Livestock (live animals) · FAOSTAT 2024
Chickens: number of animals by country
The world had 27.68 billion chickens in 2024, up 31% over ten years. The largest herds were in China (18.9%), Indonesia (13.4%), Pakistan (7.5%), together 40% of the world total.
- World total, 2024
- 27.68 billion head
- 10-year change
- +31%
- Countries reporting
- 179
- Largest herd
- China
World total, 1961–2024 (head)
Map of chickens numbers by country, 2024
Share of the world total. Small island states are not drawn at this scale.
Countries by number of animals, 2024
| # | Country | Head | Share | 10-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China I | 5,243,707,000 | 18.9% | +16% |
| 2 | Indonesia | 3,709,617,000 | 13.4% | +99% |
| 3 | Pakistan | 2,064,210,000 | 7.46% | +141% |
| 4 | Brazil | 1,581,216,000 | 5.71% | +20% |
| 5 | United States E | 1,555,000,000 | 5.62% | +9.2% |
| 6 | Iran E | 1,032,877,000 | 3.73% | +11% |
| 7 | India I | 852,885,000 | 3.08% | +18% |
| 8 | Mexico I | 627,299,000 | 2.27% | +19% |
| 9 | Russia I | 507,994,000 | 1.84% | +13% |
| 10 | Vietnam | 481,033,000 | 1.74% | +96% |
| 11 | Turkey | 379,627,000 | 1.37% | +29% |
| 12 | Bangladesh | 327,777,000 | 1.18% | +28% |
| 13 | Malaysia | 326,057,000 | 1.18% | +16% |
| 14 | Japan | 315,635,000 | 1.14% | +1.6% |
| 15 | Thailand E | 295,445,000 | 1.07% | +11% |
| 16 | Egypt E | 272,284,000 | 0.98% | +94% |
| 17 | Poland | 244,680,000 | 0.88% | +88% |
| 18 | Nigeria I | 241,700,000 | 0.87% | +76% |
| 19 | Bolivia I | 233,689,000 | 0.84% | +21% |
| 20 | Morocco E | 233,000,000 | 0.84% | +25% |
| 21 | France | 229,317,000 | 0.83% | −5.7% |
| 22 | Colombia | 216,109,000 | 0.78% | +54% |
| 23 | Saudi Arabia E | 212,409,000 | 0.77% | +16% |
| 24 | Dominican Republic I | 211,723,000 | 0.76% | +26% |
| 25 | Algeria E | 203,572,000 | 0.74% | +34% |
| 26 | Philippines | 199,831,000 | 0.72% | +19% |
| 27 | Peru | 194,759,000 | 0.70% | +35% |
| 28 | Ecuador I | 180,296,000 | 0.65% | +11% |
| 29 | South Korea | 178,474,000 | 0.64% | +14% |
| 30 | South Africa I | 175,199,000 | 0.63% | +9.0% |
| 31 | Ukraine | 173,725,000 | 0.63% | −14% |
| 32 | Canada I | 173,164,000 | 0.63% | +3.7% |
| 33 | United Kingdom | 166,986,000 | 0.60% | +5.0% |
| 34 | Côte d'Ivoire | 143,483,000 | 0.52% | +131% |
| 35 | Iraq E | 140,000,000 | 0.51% | +269% |
| 36 | Myanmar E | 135,000,000 | 0.49% | −48% |
| 37 | Venezuela E | 125,706,000 | 0.45% | +2.2% |
| 38 | Belarus I | 120,516,000 | 0.44% | +40% |
| 39 | Argentina I | 114,329,000 | 0.41% | +4.9% |
| 40 | Australia I | 108,508,000 | 0.39% | +11% |
| 41 | Senegal I | 105,490,000 | 0.38% | +94% |
