Number of cattle in China
China: Number of cattle was 70.33 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Number of cattle in China, 1961–2024
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 China is 70.33 million animals, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.4% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in China peaked at 108.76 million animals in 1996 and was at its lowest, 46.76 million animals, in 1962.
China ranks 5th of 196 countries on this measure, 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 | 52.11 million animals | 46.76 million animals | 57.72 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 55.73 million animals | 52.53 million animals | 57.50 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 62.42 million animals | 52.41 million animals | 76.11 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 91.88 million animals | 77.77 million animals | 108.76 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 89.79 million animals | 70.25 million animals | 104.40 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.97 million animals | 61.84 million animals | 68.74 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.21 million animals | 66.93 million animals | 73.56 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.30 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.7% (2025)
- Rural population 473.41 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -1.5% (2025)
- Rural population 33.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 99.99 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in China?
- Number of cattle in China was 70.33 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 108.76 million animals in 1996.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.76 million animals in 1962.
- How does China rank for number of cattle?
- China ranks 5th out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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.
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CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).