Meat production in China
China: Meat production was 97.86 million tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
97.86 million tonnes
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
1st
of 202 countries
All-time high
97.86 million tonnes
in 2024
All-time low
2.22 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Meat production in China, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2024, meat production in China stood at 97.86 million tonnes. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, meat production in China peaked at 97.86 million tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.22 million tonnes, in 1961.
China ranks 1st of 202 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Meat production in China, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.22 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 2.68 million tonnes | +20.8% |
| 1963 | 4.28 million tonnes | +59.5% |
| 1964 | 5.54 million tonnes | +29.5% |
| 1965 | 6.36 million tonnes | +14.8% |
| 1966 | 6.88 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 1967 | 7.24 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 1968 | 7.18 million tonnes | -0.9% |
| 1969 | 7.03 million tonnes | -2.1% |
| 1970 | 6.99 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 8.00 million tonnes | +14.4% |
| 1972 | 8.84 million tonnes | +10.5% |
| 1973 | 8.93 million tonnes | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 8.96 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 9.24 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 9.16 million tonnes | -0.8% |
| 1977 | 9.22 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 10.05 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 1979 | 12.16 million tonnes | +21.0% |
| 1980 | 13.65 million tonnes | +12.2% |
| 1981 | 14.26 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1982 | 15.21 million tonnes | +6.7% |
| 1983 | 15.77 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 1984 | 17.20 million tonnes | +9.1% |
| 1985 | 19.44 million tonnes | +13.0% |
| 1986 | 20.54 million tonnes | +5.6% |
| 1987 | 22.38 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 1988 | 24.82 million tonnes | +10.9% |
| 1989 | 26.19 million tonnes | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 28.11 million tonnes | +7.3% |
| 1991 | 31.40 million tonnes | +11.7% |
| 1992 | 34.38 million tonnes | +9.5% |
| 1993 | 38.39 million tonnes | +11.7% |
| 1994 | 43.06 million tonnes | +12.2% |
| 1995 | 49.92 million tonnes | +15.9% |
| 1996 | 45.51 million tonnes | -8.8% |
| 1997 | 52.23 million tonnes | +14.8% |
| 1998 | 56.79 million tonnes | +8.7% |
| 1999 | 59.42 million tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 60.13 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 61.04 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 62.34 million tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 64.43 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 66.08 million tonnes | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 69.39 million tonnes | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 71.04 million tonnes | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 68.92 million tonnes | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 73.08 million tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 76.63 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2010 | 79.21 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 2011 | 79.43 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 83.51 million tonnes | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 84.82 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 86.35 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 86.97 million tonnes | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 85.38 million tonnes | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 85.78 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 86.42 million tonnes | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 77.78 million tonnes | -10.0% |
| 2020 | 77.74 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 90.12 million tonnes | +15.9% |
| 2022 | 93.59 million tonnes | +3.9% |
| 2023 | 97.66 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2024 | 97.86 million tonnes | +0.2% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 97.86 million tonnes is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 286,984 tonnes, 341.0× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- China's 97.86 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 166,924 tonnes, 586.2× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Meat production in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +59.5% | 2.68 million tonnes | 4.28 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.49 million tonnes | 2.22 million tonnes | 7.24 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.15 million tonnes | 6.99 million tonnes | 12.16 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.95 million tonnes | 13.65 million tonnes | 26.19 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.92 million tonnes | 28.11 million tonnes | 59.42 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.31 million tonnes | 60.13 million tonnes | 76.63 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.57 million tonnes | 77.78 million tonnes | 86.97 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 91.39 million tonnes | 77.74 million tonnes | 97.86 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0666 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 923.03 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3366 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is meat production in China?
- Meat production in China was 97.86 million tonnes 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 meat production recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 97.86 million tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest meat production recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.22 million tonnes in 1961.
- How does China rank for meat production?
- China ranks 1st out of 202 countries with data for 2024.
- Is meat production rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China 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 Meat production. 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
Expressed in tonnes. Includes cattle, poultry, sheep/mutton, goat, pigmeat, and wild game.