Land animals slaughtered for meat in Australia
Australia: Land animals slaughtered for meat was 740.98 million animals in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Land animals slaughtered for meat in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
Australia recorded 740.98 million animals for land animals slaughtered for meat in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 27.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land animals slaughtered for meat in Australia peaked at 740.98 million animals in 2024 and was at its lowest, 36.32 million animals, in 1961.
Australia ranks 24th of 198 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.47 million animals | 36.32 million animals | 81.76 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 143.24 million animals | 91.33 million animals | 197.00 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 247.99 million animals | 213.97 million animals | 277.95 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 325.30 million animals | 283.70 million animals | 372.83 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 434.12 million animals | 394.00 million animals | 468.71 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 592.55 million animals | 512.17 million animals | 652.75 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 700.47 million animals | 658.26 million animals | 740.98 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 40.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.3% (2025)
- Rural population 3.39 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 12.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 19.46 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land animals slaughtered for meat in Australia?
- Land animals slaughtered for meat in Australia was 740.98 million animals in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 740.98 million animals in 2024.
- What is the lowest land animals slaughtered for meat recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.32 million animals in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for land animals slaughtered for meat?
- Australia ranks 24th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Land 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).
About this data
This data is based on the country of production, not consumption.