Number of cattle in France
France: Number of cattle was 16.48 million animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Number of cattle in France, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
France recorded 16.48 million animals for number of cattle in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 14.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in France peaked at 24.08 million animals in 1976 and was at its lowest, 16.48 million animals, in 2024.
France ranks 21st of 196 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 20.64 million animals | 19.50 million animals | 21.68 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 23.10 million animals | 21.72 million animals | 24.08 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.01 million animals | 21.34 million animals | 23.92 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.54 million animals | 20.05 million animals | 21.39 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.08 million animals | 19.42 million animals | 21.26 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.05 million animals | 18.17 million animals | 19.56 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.08 million animals | 16.48 million animals | 17.82 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near France
- 18 Indonesia 18.07 million animals compare
- 19 Russian Federation 17.37 million animals compare
- 20 Turkiye 16.82 million animals compare
- 22 Venezuela, RB 15.75 million animals compare
- 23 Uganda 14.72 million animals compare
- 24 Uzbekistan 14.39 million animals compare
More agriculture & rural data for France
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 47.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.4% (2025)
- Rural population 14.54 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.0% (2025)
- Rural population 21.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.0% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.4% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.4% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 8.53 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in France?
- Number of cattle in France was 16.48 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 France?
- The highest recorded value was 24.08 million animals in 1976.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.48 million animals in 2024.
- How does France rank for number of cattle?
- France ranks 21st out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France 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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