Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in United States
United States: Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat was 32.16 million animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
32.16 million animals
Change on year
down 3.3%
World rank
4th
of 198 countries
All-time high
48.73 million animals
in 1976
All-time low
29.32 million animals
in 2015
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in United States, 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 United States stood at 32.16 million animals.
That represents a change of down 3.3% on the previous year and up 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in United States peaked at 48.73 million animals in 1976 and was at its lowest, 29.32 million animals, in 2015.
That places United States 4th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in United States, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 34.55 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 34.77 million animals | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 35.27 million animals | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 39.31 million animals | +11.4% |
| 1965 | 40.96 million animals | +4.2% |
| 1966 | 41.04 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 40.41 million animals | -1.5% |
| 1968 | 41.03 million animals | +1.6% |
| 1969 | 40.58 million animals | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 39.56 million animals | -2.5% |
| 1971 | 39.73 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 39.34 million animals | -1.0% |
| 1973 | 36.40 million animals | -7.5% |
| 1974 | 40.50 million animals | +11.3% |
| 1975 | 46.87 million animals | +15.7% |
| 1976 | 48.73 million animals | +4.0% |
| 1977 | 48.07 million animals | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 44.27 million animals | -7.9% |
| 1979 | 36.93 million animals | -16.6% |
| 1980 | 36.79 million animals | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 38.15 million animals | +3.7% |
| 1982 | 39.26 million animals | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 40.14 million animals | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 41.27 million animals | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 40.05 million animals | -3.0% |
| 1986 | 41.05 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 38.79 million animals | -5.5% |
| 1988 | 37.89 million animals | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 36.33 million animals | -4.1% |
| 1990 | 35.28 million animals | -2.9% |
| 1991 | 34.37 million animals | -2.6% |
| 1992 | 34.49 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 34.75 million animals | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 35.69 million animals | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 37.29 million animals | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 38.58 million animals | +3.4% |
| 1997 | 38.11 million animals | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 37.14 million animals | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 37.64 million animals | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 37.59 million animals | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 36.58 million animals | -2.7% |
| 2002 | 36.97 million animals | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 36.69 million animals | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 33.76 million animals | -8.0% |
| 2005 | 33.31 million animals | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 34.60 million animals | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 35.21 million animals | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 35.50 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 34.45 million animals | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 35.28 million animals | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 35.09 million animals | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 33.86 million animals | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 33.35 million animals | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 30.86 million animals | -7.5% |
| 2015 | 29.32 million animals | -5.0% |
| 2016 | 31.19 million animals | +6.4% |
| 2017 | 32.82 million animals | +5.2% |
| 2018 | 33.70 million animals | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 34.26 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 33.37 million animals | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 34.36 million animals | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 34.81 million animals | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 33.25 million animals | -4.5% |
| 2024 | 32.16 million animals | -3.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 32.16 million animals is above the median for high income countries, which is 161,025 animals, 199.7× the median. (64 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 38.66 million animals | 34.55 million animals | 41.04 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 42.04 million animals | 36.40 million animals | 48.73 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 38.97 million animals | 36.33 million animals | 41.27 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 36.33 million animals | 34.37 million animals | 38.58 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.46 million animals | 33.31 million animals | 37.59 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.97 million animals | 29.32 million animals | 35.28 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.59 million animals | 32.16 million animals | 34.81 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More agriculture & rural data for United States
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.96 % change on previous year (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0094 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 673.66 current US$ per person (2021)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.1831 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1981 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 0.9% (2021)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.9% (2021)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in United States?
- Yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat in United States was 32.16 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 48.73 million animals in 1976.
- What is the lowest yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.32 million animals in 2015.
- How does United States rank for yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- United States ranks 4th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yearly number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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.
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