Number of cattle in Rwanda
Rwanda: Number of cattle was 1.55 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.55 million animals
Change on year
up 6.4%
World rank
96th
of 197 countries
All-time high
1.61 million animals
in 2020
All-time low
420,000 animals
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Number of cattle in Rwanda, 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 Rwanda stood at 1.55 million animals.
The figure is up 6.4% on the previous year and up 32.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Rwanda peaked at 1.61 million animals in 2020 and was at its lowest, 420,000 animals, in 1961.
That places Rwanda 96th out of 197 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 Rwanda, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 420,000 animals | — |
| 1962 | 443,000 animals | +5.5% |
| 1963 | 500,379 animals | +13.0% |
| 1964 | 516,300 animals | +3.2% |
| 1965 | 521,400 animals | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 614,722 animals | +17.9% |
| 1967 | 682,104 animals | +11.0% |
| 1968 | 625,152 animals | -8.3% |
| 1969 | 675,523 animals | +8.1% |
| 1970 | 709,354 animals | +5.0% |
| 1971 | 748,157 animals | +5.5% |
| 1972 | 742,512 animals | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 739,902 animals | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 705,347 animals | -4.7% |
| 1975 | 686,813 animals | -2.6% |
| 1976 | 637,641 animals | -7.2% |
| 1977 | 628,731 animals | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 647,206 animals | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 631,353 animals | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 634,321 animals | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 610,627 animals | -3.7% |
| 1982 | 626,615 animals | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 647,090 animals | +3.3% |
| 1984 | 628,143 animals | -2.9% |
| 1985 | 650,025 animals | +3.5% |
| 1986 | 614,230 animals | -5.5% |
| 1987 | 582,700 animals | -5.1% |
| 1988 | 579,230 animals | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 594,059 animals | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 581,812 animals | -2.1% |
| 1991 | 600,000 animals | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 550,000 animals | -8.3% |
| 1993 | 500,000 animals | -9.1% |
| 1994 | 453,827 animals | -9.2% |
| 1995 | 465,173 animals | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 500,000 animals | +7.5% |
| 1997 | 570,000 animals | +14.0% |
| 1998 | 657,137 animals | +15.3% |
| 1999 | 748,976 animals | +14.0% |
| 2000 | 732,123 animals | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 815,898 animals | +11.4% |
| 2002 | 815,450 animals | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 991,697 animals | +21.6% |
| 2004 | 1.00 million animals | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 1.01 million animals | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 1.12 million animals | +11.5% |
| 2007 | 1.15 million animals | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 1.19 million animals | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 1.22 million animals | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 1.33 million animals | +9.5% |
| 2011 | 1.14 million animals | -14.4% |
| 2012 | 1.14 million animals | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 1.13 million animals | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 1.17 million animals | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 1.35 million animals | +15.8% |
| 2016 | 1.21 million animals | -10.0% |
| 2017 | 1.17 million animals | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 1.29 million animals | +10.9% |
| 2019 | 1.41 million animals | +8.7% |
| 2020 | 1.61 million animals | +14.4% |
| 2021 | 1.50 million animals | -6.8% |
| 2022 | 1.42 million animals | -5.0% |
| 2023 | 1.45 million animals | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 1.55 million animals | +6.4% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 1.55 million animals is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.47 million animals, 63% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 1.55 million animals is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.41 million animals, 64% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 555,398 animals | 420,000 animals | 682,104 animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 687,702 animals | 628,731 animals | 748,157 animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 616,704 animals | 579,230 animals | 650,025 animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 562,692 animals | 453,827 animals | 748,976 animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.00 million animals | 732,123 animals | 1.22 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.23 million animals | 1.13 million animals | 1.41 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.51 million animals | 1.42 million animals | 1.61 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More agriculture & rural data for Rwanda
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.203 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 228.16 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.6953 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6909 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Rwanda?
- Number of cattle in Rwanda was 1.55 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 1.61 million animals in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 420,000 animals in 1961.
- How does Rwanda rank for number of cattle?
- Rwanda ranks 96th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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
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