Number of poultry birds in Ireland
Ireland: Number of poultry birds was 16.38 million animals in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of poultry birds in Ireland, 1961–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of poultry birds in Ireland is 16.38 million animals, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of poultry birds in Ireland peaked at 16.43 million animals in 2017 and was at its lowest, 7.92 million animals, in 1964.
Ireland ranks 114th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.62 million animals | 7.92 million animals | 9.23 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.28 million animals | 8.64 million animals | 10.00 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.75 million animals | 8.22 million animals | 9.42 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.02 million animals | 9.38 million animals | 13.54 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.54 million animals | 13.86 million animals | 16.38 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.91 million animals | 15.13 million animals | 16.43 million animals | 8 |
| 2020s | 16.38 million animals | 16.38 million animals | 16.38 million animals | 1 |
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 number of poultry birds in Ireland?
- Number of poultry birds in Ireland was 16.38 million animals in 2020, 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 16.43 million animals in 2017.
- What is the lowest number of poultry birds recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.92 million animals in 1964.
- How does Ireland rank for number of poultry birds?
- Ireland ranks 114th out of 198 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of poultry birds rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. 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 Number of poultry birds. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 58 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).