Daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa
South Africa: Daily number of animals slaughtered for meat was 8,667 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
8,667
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
22nd
of 198 countries
All-time high
9,967
in 2016
All-time low
5,619
in 1970
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2024, daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa stood at 8,667.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 6.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa peaked at 9,967 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 5,619, in 1970.
That places South Africa 22nd out of 198 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.
Daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6,016 | — |
| 1962 | 6,140 | +2.0% |
| 1963 | 6,236 | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 6,605 | +5.9% |
| 1965 | 6,701 | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 6,786 | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 6,027 | -11.2% |
| 1968 | 5,753 | -4.5% |
| 1969 | 5,753 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 5,619 | -2.3% |
| 1971 | 6,117 | +8.9% |
| 1972 | 6,680 | +9.2% |
| 1973 | 7,147 | +7.0% |
| 1974 | 7,003 | -2.0% |
| 1975 | 6,318 | -9.8% |
| 1976 | 7,022 | +11.1% |
| 1977 | 7,378 | +5.1% |
| 1978 | 8,180 | +10.9% |
| 1979 | 9,165 | +12.0% |
| 1980 | 8,234 | -10.2% |
| 1981 | 7,085 | -14.0% |
| 1982 | 7,356 | +3.8% |
| 1983 | 8,022 | +9.1% |
| 1984 | 8,192 | +2.1% |
| 1985 | 8,085 | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 7,740 | -4.3% |
| 1987 | 7,622 | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 6,395 | -16.1% |
| 1989 | 6,367 | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 7,301 | +14.7% |
| 1991 | 8,079 | +10.7% |
| 1992 | 8,425 | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 8,411 | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 7,460 | -11.3% |
| 1995 | 5,975 | -19.9% |
| 1996 | 6,142 | +2.8% |
| 1997 | 5,984 | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 5,912 | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 6,200 | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 7,444 | +20.1% |
| 2001 | 6,085 | -18.3% |
| 2002 | 6,948 | +14.2% |
| 2003 | 6,896 | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 7,329 | +6.3% |
| 2005 | 7,630 | +4.1% |
| 2006 | 8,364 | +9.6% |
| 2007 | 8,485 | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 7,962 | -6.2% |
| 2009 | 7,871 | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 7,942 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 7,986 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 7,932 | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 8,621 | +8.7% |
| 2014 | 9,229 | +7.1% |
| 2015 | 9,767 | +5.8% |
| 2016 | 9,967 | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 9,597 | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 9,071 | -5.5% |
| 2019 | 8,463 | -6.7% |
| 2020 | 8,867 | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 8,968 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 8,797 | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 8,649 | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 8,667 | +0.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 8,667 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 821.92, 10.5× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 8,667 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 686.7, 12.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6,224 | 5,753 | 6,786 | 9 |
| 1970s | 7,063 | 5,619 | 9,165 | 10 |
| 1980s | 7,510 | 6,367 | 8,234 | 10 |
| 1990s | 6,989 | 5,912 | 8,425 | 10 |
| 2000s | 7,501 | 6,085 | 8,485 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8,858 | 7,932 | 9,967 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,790 | 8,649 | 8,968 | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.1917 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0002 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 1.49 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa?
- Daily number of animals slaughtered for meat in South Africa was 8,667 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest daily number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 9,967 in 2016.
- What is the lowest daily number of animals slaughtered for meat recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5,619 in 1970.
- How does South Africa rank for daily number of animals slaughtered for meat?
- South Africa ranks 22nd out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is daily number of animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Daily number of animals slaughtered for meat. 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).