Beef production in Australia
Australia: Beef production was 2.59 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.59 million tonnes
Change on year
up 15.9%
World rank
8th
of 198 countries
All-time high
2.66 million tonnes
in 2015
All-time low
642,924 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Beef production in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2024, beef production in Australia stood at 2.59 million tonnes.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.9% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, beef production in Australia peaked at 2.66 million tonnes in 2015 and was at its lowest, 642,924 tonnes, in 1961.
Australia ranks 8th of 198 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Beef production in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 642,924 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 803,950 tonnes | +25.0% |
| 1963 | 928,606 tonnes | +15.5% |
| 1964 | 1.00 million tonnes | +7.8% |
| 1965 | 1.03 million tonnes | +2.5% |
| 1966 | 946,333 tonnes | -7.8% |
| 1967 | 878,683 tonnes | -7.1% |
| 1968 | 904,285 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1969 | 934,766 tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1970 | 1.01 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 1971 | 1.05 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 1972 | 1.16 million tonnes | +11.2% |
| 1973 | 1.44 million tonnes | +23.5% |
| 1974 | 1.32 million tonnes | -8.1% |
| 1975 | 1.55 million tonnes | +17.0% |
| 1976 | 1.84 million tonnes | +19.0% |
| 1977 | 1.99 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 1978 | 2.18 million tonnes | +9.9% |
| 1979 | 2.02 million tonnes | -7.6% |
| 1980 | 1.56 million tonnes | -22.5% |
| 1981 | 1.47 million tonnes | -6.2% |
| 1982 | 1.58 million tonnes | +7.4% |
| 1983 | 1.54 million tonnes | -2.1% |
| 1984 | 1.35 million tonnes | -12.8% |
| 1985 | 1.31 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 1.38 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 1.52 million tonnes | +9.8% |
| 1988 | 1.59 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 1989 | 1.49 million tonnes | -6.1% |
| 1990 | 1.68 million tonnes | +12.4% |
| 1991 | 1.76 million tonnes | +4.9% |
| 1992 | 1.79 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 1.83 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 1.82 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 1.80 million tonnes | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 1.74 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 1.81 million tonnes | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 1.96 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 1999 | 2.01 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 1.99 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 2.08 million tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 2.09 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 2.00 million tonnes | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 2.11 million tonnes | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 2.09 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 2.19 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 2.17 million tonnes | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 2.14 million tonnes | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 2.11 million tonnes | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 2.13 million tonnes | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 2.13 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.15 million tonnes | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 2.36 million tonnes | +9.6% |
| 2014 | 2.60 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 2015 | 2.66 million tonnes | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 2.32 million tonnes | -13.0% |
| 2017 | 2.07 million tonnes | -10.7% |
| 2018 | 2.31 million tonnes | +11.6% |
| 2019 | 2.43 million tonnes | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 2.13 million tonnes | -12.6% |
| 2021 | 1.89 million tonnes | -10.9% |
| 2022 | 1.89 million tonnes | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 2.23 million tonnes | +18.3% |
| 2024 | 2.59 million tonnes | +15.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.59 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 42,740 tonnes, 60.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.59 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20,349 tonnes, 127.3× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 896,351 tonnes | 642,924 tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.56 million tonnes | 1.01 million tonnes | 2.18 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.48 million tonnes | 1.31 million tonnes | 1.59 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.82 million tonnes | 1.68 million tonnes | 2.01 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.10 million tonnes | 1.99 million tonnes | 2.19 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.32 million tonnes | 2.07 million tonnes | 2.66 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.15 million tonnes | 1.89 million tonnes | 2.59 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is beef production in Australia?
- Beef production in Australia was 2.59 million tonnes 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 beef production recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.66 million tonnes in 2015.
- What is the lowest beef production recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 642,924 tonnes in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for beef production?
- Australia ranks 8th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is beef production rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 Beef production. 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).