Beef production in Japan
Japan: Beef production was 461,905 tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
461,905 tonnes
Change on year
down 7.9%
World rank
30th
of 198 countries
All-time high
602,336 tonnes
in 1994
All-time low
142,748 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Beef production in Japan, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Japan recorded 461,905 tonnes for beef production in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.9% on the previous year and down 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, beef production in Japan peaked at 602,336 tonnes in 1994 and was at its lowest, 142,748 tonnes, in 1961.
That places Japan 30th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Beef production in Japan, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 142,748 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 146,125 tonnes | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 185,929 tonnes | +27.2% |
| 1964 | 237,165 tonnes | +27.6% |
| 1965 | 216,261 tonnes | -8.8% |
| 1966 | 154,206 tonnes | -28.7% |
| 1967 | 158,708 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1968 | 175,771 tonnes | +10.8% |
| 1969 | 236,389 tonnes | +34.5% |
| 1970 | 278,011 tonnes | +17.6% |
| 1971 | 296,173 tonnes | +6.5% |
| 1972 | 317,445 tonnes | +7.2% |
| 1973 | 245,769 tonnes | -22.6% |
| 1974 | 321,070 tonnes | +30.6% |
| 1975 | 352,664 tonnes | +9.8% |
| 1976 | 297,881 tonnes | -15.5% |
| 1977 | 361,175 tonnes | +21.2% |
| 1978 | 403,340 tonnes | +11.7% |
| 1979 | 401,665 tonnes | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 418,062 tonnes | +4.1% |
| 1981 | 470,717 tonnes | +12.6% |
| 1982 | 480,958 tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1983 | 494,934 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 536,061 tonnes | +8.3% |
| 1985 | 555,256 tonnes | +3.6% |
| 1986 | 558,620 tonnes | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 564,883 tonnes | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 569,803 tonnes | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 547,958 tonnes | -3.8% |
| 1990 | 549,479 tonnes | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 575,160 tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1992 | 591,660 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 594,346 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 602,336 tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 600,902 tonnes | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 554,507 tonnes | -7.7% |
| 1997 | 530,248 tonnes | -4.4% |
| 1998 | 529,349 tonnes | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 540,377 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 530,438 tonnes | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 458,600 tonnes | -13.5% |
| 2002 | 536,600 tonnes | +17.0% |
| 2003 | 496,000 tonnes | -7.6% |
| 2004 | 513,600 tonnes | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 499,470 tonnes | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 496,992 tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 503,902 tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 519,879 tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 517,020 tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 514,959 tonnes | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 500,370 tonnes | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 518,650 tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 507,985 tonnes | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 502,135 tonnes | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 481,019 tonnes | -4.2% |
| 2016 | 464,351 tonnes | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 469,096 tonnes | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 475,336 tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 470,918 tonnes | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 477,457 tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 477,635 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 491,266 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 501,585 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 461,905 tonnes | -7.9% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 461,905 tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 42,740 tonnes, 10.8× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Japan's 461,905 tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20,349 tonnes, 22.7× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Beef production in Japan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | +34.5% | 175,771 tonnes | 236,389 tonnes |
| 1966 | -28.7% | 216,261 tonnes | 154,206 tonnes |
| 1974 | +30.6% | 245,769 tonnes | 321,070 tonnes |
| 1963 | +27.2% | 146,125 tonnes | 185,929 tonnes |
| 1964 | +27.6% | 185,929 tonnes | 237,165 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 183,700 tonnes | 142,748 tonnes | 237,165 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 327,519 tonnes | 245,769 tonnes | 403,340 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 519,725 tonnes | 418,062 tonnes | 569,803 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 566,836 tonnes | 529,349 tonnes | 602,336 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 507,250 tonnes | 458,600 tonnes | 536,600 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 490,482 tonnes | 464,351 tonnes | 518,650 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 481,970 tonnes | 461,905 tonnes | 501,585 tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More agriculture & rural data for Japan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.95 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0096 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 323.87 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.0% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is beef production in Japan?
- Beef production in Japan was 461,905 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 602,336 tonnes in 1994.
- What is the lowest beef production recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 142,748 tonnes in 1961.
- How does Japan rank for beef production?
- Japan ranks 30th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is beef production rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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).