Number of cattle in Nepal
Nepal: Number of cattle was 5.20 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
5.20 million animals
Change on year
up 9.4%
World rank
53rd
of 197 countries
All-time high
7.47 million animals
in 2021
All-time low
4.75 million animals
in 2023
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Number of cattle in Nepal, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
In 2024, number of cattle in Nepal stood at 5.20 million animals.
That represents a change of up 9.4% on the previous year and down 28.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Nepal peaked at 7.47 million animals in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4.75 million animals, in 2023.
Nepal ranks 53rd of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Number of cattle in Nepal, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5.80 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 5.83 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 5.83 million animals | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 5.84 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 5.85 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 5.86 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 5.99 million animals | +2.1% |
| 1968 | 6.11 million animals | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 6.23 million animals | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 6.30 million animals | +1.2% |
| 1971 | 6.35 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 6.40 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 6.45 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 6.50 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 6.55 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 6.65 million animals | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 6.70 million animals | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 6.77 million animals | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 6.85 million animals | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 6.90 million animals | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 6.93 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 6.95 million animals | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 6.75 million animals | -2.9% |
| 1984 | 6.55 million animals | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 6.36 million animals | -2.9% |
| 1986 | 6.37 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 6.36 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 6.34 million animals | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 6.28 million animals | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 6.28 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 6.25 million animals | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 6.25 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 6.24 million animals | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 6.55 million animals | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 6.84 million animals | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 7.01 million animals | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 7.02 million animals | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 7.05 million animals | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 7.03 million animals | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 7.02 million animals | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 6.98 million animals | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 6.98 million animals | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 6.95 million animals | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 6.97 million animals | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 6.99 million animals | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 7.00 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 7.04 million animals | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 7.09 million animals | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 7.18 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 7.20 million animals | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 7.23 million animals | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 7.24 million animals | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 7.27 million animals | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 7.24 million animals | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 7.24 million animals | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 7.30 million animals | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 7.35 million animals | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 7.38 million animals | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 7.39 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 7.46 million animals | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 7.47 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 7.41 million animals | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 4.75 million animals | -35.9% |
| 2024 | 5.20 million animals | +9.4% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 5.20 million animals is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.73 million animals, 1.9× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 5.20 million animals is above the median for South Asia, which is 5.20 million animals, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of cattle in Nepal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | -35.9% | 7.41 million animals | 4.75 million animals |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.92 million animals | 5.80 million animals | 6.23 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 6.55 million animals | 6.30 million animals | 6.85 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.58 million animals | 6.28 million animals | 6.95 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.65 million animals | 6.24 million animals | 7.05 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.02 million animals | 6.95 million animals | 7.18 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.28 million animals | 7.20 million animals | 7.39 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.46 million animals | 4.75 million animals | 7.47 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More agriculture & rural data for Nepal
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.5 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2156 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 331.1 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.7937 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.33 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 21.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 21.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Nepal?
- Number of cattle in Nepal was 5.20 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 7.47 million animals in 2021.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.75 million animals in 2023.
- How does Nepal rank for number of cattle?
- Nepal ranks 53rd out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal 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).