Number of cattle in Australia
Australia: Number of cattle was 30.37 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Number of cattle in Australia, 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, number of cattle in Australia stood at 30.37 million animals.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Australia peaked at 33.43 million animals in 1976 and was at its lowest, 17.33 million animals, in 1961.
That places Australia 12th out of 196 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.65 million animals | 17.33 million animals | 20.61 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 28.81 million animals | 22.16 million animals | 33.43 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.29 million animals | 21.85 million animals | 26.20 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.28 million animals | 23.16 million animals | 26.85 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.67 million animals | 26.66 million animals | 28.39 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.17 million animals | 24.72 million animals | 29.29 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.52 million animals | 23.50 million animals | 30.37 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 40.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.3% (2025)
- Rural population 3.39 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 12.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 19.46 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Australia?
- Number of cattle in Australia was 30.37 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 number of cattle recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 33.43 million animals in 1976.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.33 million animals in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for number of cattle?
- Australia ranks 12th out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. 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 Number of cattle. 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).