Beef production in Canada
Canada: Beef production was 1.29 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.29 million tonnes
Change on year
down 3.9%
World rank
13th
of 198 countries
All-time high
1.50 million tonnes
in 2004
All-time low
655,323 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Beef production in Canada, 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 Canada stood at 1.29 million tonnes.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.9% on the previous year and up 20.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, beef production in Canada peaked at 1.50 million tonnes in 2004 and was at its lowest, 655,323 tonnes, in 1961.
Canada ranks 13th 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 Canada, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 655,323 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 665,216 tonnes | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 702,979 tonnes | +5.7% |
| 1964 | 777,694 tonnes | +10.6% |
| 1965 | 867,470 tonnes | +11.5% |
| 1966 | 858,537 tonnes | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 845,945 tonnes | -1.5% |
| 1968 | 891,938 tonnes | +5.4% |
| 1969 | 846,394 tonnes | -5.1% |
| 1970 | 850,629 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 896,349 tonnes | +5.4% |
| 1972 | 897,588 tonnes | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 906,266 tonnes | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 953,071 tonnes | +5.2% |
| 1975 | 1.09 million tonnes | +14.1% |
| 1976 | 1.17 million tonnes | +7.2% |
| 1977 | 1.14 million tonnes | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 1.06 million tonnes | -6.9% |
| 1979 | 947,455 tonnes | -10.9% |
| 1980 | 970,706 tonnes | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 1.01 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 1982 | 1.03 million tonnes | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 1.03 million tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 990,722 tonnes | -4.0% |
| 1985 | 1.03 million tonnes | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 1.03 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 953,380 tonnes | -7.3% |
| 1988 | 947,380 tonnes | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 951,930 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 900,100 tonnes | -5.4% |
| 1991 | 865,960 tonnes | -3.8% |
| 1992 | 898,800 tonnes | +3.8% |
| 1993 | 859,630 tonnes | -4.4% |
| 1994 | 899,460 tonnes | +4.6% |
| 1995 | 928,210 tonnes | +3.2% |
| 1996 | 1.02 million tonnes | +9.5% |
| 1997 | 1.09 million tonnes | +7.2% |
| 1998 | 1.18 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 1999 | 1.26 million tonnes | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 1.26 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.26 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 1.30 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 1.20 million tonnes | -7.2% |
| 2004 | 1.50 million tonnes | +24.6% |
| 2005 | 1.47 million tonnes | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 1.33 million tonnes | -9.6% |
| 2007 | 1.28 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 2008 | 1.30 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 1.24 million tonnes | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 1.24 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 1.11 million tonnes | -10.9% |
| 2012 | 1.03 million tonnes | -7.2% |
| 2013 | 1.02 million tonnes | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 1.07 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 2015 | 1.02 million tonnes | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 1.11 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 2017 | 1.20 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 2018 | 1.27 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 2019 | 1.34 million tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2020 | 1.33 million tonnes | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 1.38 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 1.41 million tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 1.34 million tonnes | -4.9% |
| 2024 | 1.29 million tonnes | -3.9% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 1.29 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 42,740 tonnes, 30.2× the median. (64 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 790,166 tonnes | 655,323 tonnes | 891,938 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 990,981 tonnes | 850,629 tonnes | 1.17 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 994,243 tonnes | 947,380 tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 990,359 tonnes | 859,630 tonnes | 1.26 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.31 million tonnes | 1.20 million tonnes | 1.50 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.14 million tonnes | 1.02 million tonnes | 1.34 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.35 million tonnes | 1.29 million tonnes | 1.41 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More agriculture & rural data for Canada
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 31.61 % change on previous year (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,092 current US$ per person (2022)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1712 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is beef production in Canada?
- Beef production in Canada was 1.29 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 1.50 million tonnes in 2004.
- What is the lowest beef production recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 655,323 tonnes in 1961.
- How does Canada rank for beef production?
- Canada ranks 13th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is beef production rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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).