How many cattle are in the world? The global live cattle population amounted to about 1.57 billion heads in 2023, up from approximately 1.51 million in 2021. Cows as livestock The domestication of cattle began as early as 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. From ancient times up to the present, cattle are bred to provide meat and dairy. Cattle are also employed as draft animals to plow the fields or transport heavy objects. Cattle hide is used for the production of leather, and dung for fuel and agricultural fertilizer. In 2022, India was home to the highest number of milk cows in the world. Cattle farming in the United States Cattle meat such as beef and veal is one of the most widely consumed types of meat across the globe, and is particularly popular in the United States. The United States is the top producer of beef and veal of any country worldwide. In 2021, beef production in the United States reached 12.6 million metric tons. Beef production appears to be following a positive trend in the United States. More than 33.07 million cattle were slaughtered both commercially and in farms annually in the United States in 2019, up from 33 million in the previous year.

The cattle population in Russia has continuously declined since 2003, when it was measured at nearly **** million heads. In 2023, the number of cattle livestock in the country reached around **** million heads.

How many cows are in the U.S.? The United States is home to approximately **** million cattle and calves as of 2024, dropping slightly from the 2023 value. Cattle farming in the United States There are over ***** times more beef cows than milk cows living in the United States. Raising cattle is notoriously expensive, not only in terms of land, feed, and equipment, but also in terms of the environmental impact of consuming beef. Beef and milk have the highest carbon footprints of any type of food in the United States. U.S. milk market The volume of milk produced in the United States has been steadily increasing over the last several years. In 2023, total milk production in the U.S. was about ***** billion pounds, up from ***** billion pounds in 2010. ********** is the leading producer of milk of any U.S. state, generating approximately ** billion pounds of milk in 2022. Wisconsin came in second, producing about **** billion pounds of milk in that year.

China Livestock: Number: Cow: Beef Cattle data was reported at 84,541.000 Unit th in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 80,044.000 Unit th for 2021. China Livestock: Number: Cow: Beef Cattle data is updated yearly, averaging 68,386.000 Unit th from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2022, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 84,541.000 Unit th in 2022 and a record low of 52,533.000 Unit th in 2008. China Livestock: Number: Cow: Beef Cattle data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Agriculture Sector – Table CN.RID: Number of Livestock: Large Animals: Cow .

Livestock: Number: Beef Cattle: Tibet data was reported at 5,555.000 Unit th in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,447.000 Unit th for 2021. Livestock: Number: Beef Cattle: Tibet data is updated yearly, averaging 4,713.000 Unit th from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2022, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,555.000 Unit th in 2022 and a record low of 4,513.000 Unit th in 2012. Livestock: Number: Beef Cattle: Tibet data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Agriculture Sector – Table CN.RID: Number of Livestock: Large Animals: Cow .

Number of cattle, by class and farm type, Canada and provinces (head x 1,000). Data are available on an annual basis.

This dataset as reported to the Rural Payments Agency contains information on cattle population 1 January 2011. Attribution statement:

The raster dataset consists of a 500m score grid for slaughterhouse industry facilities siting, produced under the scope of FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative, Geographical Information Systems - Multicriteria Decision Analysis for value chain infrastructure location. The analysis is based on cattle production intensification potential defined using crop production, livestock production systems, and cattle distribution. The score is achieved by processing sub-model outputs that characterize logistical factors: 1. Supply - Feed, livestock production systems, cattle distribution. 2. Demand - Human population density, large cities, urban areas. 3. Infrastructure - Transportation network (accessibility). It consists of an arithmetic weighted sum of normalized grids (0 to 100): ("Crop Production" * 0.2) + ("Human Population Density" * 0.2) + (“Major Cities Accessibility” * 0.2) + (”Cattle intensification” * 0.3) + (“Poverty” * 0.1).

Livestock: Number: Dairy Cow: Hebei data was reported at 1,481.000 Unit th in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,352.000 Unit th for 2021. Livestock: Number: Dairy Cow: Hebei data is updated yearly, averaging 1,674.000 Unit th from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2022, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,981.000 Unit th in 2014 and a record low of 1,059.000 Unit th in 2018. Livestock: Number: Dairy Cow: Hebei data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Agriculture Sector – Table CN.RID: Number of Livestock: Large Animals: Cow .

This dataset contains information on Animals that were alive on 31 December 2002, cattle Born or imported into Great Britain, applications that have passed initial cattle Tracing System validation checks, cattle registered to British cattle movement Service administrative locations, used for management purposes, as reported to the Rural Payments Agency Attribution statement:

China Livestock: Number: Cow: Dairy Cow data was reported at 11,601.000 Unit th in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 10,943.000 Unit th for 2021. China Livestock: Number: Cow: Dairy Cow data is updated yearly, averaging 12,603.000 Unit th from Dec 2008 (Median) to 2022, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15,072.000 Unit th in 2015 and a record low of 10,377.000 Unit th in 2018. China Livestock: Number: Cow: Dairy Cow data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Agriculture Sector – Table CN.RID: Number of Livestock: Large Animals: Cow .

Cattle and calves statistics, number of farms reporting and average number of cattle and calves per farm, Canada and provinces (number). Data are available on a semi-annual basis.

In 2024, the cattle population in Germany was 10.63 million. This was a slight decrease compared to 2023. Going further back and comparing to 1900, the cattle population then was 18.9 million. The timeline shows cattle population numbers in Germany from 1990 to 2023.

The table shows the cattle population by county and region every six months [thousands]

"This dataset as reported to the Rural Payments Agency contains information on cattle born or imported in Great Britain, animals/movements that have passed Cattle Tracing System validation, Cattle born before 1 July 1996 which were registered until 2000. Attribution statement:

D: dairy; B: beef; F: female; M: male; X: calf, Y: subadult, Z: adult. Small letters indicate rates (s: slaughter, m: mortality, f: fattening, tr: transition to next age class). μ1: average birth rate; μ2: average mortality rate;Monthly population parameters for the Swiss cattle population.

This dataset as reported to the Rural Payments Agency contains a list of animal population by breed on 1 January this includes applications received for cattle born in or imported into Great Britain Attribution statement:

This dataset as reported to the Rural Payments Agency contains the total cattle population for Ayrshire & Ayrshire X.

Demographic composition and dynamics of animal and human populations are important determinants for the transmission dynamics of infectious disease and for the effect of infectious disease or environmental disasters on productivity. In many circumstances, demographic data are not available or of poor quality. Since 1999 Switzerland has been recording cattle movements, births, deaths and slaughter in an animal movement database (AMD). The data present in the AMD offers the opportunity for analysing and understanding the dynamic of the Swiss cattle population. A dynamic population model can serve as a building block for future disease transmission models and help policy makers in developing strategies regarding animal health, animal welfare, livestock management and productivity. The Swiss cattle population was therefore modelled using a system of ordinary differential equations. The model was stratified by production type (dairy or beef), age and gender (male and female calves: 0–1 year, heifers and young bulls: 1–2 years, cows and bulls: older than 2 years). The simulation of the Swiss cattle population reflects the observed pattern accurately. Parameters were optimized on the basis of the goodness-of-fit (using the Powell algorithm). The fitted rates were compared with calculated rates from the AMD and differed only marginally. This gives confidence in the fitted rates of parameters that are not directly deductible from the AMD (e.g. the proportion of calves that are moved from the dairy system to fattening plants).

Greece - Number of dairy cows was 79.50 Thousand in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Greece - Number of dairy cows - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Greece - Number of dairy cows reached a record high of 144.00 Thousand in December of 2010 and a record low of 79.50 Thousand in December of 2024.