| 42 | Taiwan I | 104,881,000 | 0.38% | +15% |
| 43 | Tunisia E | 102,062,000 | 0.37% | +16% |
| 44 | Ghana I | 94,284,000 | 0.34% | +38% |
| 45 | Uzbekistan I | 89,856,000 | 0.32% | +74% |
| 46 | Netherlands | 89,231,000 | 0.32% | −13% |
| 47 | Lebanon E | 73,653,000 | 0.27% | +23% |
| 48 | Kenya | 71,223,000 | 0.26% | +68% |
| 49 | Uganda I | 69,540,000 | 0.25% | +114% |
| 50 | Yemen E | 68,724,000 | 0.25% | +8.7% |
| 51 | Mali | 63,326,000 | 0.23% | +64% |
| 52 | Kuwait I | 59,418,000 | 0.21% | +34% |
| 53 | Nepal | 56,916,000 | 0.21% | +18% |
| 54 | Laos | 54,773,000 | 0.20% | +69% |
| 55 | Chile | 52,384,000 | 0.19% | +7.7% |
| 56 | Ethiopia I | 52,280,000 | 0.19% | −8.1% |
| 57 | Sudan E | 50,207,000 | 0.18% | +7.6% |
| 58 | Angola I | 49,758,000 | 0.18% | +57% |
| 59 | Honduras I | 49,036,000 | 0.18% | +9.0% |
| 60 | Israel | 48,824,000 | 0.18% | +30% |
| 61 | Moldova I | 48,451,000 | 0.18% | +52% |
| 62 | Guatemala E | 47,162,000 | 0.17% | +30% |
| 63 | Uruguay E | 46,951,000 | 0.17% | +147% |
| 64 | Kazakhstan | 45,651,000 | 0.16% | +38% |
| 65 | Cameroon I | 45,575,000 | 0.16% | −8.9% |
| 66 | Madagascar E | 43,553,000 | 0.16% | +20% |
| 67 | South Sudan I | 43,167,000 | 0.16% | +188% |
| 68 | Zambia E | 41,553,000 | 0.15% | +9.3% |
| 69 | Trinidad and Tobago I | 41,544,000 | 0.15% | +19% |
| 70 | Guyana E | 41,500,000 | 0.15% | +69% |
| 71 | Jordan I | 41,062,000 | 0.15% | +28% |
| 72 | Guinea E | 39,252,000 | 0.14% | +46% |
| 73 | Libya I | 38,034,000 | 0.14% | +12% |
| 74 | Burkina Faso I | 36,043,000 | 0.13% | +6.8% |
| 75 | Togo I | 35,471,000 | 0.13% | +98% |
| 76 | Qatar I | 34,191,000 | 0.12% | +321% |
| 77 | Panama | 33,596,000 | 0.12% | +47% |
| 78 | Tanzania I | 33,458,000 | 0.12% | −7.1% |
| 79 | Paraguay I | 29,392,000 | 0.11% | +72% |
| 80 | Azerbaijan E | 29,372,000 | 0.11% | +1.8% |
| 81 | Hungary | 28,733,000 | 0.10% | −2.5% |
| 82 | Sierra Leone E | 26,940,000 | 0.10% | +100% |
| 83 | United Arab Emirates I | 26,388,000 | 0.10% | +17% |
| 84 | Czechia | 24,917,000 | 0.09% | +21% |
| 85 | New Zealand | 24,574,000 | 0.09% | +21% |
| 86 | Costa Rica I | 23,865,000 | 0.09% | +2.0% |
| 87 | Turkmenistan | 21,489,000 | 0.08% | +34% |
| 88 | Brunei | 21,381,000 | 0.08% | +26% |
| 89 | Niger I | 21,024,000 | 0.08% | +17% |
| 90 | Denmark | 20,718,000 | 0.07% | +16% |
| 91 | Malawi E | 20,039,000 | 0.07% | +11% |
| 92 | Mozambique | 19,881,000 | 0.07% | +7.1% |
| 93 | Syria | 19,501,000 | 0.07% | +17% |
| 94 | El Salvador E | 19,093,000 | 0.07% | +19% |
| 95 | DR Congo | 19,092,000 | 0.07% | −6.0% |
| 96 | Benin | 19,049,000 | 0.07% | +1.4% |
