Worldwide Animal Slaughter Statistics

Based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), this independently-published document tabulates global slaughter statistics for the year 2004, by species and by country.

The report provides data for the number of animals slaughtered in 2004 for meat production by country and by type of animal. Following are the totals for the most commonly slaughtered animals:

• Chickens: 47 billion
• Ducks: 2.2 billion
• Turkeys: 678 million
• Pigs: 1.3 billion
• Sheep: 505 million
• Goats: 343 million
• Cattle: 291 million
• Worldwide Total: 52 billion *

* Note: The FAO database does not include data for all countries; it also does not include data for aquaculture or commercially caught marine animals.

Other Findings:

• Chickens make up approximately 90% of the worldwide animals slaughtered for food.
• The total number of animals slaughtered by country is highest within the United States (9.4 billion), China (9.1 billion), and Brazil (5.4 billion).