Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 164,177 animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
164,177 animals
Change on year
up 12.2%
World rank
113th
of 198 countries
All-time high
251,850 animals
in 1971
All-time low
146,339 animals
in 2023
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka stood at 164,177 animals.
The figure is up 12.2% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Sri Lanka peaked at 251,850 animals in 1971 and was at its lowest, 146,339 animals, in 2023.
That places Sri Lanka 113th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 181,946 animals | — |
| 1962 | 214,880 animals | +18.1% |
| 1963 | 183,077 animals | -14.8% |
| 1964 | 187,065 animals | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 201,663 animals | +7.8% |
| 1966 | 213,673 animals | +6.0% |
| 1967 | 217,958 animals | +2.0% |
| 1968 | 229,239 animals | +5.2% |
| 1969 | 237,413 animals | +3.6% |
| 1970 | 234,720 animals | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 251,850 animals | +7.3% |
| 1972 | 242,324 animals | -3.8% |
| 1973 | 251,154 animals | +3.6% |
| 1974 | 247,756 animals | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 246,022 animals | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 222,493 animals | -9.6% |
| 1977 | 194,911 animals | -12.4% |
| 1978 | 189,269 animals | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 175,158 animals | -7.5% |
| 1980 | 178,048 animals | +1.6% |
| 1981 | 182,874 animals | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 182,659 animals | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 191,824 animals | +5.0% |
| 1984 | 199,464 animals | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 197,471 animals | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 194,034 animals | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 184,161 animals | -5.1% |
| 1988 | 162,794 animals | -11.6% |
| 1989 | 151,065 animals | -7.2% |
| 1990 | 152,245 animals | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 170,988 animals | +12.3% |
| 1992 | 190,461 animals | +11.4% |
| 1993 | 179,413 animals | -5.8% |
| 1994 | 192,264 animals | +7.2% |
| 1995 | 202,199 animals | +5.2% |
| 1996 | 179,790 animals | -11.1% |
| 1997 | 186,507 animals | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 183,159 animals | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 173,631 animals | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 206,015 animals | +18.7% |
| 2001 | 201,500 animals | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 205,000 animals | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 216,066 animals | +5.4% |
| 2004 | 206,980 animals | -4.2% |
| 2005 | 215,181 animals | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 193,300 animals | -10.2% |
| 2007 | 186,080 animals | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 163,720 animals | -12.0% |
| 2009 | 168,000 animals | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 203,520 animals | +21.1% |
| 2011 | 162,104 animals | -20.3% |
| 2012 | 173,828 animals | +7.2% |
| 2013 | 170,477 animals | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 151,024 animals | -11.4% |
| 2015 | 167,133 animals | +10.7% |
| 2016 | 168,132 animals | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 152,536 animals | -9.3% |
| 2018 | 158,361 animals | +3.8% |
| 2019 | 158,723 animals | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 162,481 animals | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 151,841 animals | -6.5% |
| 2022 | 147,562 animals | -2.8% |
| 2023 | 146,339 animals | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 164,177 animals | +12.2% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 164,177 animals is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 300,000 animals, 55% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 164,177 animals is below the median for South Asia, which is 484,000 animals, 34% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 207,435 animals | 181,946 animals | 237,413 animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 225,566 animals | 175,158 animals | 251,850 animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 182,439 animals | 151,065 animals | 199,464 animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 181,066 animals | 152,245 animals | 202,199 animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 196,184 animals | 163,720 animals | 216,066 animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 166,584 animals | 151,024 animals | 203,520 animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 154,480 animals | 146,339 animals | 164,177 animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More agriculture & rural data for Sri Lanka
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 9.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0836 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 418.3 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9172 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7955 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Sri Lanka?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in Sri Lanka was 164,177 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 251,850 animals in 1971.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 146,339 animals in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- Sri Lanka ranks 113th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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).