| 97 | Sri Lanka | 18,716,000 | 0.07% | +13% |
| 98 | Zimbabwe | 18,096,000 | 0.07% | +36% |
| 99 | Norway | 16,579,000 | 0.06% | +0.1% |
| 100 | Mauritius I | 16,557,000 | 0.06% | +14% |
| 101 | Finland | 14,425,000 | 0.05% | +27% |
| 102 | Serbia | 14,417,000 | 0.05% | −13% |
| 103 | Jamaica I | 14,235,000 | 0.05% | +5.4% |
| 104 | Afghanistan I | 13,480,000 | 0.05% | +21% |
| 105 | Switzerland | 13,168,000 | 0.05% | +24% |
| 106 | Cambodia I | 12,995,000 | 0.05% | −0.0% |
| 107 | North Korea I | 12,015,000 | 0.04% | −21% |
| 108 | Tajikistan | 11,877,000 | 0.04% | +126% |
| 109 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 11,523,000 | 0.04% | −44% |
| 110 | Croatia | 10,936,000 | 0.04% | +12% |
| 111 | Lithuania | 10,476,000 | 0.04% | +8.9% |
| 112 | Slovakia | 9,593,000 | 0.03% | −9.5% |
| 113 | Liberia E | 8,370,000 | 0.03% | +10% |
| 114 | Georgia | 7,475,000 | 0.03% | +11% |
| 115 | Central African Republic I | 6,910,000 | 0.02% | +3.1% |
| 116 | Chad I | 6,182,000 | 0.02% | +1.3% |
| 117 | Kyrgyzstan | 6,166,000 | 0.02% | +61% |
| 118 | Puerto Rico I | 6,165,000 | 0.02% | −39% |
| 119 | Latvia | 5,985,000 | 0.02% | +20% |
| 120 | Haiti I | 5,977,000 | 0.02% | +4.9% |
| 121 | Fiji I | 5,876,000 | 0.02% | +18% |
| 122 | Cuba E | 5,590,000 | 0.02% | −83% |
| 123 | Barbados E | 5,236,000 | 0.02% | +45% |
| 124 | Oman I | 5,084,000 | 0.02% | +11% |
| 125 | Slovenia | 5,054,000 | 0.02% | +79% |
| 126 | Mauritania I | 4,810,000 | 0.02% | +4.6% |
| 127 | Papua New Guinea E | 4,803,000 | 0.02% | +9.2% |
| 128 | Albania | 4,557,000 | 0.02% | −52% |
| 129 | Suriname I | 4,524,000 | 0.02% | −11% |
| 130 | Armenia | 4,427,000 | 0.02% | +7.9% |
| 131 | Namibia E | 4,181,000 | 0.02% | +22% |
| 132 | Hong Kong E | 4,096,000 | 0.01% | +203% |
| 133 | Somalia E | 3,926,000 | 0.01% | +9.1% |
| 134 | Rwanda I | 3,697,000 | 0.01% | −25% |
| 135 | Gabon I | 3,424,000 | 0.01% | +7.0% |
| 136 | Burundi I | 3,374,000 | 0.01% | +17% |
| 137 | Bahamas I | 3,289,000 | 0.01% | +9.6% |
| 138 | Singapore I | 3,056,000 | 0.01% | −13% |
| 139 | Congo E | 3,030,000 | 0.01% | +6.3% |
| 140 | North Macedonia | 2,573,000 | 0.01% | +33% |
| 141 | Estonia | 2,274,000 | 0.01% | +11% |
| 142 | Guinea-Bissau E | 2,117,000 | 0.01% | +5.9% |
| 143 | Eswatini E | 1,967,000 | 0.01% | +6.8% |
| 144 | Bahrain I | 1,918,000 | 0.01% | +72% |
| 145 | Mongolia | 1,830,000 | 0.01% | +130% |
| 146 | Belize I | 1,723,000 | 0.01% | +7.7% |
| 147 | Gambia | 1,310,000 | 0.00% | −8.6% |
| 148 | Eritrea E | 1,155,000 | 0.00% | −18% |
| 149 | Montenegro | 1,070,000 | 0.00% | +81% |
| 150 | Bhutan | 924,000 | 0.00% | +68% |
