Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in China

China: Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks was 69.99 million LSU in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
69.99 million LSU
Change on year
up 2.9%
World rank
4th
of 190 countries
All-time high
87.11 million LSU
in 1996
All-time low
36.46 million LSU
in 1962
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in China, 1961–2023

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU.

Analysis

In 2023, cattle and buffaloes — stocks in China stood at 69.99 million LSU.

The figure is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 16.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — stocks in China peaked at 87.11 million LSU in 1996 and was at its lowest, 36.46 million LSU, in 1962.

That places China 4th out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in China, year by year

Annual values for Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in China, 1961 to 2023.
Year LSU Change
1961 38.04 million LSU —
1962 36.46 million LSU -4.1%
1963 36.93 million LSU +1.3%
1964 39.61 million LSU +7.3%
1965 41.86 million LSU +5.7%
1966 44.46 million LSU +6.2%
1967 46.43 million LSU +4.4%
1968 47.70 million LSU +2.7%
1969 48.60 million LSU +1.9%
1970 48.45 million LSU -0.3%
1971 48.84 million LSU +0.8%
1972 49.10 million LSU +0.5%
1973 49.03 million LSU -0.1%
1974 49.61 million LSU +1.2%
1975 49.53 million LSU -0.2%
1976 48.88 million LSU -1.3%
1977 47.38 million LSU -3.1%
1978 46.46 million LSU -1.9%
1979 46.66 million LSU +0.4%
1980 47.03 million LSU +0.8%
1981 47.19 million LSU +0.3%
1982 48.22 million LSU +2.2%
1983 50.49 million LSU +4.7%
1984 51.80 million LSU +2.6%
1985 54.45 million LSU +5.1%
1986 57.53 million LSU +5.7%
1987 60.73 million LSU +5.6%
1988 62.20 million LSU +2.4%
1989 64.34 million LSU +3.4%
1990 65.64 million LSU +2.0%
1991 68.06 million LSU +3.7%
1992 69.19 million LSU +1.7%
1993 71.31 million LSU +3.1%
1994 74.78 million LSU +4.9%
1995 81.41 million LSU +8.9%
1996 87.11 million LSU +7.0%
1997 72.80 million LSU -16.4%
1998 80.42 million LSU +10.5%
1999 82.12 million LSU +2.1%
2000 83.78 million LSU +2.0%
2001 81.54 million LSU -2.7%
2002 77.99 million LSU -4.3%
2003 76.43 million LSU -2.0%
2004 75.54 million LSU -1.2%
2005 74.24 million LSU -1.7%
2006 72.66 million LSU -2.1%
2007 69.25 million LSU -4.7%
2008 70.12 million LSU +1.3%
2009 66.83 million LSU -4.7%
2010 65.39 million LSU -2.1%
2011 62.50 million LSU -4.4%
2012 60.86 million LSU -2.6%
2013 59.85 million LSU -1.7%
2014 59.85 million LSU +0.0%
2015 59.99 million LSU +0.2%
2016 60.32 million LSU +0.5%
2017 58.85 million LSU -2.4%
2018 60.20 million LSU +2.3%
2019 60.87 million LSU +1.1%
2020 63.69 million LSU +4.6%
2021 65.39 million LSU +2.7%
2022 68.04 million LSU +4.1%
2023 69.99 million LSU +2.9%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 69.99 million LSU is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 525,981 LSU, 133.1× the median. (49 countries reporting)
  • China's 69.99 million LSU is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.34 million LSU, 52.1× the median. (20 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 42.23 million LSU 36.46 million LSU 48.60 million LSU 9
1970s 48.39 million LSU 46.46 million LSU 49.61 million LSU 10
1980s 54.40 million LSU 47.03 million LSU 64.34 million LSU 10
1990s 75.28 million LSU 65.64 million LSU 87.11 million LSU 10
2000s 74.84 million LSU 66.83 million LSU 83.78 million LSU 10
2010s 60.87 million LSU 58.85 million LSU 65.39 million LSU 10
2020s 66.78 million LSU 63.69 million LSU 69.99 million LSU 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 OECD 252.87 million LSU compare
  2. 2 Brazil 167.04 million LSU compare
  3. 3 India 153.26 million LSU compare
  4. 4 United Republic of Tanzania 18.96 million LSU compare
  5. 5 China, mainland 69.88 million LSU compare
  6. 5 Türkiye 11.61 million LSU compare
  7. 6 USSR 69.63 million LSU compare
  8. 6 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 11.57 million LSU compare
  9. 7 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 7.77 million LSU compare
  10. 7 Pakistan 50.21 million LSU compare

See the full ranking of 241 places →

More environment data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is cattle and buffaloes — stocks in China?
Cattle and buffaloes — stocks in China was 69.99 million LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest cattle and buffaloes — stocks recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 87.11 million LSU in 1996.
What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — stocks recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 36.46 million LSU in 1962.
How does China rank for cattle and buffaloes — stocks?
China ranks 4th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
Is cattle and buffaloes — stocks rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/cattle-and-buffaloes-stocks/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks
Unit
LSU
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
241 places, 13,793 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The Livestock Patterns domain of FAOSTAT contains data on livestock numbers, shares of major livestock species and densities of livestock units in the agricultural land area. Values are calculated using Livestock Units (LSU), which facilitate aggregating information for different livestock types. Data are available by country, with global coverage, for the period 1961 to the most recent year available with annual updates. This methodology applies the LSU coefficients reported in the "Guidelines for the preparation of livestock sector reviews" (FAO, 2011). From this publication, LSU coefficients are computed by livestock type and by country. The reference unit used for the calculation of livestock units (=1 LSU) is the grazing equivalent of one adult dairy cow producing 3000 kg of milk annually, fed without additional concentrated foodstuffs. FAOSTAT agri-environmental indicators on livestock patterns closely follow the structure of the indicators in EUROSTAT.