Number of poultry birds in China
China: Number of poultry birds was 6.41 billion animals in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Number of poultry birds in China, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
In 2024, number of poultry birds in China stood at 6.41 billion animals. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of poultry birds in China peaked at 6.41 billion animals in 2024 and was at its lowest, 641.00 million animals, in 1961.
China ranks 1st of 198 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 | 707.56 million animals | 641.00 million animals | 764.00 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 887.70 million animals | 778.00 million animals | 1.02 billion animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.56 billion animals | 1.11 billion animals | 2.28 billion animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.50 billion animals | 2.42 billion animals | 4.72 billion animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.18 billion animals | 4.30 billion animals | 6.17 billion animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.88 billion animals | 5.47 billion animals | 6.31 billion animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.34 billion animals | 6.27 billion animals | 6.41 billion animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.30 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.7% (2025)
- Rural population 473.41 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -1.5% (2025)
- Rural population 33.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 99.99 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of poultry birds in China?
- Number of poultry birds in China was 6.41 billion animals 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 number of poultry birds recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 6.41 billion animals in 2024.
- What is the lowest number of poultry birds recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 641.00 million animals in 1961.
- How does China rank for number of poultry birds?
- China ranks 1st out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of poultry birds rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.1%. 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 Number of poultry birds. 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).