Number of cattle in Netherlands
Netherlands: Number of cattle was 3.56 million animals in 2024. ▼ Falling
Number of cattle in Netherlands, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 3.56 million animals for number of cattle in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.7% on the previous year and down 14.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Netherlands peaked at 5.52 million animals in 1984 and was at its lowest, 3.46 million animals, in 1971.
That places Netherlands 63rd out of 196 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.81 million animals | 3.57 million animals | 4.12 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.30 million animals | 3.46 million animals | 4.80 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.12 million animals | 4.55 million animals | 5.52 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.65 million animals | 4.21 million animals | 5.06 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.87 million animals | 3.75 million animals | 4.07 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.00 million animals | 3.69 million animals | 4.32 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.69 million animals | 3.56 million animals | 3.75 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More agriculture & rural data for Netherlands
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 22.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.7% (2025)
- Rural population 734,613 (2025)
- Rural population growth -6.6% (2025)
- Rural population 4.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.8% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.7% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.7% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 153,500 hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Netherlands?
- Number of cattle in Netherlands was 3.56 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 5.52 million animals in 1984.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.46 million animals in 1971.
- How does Netherlands rank for number of cattle?
- Netherlands ranks 63rd out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands 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).