
| 2004 | 2.49 million animals | +5.1% |
| 2005 | 2.35 million animals | -5.5% |
| 2006 | 2.00 million animals | -15.1% |
| 2007 | 2.52 million animals | +26.4% |
| 2008 | 2.52 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 2.54 million animals | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 2.50 million animals | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 2.95 million animals | +18.0% |
| 2012 | 3.00 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 3.10 million animals | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 3.14 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 3.16 million animals | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 3.04 million animals | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 3.11 million animals | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 3.16 million animals | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 3.19 million animals | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 3.21 million animals | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 3.25 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 3.27 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 3.29 million animals | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 3.31 million animals | +0.6% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 3.31 million animals is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 424,850 animals, 7.8× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 3.31 million animals is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 250,645 animals, 13.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | +40.0% | 725,838 animals | 1.02 million animals |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 736,700 animals | 649,648 animals | 850,773 animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 975,926 animals | 725,838 animals | 1.25 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.80 million animals | 1.40 million animals | 2.02 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.78 million animals | 1.21 million animals | 2.14 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.41 million animals | 2.00 million animals | 2.75 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.04 million animals | 2.50 million animals | 3.19 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.27 million animals | 3.21 million animals | 3.31 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More agriculture & rural data for Nigeria
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2298 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 281.32 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1218 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3622 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Nigeria?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Nigeria was 3.31 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 3.31 million animals in 2024.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 649,648 animals in 1962.
- How does Nigeria rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Nigeria ranks 20th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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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