| 151 | Macao E | 809,000 | 0.00% | +12% |
| 152 | Botswana E | 805,000 | 0.00% | −21% |
| 153 | Cabo Verde E | 681,000 | 0.00% | −32% |
| 154 | Kiribati I | 671,000 | 0.00% | +10% |
| 155 | New Caledonia E | 618,000 | 0.00% | +24% |
| 156 | Timor-Leste I | 571,000 | 0.00% | −34% |
| 157 | Comoros I | 551,000 | 0.00% | +6.0% |
| 158 | Lesotho I | 534,000 | 0.00% | −41% |
| 159 | Saint Lucia I | 479,000 | 0.00% | +6.4% |
| 160 | Samoa I | 438,000 | 0.00% | −11% |
| 161 | Vanuatu I | 436,000 | 0.00% | −37% |
| 162 | Equatorial Guinea E | 385,000 | 0.00% | +6.9% |
| 163 | Grenada E | 384,000 | 0.00% | +1.1% |
| 164 | Tonga I | 347,000 | 0.00% | +5.5% |
| 165 | French Polynesia I | 339,000 | 0.00% | +11% |
| 166 | Seychelles I | 262,000 | 0.00% | +110% |
| 167 | Solomon Islands I | 248,000 | 0.00% | +3.3% |
| 168 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines I | 243,000 | 0.00% | −2.8% |
| 169 | Iceland | 230,000 | 0.00% | +5.0% |
| 170 | Dominica I | 204,000 | 0.00% | +2.0% |
| 171 | Micronesia I | 193,000 | 0.00% | +2.1% |
| 172 | Luxembourg | 186,000 | 0.00% | +60% |
| 173 | Sao Tome and Principe E | 168,000 | 0.00% | −37% |
| 174 | Antigua and Barbuda I | 160,000 | 0.00% | +6.7% |
| 175 | Tuvalu E | 58,000 | 0.00% | +12% |
| 176 | Saint Kitts and Nevis E | 39,000 | 0.00% | −54% |
| 177 | Cook Islands I | 36,000 | 0.00% | 0.0% |
| 178 | Niue E | 19,000 | 0.00% | +12% |
| 179 | Nauru I | 5,000 | 0.00% | 0.0% |
E = estimated by FAO, I = imputed by FAO, X = from an external organisation; other figures are official.
How concentrated is the world herd?
The largest herd, in China, accounts for 18.9% of the world total in 2024; the five largest for 51.1% and the ten largest for 63.8%.
| Year | Top 5 share | Top 10 share | Countries with data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 49.3% | 60.2% | 194 |
| 2005 | 50.7% | 62.5% | 194 |
| 2010 | 50.3% | 62.5% | 192 |
| 2015 | 47.4% | 61.1% | 194 |
| 2020 | 50.9% | 63.7% | 193 |
| 2024 | 51.1% | 63.8% | 179 |
By continent, 2024
| Continent | Head | Share of world | Share in 2014 | 10-year change | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 16.80 billion head | 60.7% | 57.1% | +39% | 48 |
| North and Central America | 2.83 billion head | 10.2% | 12.1% | +10% | 23 |
| South America | 2.82 billion head | 10.2% | 10.9% | +22% | 12 |
| Africa | 2.50 billion head | 9.0% | 8.4% | +41% | 53 |
| Europe | 1.78 billion head | 6.4% | 10.8% | −22% | 27 |
| Oceania | 147 million head | 0.5% | 0.6% | +13% | 16 |
Sums of country figures; the world total also includes countries without a continent assignment, so shares may not add up to 100%.
