Number of cattle in Canada

Canada: Number of cattle was 10.98 million animals in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
10.98 million animals
Change on year
down 2.3%
World rank
31st
of 196 countries
All-time high
14.93 million animals
in 2005
All-time low
10.67 million animals
in 1987
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Number of cattle in Canada, 1961–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of cattle in Canada is 10.98 million animals, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.3% on the previous year and down 8.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of cattle in Canada peaked at 14.93 million animals in 2005 and was at its lowest, 10.67 million animals, in 1987.

Canada ranks 31st of 196 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 11.48 million animals 10.70 million animals 12.13 million animals 9
1970s 12.85 million animals 11.63 million animals 14.28 million animals 10
1980s 11.46 million animals 10.67 million animals 12.17 million animals 10
1990s 12.43 million animals 11.22 million animals 13.41 million animals 10
2000s 13.91 million animals 13.03 million animals 14.93 million animals 10
2010s 11.94 million animals 11.51 million animals 12.67 million animals 10
2020s 11.36 million animals 10.98 million animals 11.54 million animals 5

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 28 South Africa 12.12 million animals compare
  2. 29 Uruguay 11.96 million animals compare
  3. 30 Bolivia 11.25 million animals compare
  4. 32 Myanmar 10.80 million animals compare
  5. 33 Germany 10.46 million animals compare
  6. 34 Burkina Faso 10.28 million animals compare

See the full ranking of 197 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of cattle in Canada?
Number of cattle in Canada was 10.98 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 Canada?
The highest recorded value was 14.93 million animals in 2005.
What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 10.67 million animals in 1987.
How does Canada rank for number of cattle?
Canada ranks 31st out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of cattle rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
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 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).

About this data

Indicator
Number of cattle
Unit
animals
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
197 places, 11,450 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed