Number of cattle in Spain

Spain: Number of cattle was 6.17 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
6.17 million animals
Change on year
down 1.9%
World rank
43rd
of 196 countries
All-time high
6.65 million animals
in 2004
All-time low
3.64 million animals
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Number of cattle in Spain, 1961–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M196119922024

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 Spain is 6.17 million animals, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of cattle in Spain peaked at 6.65 million animals in 2004 and was at its lowest, 3.64 million animals, in 1961.

That places Spain 43rd out of 196 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 3.79 million animals 3.64 million animals 4.18 million animals 9
1970s 4.43 million animals 4.24 million animals 4.71 million animals 10
1980s 4.92 million animals 4.53 million animals 5.09 million animals 10
1990s 5.39 million animals 4.98 million animals 5.96 million animals 10
2000s 6.36 million animals 6.02 million animals 6.65 million animals 10
2010s 6.16 million animals 5.70 million animals 6.60 million animals 10
2020s 6.43 million animals 6.17 million animals 6.64 million animals 5

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 41 Vietnam 6.21 million animals compare
  2. 42 Poland 6.19 million animals compare
  3. 44 Cameroon 5.94 million animals compare
  4. 45 Peru 5.84 million animals compare
  5. 46 Italy 5.76 million animals compare

See the full ranking of 197 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of cattle in Spain?
Number of cattle in Spain was 6.17 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 Spain?
The highest recorded value was 6.65 million animals in 2004.
What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 3.64 million animals in 1961.
How does Spain rank for number of cattle?
Spain ranks 43rd out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of cattle rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain 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).

About this data

Indicator
Number of cattle
Unit
animals
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
197 places, 11,450 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed