Meat production in Japan
Japan: Meat production was 4.20 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.20 million tonnes
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
19th
of 202 countries
All-time high
4.20 million tonnes
in 2024
All-time low
687,135 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Meat production in Japan, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for meat production in Japan is 4.20 million tonnes, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, meat production in Japan peaked at 4.20 million tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 687,135 tonnes, in 1961.
That places Japan 19th out of 202 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.
Meat production in Japan, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 687,135 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 879,059 tonnes | +27.9% |
| 1963 | 860,916 tonnes | -2.1% |
| 1964 | 973,145 tonnes | +13.0% |
| 1965 | 1.07 million tonnes | +9.7% |
| 1966 | 1.16 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 1967 | 1.24 million tonnes | +7.1% |
| 1968 | 1.27 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 1.39 million tonnes | +10.1% |
| 1970 | 1.64 million tonnes | +17.6% |
| 1971 | 1.82 million tonnes | +10.8% |
| 1972 | 1.94 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 1973 | 2.00 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 2.24 million tonnes | +11.7% |
| 1975 | 2.21 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 1976 | 2.23 million tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 2.48 million tonnes | +11.4% |
| 1978 | 2.72 million tonnes | +9.7% |
| 1979 | 2.95 million tonnes | +8.3% |
| 1980 | 3.05 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 3.01 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 1982 | 3.12 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1983 | 3.19 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1984 | 3.28 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 3.46 million tonnes | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 3.51 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1987 | 3.59 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 3.60 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 3.57 million tonnes | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 3.50 million tonnes | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 3.42 million tonnes | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 3.40 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 3.36 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 3.26 million tonnes | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 3.16 million tonnes | -2.9% |
| 1996 | 3.06 million tonnes | -3.2% |
| 1997 | 3.06 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 3.04 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 3.04 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 2.99 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 2.92 million tonnes | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 3.02 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 3.02 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 3.03 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 3.03 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3.12 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 3.13 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 3.15 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 3.25 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 3.23 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 3.15 million tonnes | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 3.28 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 3.90 million tonnes | +19.0% |
| 2014 | 3.90 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 3.88 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 3.92 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 3.96 million tonnes | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 4.02 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 4.05 million tonnes | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 4.12 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 4.17 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 4.16 million tonnes | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 4.19 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 4.20 million tonnes | +0.3% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 4.20 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 301,415 tonnes, 13.9× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Japan's 4.20 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 166,924 tonnes, 25.2× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Meat production in Japan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +27.9% | 687,135 tonnes | 879,059 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.06 million tonnes | 687,135 tonnes | 1.39 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.22 million tonnes | 1.64 million tonnes | 2.95 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.34 million tonnes | 3.01 million tonnes | 3.60 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.23 million tonnes | 3.04 million tonnes | 3.50 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.07 million tonnes | 2.92 million tonnes | 3.25 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.73 million tonnes | 3.15 million tonnes | 4.05 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.17 million tonnes | 4.12 million tonnes | 4.20 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More agriculture & rural data for Japan
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.95 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0096 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 323.87 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.0% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is meat production in Japan?
- Meat production in Japan was 4.20 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 4.20 million tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest meat production recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 687,135 tonnes in 1961.
- How does Japan rank for meat production?
- Japan ranks 19th out of 202 countries with data for 2024.
- Is meat production rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.