Number of cattle in Kenya
Kenya: Number of cattle was 22.44 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
22.44 million animals
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
16th
of 197 countries
All-time high
26.77 million animals
in 2020
All-time low
6.80 million animals
in 1963
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Number of cattle in Kenya, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 22.44 million animals for number of cattle in 2024.
The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 23.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Kenya peaked at 26.77 million animals in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.80 million animals, in 1963.
Kenya ranks 16th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Number of cattle in Kenya, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7.20 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 7.37 million animals | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 6.80 million animals | -7.7% |
| 1964 | 7.40 million animals | +8.8% |
| 1965 | 7.50 million animals | +1.4% |
| 1966 | 7.74 million animals | +3.2% |
| 1967 | 7.73 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 7.75 million animals | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 7.80 million animals | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 8.60 million animals | +10.3% |
| 1971 | 8.90 million animals | +3.5% |
| 1972 | 9.20 million animals | +3.4% |
| 1973 | 9.38 million animals | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 9.62 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1975 | 9.71 million animals | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 9.50 million animals | -2.2% |
| 1977 | 9.40 million animals | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 10.20 million animals | +8.5% |
| 1979 | 11.45 million animals | +12.3% |
| 1980 | 10.00 million animals | -12.7% |
| 1981 | 9.80 million animals | -2.0% |
| 1982 | 11.00 million animals | +12.2% |
| 1983 | 12.50 million animals | +13.6% |
| 1984 | 13.08 million animals | +4.7% |
| 1985 | 12.50 million animals | -4.4% |
| 1986 | 12.60 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 12.64 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 13.05 million animals | +3.2% |
| 1989 | 13.46 million animals | +3.1% |
| 1990 | 13.79 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 13.07 million animals | -5.2% |
| 1992 | 13.00 million animals | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 13.00 million animals | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 13.00 million animals | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 12.78 million animals | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 11.51 million animals | -9.9% |
| 1997 | 11.41 million animals | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 11.69 million animals | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 12.79 million animals | +9.4% |
| 2000 | 11.44 million animals | -10.5% |
| 2001 | 11.48 million animals | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 11.94 million animals | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 12.53 million animals | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 13.02 million animals | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 13.02 million animals | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 12.42 million animals | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 17.54 million animals | +41.2% |
| 2008 | 18.38 million animals | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 17.47 million animals | -5.0% |
| 2010 | 17.86 million animals | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 18.17 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 19.13 million animals | +5.3% |
| 2013 | 18.14 million animals | -5.2% |
| 2014 | 18.25 million animals | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 18.73 million animals | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 20.53 million animals | +9.6% |
| 2017 | 18.34 million animals | -10.7% |
| 2018 | 19.64 million animals | +7.1% |
| 2019 | 20.88 million animals | +6.4% |
| 2020 | 26.77 million animals | +28.2% |
| 2021 | 22.85 million animals | -14.6% |
| 2022 | 20.83 million animals | -8.9% |
| 2023 | 21.88 million animals | +5.0% |
| 2024 | 22.44 million animals | +2.5% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 22.44 million animals is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.73 million animals, 8.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 22.44 million animals is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.41 million animals, 9.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of cattle in Kenya 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +41.2% | 12.42 million animals | 17.54 million animals |
| 2020 | +28.2% | 20.88 million animals | 26.77 million animals |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.48 million animals | 6.80 million animals | 7.80 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.60 million animals | 8.60 million animals | 11.45 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.06 million animals | 9.80 million animals | 13.46 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.60 million animals | 11.41 million animals | 13.79 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.92 million animals | 11.44 million animals | 18.38 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.97 million animals | 17.86 million animals | 20.88 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.95 million animals | 20.83 million animals | 26.77 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 547.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6779 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Kenya?
- Number of cattle in Kenya was 22.44 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 26.77 million animals in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.80 million animals in 1963.
- How does Kenya rank for number of cattle?
- Kenya ranks 16th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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).