Land animals slaughtered for meat in United States
United States: Land animals slaughtered for meat was 9.57 billion in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
9.57 billion
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
2nd
of 199 countries
All-time high
9.57 billion
in 2024
All-time low
2.26 billion
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Land animals slaughtered for meat in United States, 1961–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2024, land animals slaughtered for meat in United States stood at 9.57 billion. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land animals slaughtered for meat in United States peaked at 9.57 billion in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.26 billion, in 1961.
That places United States 2nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land animals slaughtered for meat in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.26 billion | — |
| 1962 | 2.29 billion | +1.2% |
| 1963 | 2.35 billion | +2.7% |
| 1964 | 2.42 billion | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 2.58 billion | +6.6% |
| 1966 | 2.46 billion | -4.8% |
| 1967 | 2.94 billion | +19.5% |
| 1968 | 2.93 billion | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 3.10 billion | +5.5% |
| 1970 | 3.24 billion | +4.6% |
| 1971 | 3.23 billion | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 3.34 billion | +3.5% |
| 1973 | 3.25 billion | -2.6% |
| 1974 | 3.25 billion | -0.1% |
| 1975 | 3.09 billion | -4.8% |
| 1976 | 3.43 billion | +11.0% |
| 1977 | 3.53 billion | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 3.71 billion | +5.1% |
| 1979 | 4.04 billion | +9.1% |
| 1980 | 4.13 billion | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 4.28 billion | +3.5% |
| 1982 | 4.27 billion | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 4.31 billion | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 4.46 billion | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 4.73 billion | +6.0% |
| 1986 | 4.62 billion | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 5.17 billion | +12.0% |
| 1988 | 5.35 billion | +3.5% |
| 1989 | 5.68 billion | +6.2% |
| 1990 | 6.02 billion | +6.0% |
| 1991 | 6.31 billion | +4.8% |
| 1992 | 6.60 billion | +4.6% |
| 1993 | 6.86 billion | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 7.24 billion | +5.6% |
| 1995 | 7.53 billion | +4.0% |
| 1996 | 7.70 billion | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 7.90 billion | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 8.01 billion | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 8.29 billion | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 8.43 billion | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 8.61 billion | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 8.72 billion | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 8.68 billion | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 8.90 billion | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 9.00 billion | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 8.97 billion | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 9.04 billion | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 9.08 billion | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 8.66 billion | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 8.79 billion | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 8.68 billion | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 8.58 billion | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 8.65 billion | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 8.67 billion | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 8.82 billion | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 8.91 billion | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 9.05 billion | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 9.16 billion | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 9.34 billion | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 9.35 billion | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 9.33 billion | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 9.55 billion | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 9.50 billion | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 9.57 billion | +0.8% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 9.57 billion is above the median for high income countries, which is 63.32 million, 151.2× the median. (64 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.59 billion | 2.26 billion | 3.10 billion | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.41 billion | 3.09 billion | 4.04 billion | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.70 billion | 4.13 billion | 5.68 billion | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.25 billion | 6.02 billion | 8.29 billion | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.81 billion | 8.43 billion | 9.08 billion | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.87 billion | 8.58 billion | 9.34 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.46 billion | 9.33 billion | 9.57 billion | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More agriculture & rural data for United States
- 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 0.4694 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 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 1.22 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 11.96 % change on previous year (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0094 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2021)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 673.66 current US$ per person (2021)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.1831 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land animals slaughtered for meat in United States?
- Land animals slaughtered for meat in United States was 9.57 billion in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land animals slaughtered for meat recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 9.57 billion in 2024.
- What is the lowest land animals slaughtered for meat recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.26 billion in 1961.
- How does United States rank for land animals slaughtered for meat?
- United States ranks 2nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land animals slaughtered for meat rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from 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).