Meat production in Ireland
Ireland: Meat production was 1.16 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Meat production in Ireland, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 1.16 million tonnes for meat production in 2024.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 15.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, meat production in Ireland peaked at 1.19 million tonnes in 2020 and was at its lowest, 304,307 tonnes, in 1964.
Ireland ranks 43rd of 201 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 346,323 tonnes | 304,307 tonnes | 419,419 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 533,925 tonnes | 434,231 tonnes | 630,152 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 679,026 tonnes | 565,962 tonnes | 760,923 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 945,698 tonnes | 850,361 tonnes | 1.11 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 961,692 tonnes | 884,490 tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.02 million tonnes | 903,494 tonnes | 1.15 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.17 million tonnes | 1.14 million tonnes | 1.19 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More agriculture & rural data for Ireland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 7.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.1% (2025)
- Rural population 1.94 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Rural population 35.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.1% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.1% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 258,930 hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is meat production in Ireland?
- Meat production in Ireland was 1.16 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.19 million tonnes in 2020.
- What is the lowest meat production recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 304,307 tonnes in 1964.
- How does Ireland rank for meat production?
- Ireland ranks 43rd out of 201 countries with data for 2024.
- Is meat production rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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.