Number of cattle in Mexico
Mexico: Number of cattle was 36.93 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
36.93 million animals
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
11th
of 197 countries
All-time high
36.93 million animals
in 2024
All-time low
16.50 million animals
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Number of cattle in Mexico, 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 Mexico is 36.93 million animals, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Mexico peaked at 36.93 million animals in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.50 million animals, in 1961.
Mexico ranks 11th 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 Mexico, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 16.50 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 16.91 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 17.71 million animals | +4.7% |
| 1964 | 18.53 million animals | +4.6% |
| 1965 | 19.32 million animals | +4.3% |
| 1966 | 20.52 million animals | +6.2% |
| 1967 | 21.05 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1968 | 21.35 million animals | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 21.65 million animals | +1.4% |
| 1970 | 22.80 million animals | +5.3% |
| 1971 | 22.23 million animals | -2.5% |
| 1972 | 22.21 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 22.16 million animals | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 23.06 million animals | +4.1% |
| 1975 | 24.30 million animals | +5.4% |
| 1976 | 25.47 million animals | +4.8% |
| 1977 | 26.09 million animals | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 26.36 million animals | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 26.49 million animals | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 27.74 million animals | +4.7% |
| 1981 | 28.88 million animals | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 29.64 million animals | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 30.08 million animals | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 30.48 million animals | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 31.49 million animals | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 32.30 million animals | +2.6% |
| 1987 | 31.16 million animals | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 31.24 million animals | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 33.07 million animals | +5.9% |
| 1990 | 32.05 million animals | -3.1% |
| 1991 | 31.82 million animals | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 31.16 million animals | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 31.97 million animals | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 31.77 million animals | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 31.32 million animals | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 30.29 million animals | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 30.77 million animals | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 31.06 million animals | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 30.18 million animals | -2.8% |
| 2000 | 30.52 million animals | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 30.62 million animals | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 31.41 million animals | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 31.48 million animals | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 31.25 million animals | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 30.99 million animals | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 31.16 million animals | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 31.40 million animals | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 31.76 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 32.31 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 32.64 million animals | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 32.94 million animals | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 31.93 million animals | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 32.40 million animals | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 32.94 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 33.50 million animals | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 33.78 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 34.28 million animals | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 34.82 million animals | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 35.23 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 35.65 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 36.00 million animals | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 36.34 million animals | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 36.62 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 36.93 million animals | +0.9% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 36.93 million animals is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 918,057 animals, 40.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 36.93 million animals is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.55 million animals, 23.8× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.28 million animals | 16.50 million animals | 21.65 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 24.12 million animals | 22.16 million animals | 26.49 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 30.61 million animals | 27.74 million animals | 33.07 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.24 million animals | 30.18 million animals | 32.05 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 31.29 million animals | 30.52 million animals | 32.31 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.45 million animals | 31.93 million animals | 35.23 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.31 million animals | 35.65 million animals | 36.93 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More agriculture & rural data for Mexico
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.4963 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0388 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 539.47 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5998 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1996 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Mexico?
- Number of cattle in Mexico was 36.93 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 36.93 million animals in 2024.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.50 million animals in 1961.
- How does Mexico rank for number of cattle?
- Mexico ranks 11th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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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