Fastest growing and declining producers, 2014–2024
Countries with at least 0.5% of world numbers in 2024, change over ten years.
Long-term trend, 1961–2024
- Average growth per year, 1961–2024
- +3.2%
- Average growth per year, last 10 years
- +2.7%
- Record year
- 2024 27.68 billion head
- Largest yearly fall
- 1998 −7.3%
| Decade | Average per year | vs previous decade |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s (1961–1969) | 4.40 billion head | — |
| 1970s | 5.93 billion head | +35% |
| 1980s | 8.61 billion head | +45% |
| 1990s | 12.29 billion head | +43% |
| 2000s | 16.78 billion head | +37% |
| 2010s | 22.26 billion head | +33% |
| 2020s (2020–2024) | 26.73 billion head | +20% |
Chicken prices on wholesale markets
- Markets quoting
- 90
- Median price
- 2.88 EUR/kg
- Middle half of quotes
- 2.04–3.97 EUR/kg
- Latest quote
- 10 November 2026
Prices in producing countries
| Rank | Producer | Production, 2024 | Markets | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Brazil | 1.58 billion head | 1 | 1.65 EUR/kg |
| 17 | Poland | 245 million head | 3 | 1.53 EUR/kg |
| 21 | France | 229 million head | 1 | 5.30 EUR/kg |
| 22 | Colombia | 216 million head | 31 | 3.09 EUR/kg |
| 26 | Philippines | 200 million head | 19 | 1.90 EUR/kg |
| 30 | South Africa | 175 million head | 1 | 4.24 EUR/kg |
| 32 | Canada | 173 million head | 9 | 1.90 EUR/kg |
| 46 | Netherlands | 89.2 million head | 1 | 3.68 EUR/kg |
| 81 | Hungary | 28.7 million head | 1 | 3.58 EUR/kg |
| 84 | Czechia | 24.9 million head | 1 | 4.12 EUR/kg |
| 112 | Slovakia | 9.6 million head | 2 | 2.60 EUR/kg |
Median of the midpoints of 263 current quotes converted to EUR per kg at the reference rates used on Husfarm. Markets quote different varieties, grades, origins and trade stages, so prices are not directly comparable between countries.
Questions and answers
Which country has the most chickens?
China had the largest number, 5.24 billion head in 2024, 18.9% of the world total, according to FAOSTAT.
How many chickens are there in the world?
FAOSTAT counts 27.68 billion head in 2024, +31% compared with 2014.
Which countries have the most chickens?
In 2024: China (5.24 billion head, 18.9%), Indonesia (3.71 billion head, 13.4%), Pakistan (2.06 billion head, 7.5%), Brazil (1.58 billion head, 5.7%), United States (1.56 billion head, 5.6%). Together they account for 51.1% of the world total.
What is the wholesale price of chickens today?
The median of 263 current quotes on 90 markets tracked by Husfarm is 2.88 EUR/kg (latest quote 10 November 2026). Prices vary widely by variety, grade, origin and market.
Where does this data come from?
Production and area figures are from FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (dataset Crops and livestock products, release of 23 December 2025). Shares, rankings, changes and averages are calculated by Husfarm.
Related products
About the data
- Figures are numbers of live animals as reported to or estimated by FAO for each calendar year; the latest year is 2024.
- Letters next to a country mark figures that are not official national data: E estimated by FAO, I imputed by FAO (filled in by a statistical model), X taken from an external organisation. Treat them as approximate.
- Shares are relative to the FAO world total; ten-year changes compare 2024 with 2014; average growth per year is the compound annual rate between the two years.
- Country series on Husfarm start in 2000; the world series starts in 1961.
Download CSV All countries and years: production and FAO flag.
How to cite: FAO (2025). FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products — Chickens. Retrieved via Husfarm, https://husfarm.com/production/chickens/. Licence CC BY 4.0.
Source: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 4 November 2026. fao.org/faostat. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Charts, rankings and changes calculated by Husfarm.