Cattle — Stocks in China

China: Cattle — Stocks was 47.92 million LSU in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
47.92 million LSU
Change on year
up 2.9%
World rank
5th
of 190 countries
All-time high
70.79 million LSU
in 1996
All-time low
30.47 million LSU
in 1962
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Cattle — Stocks in China, 1961–2023

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M196119922023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for cattle — stocks in China is 47.92 million LSU, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 16.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, cattle — stocks in China peaked at 70.79 million LSU in 1996 and was at its lowest, 30.47 million LSU, in 1962.

China ranks 5th of 190 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Cattle — Stocks in China, year by year

Annual values for Cattle — Stocks in China, 1961 to 2023.
Year LSU Change
1961 32.18 million LSU —
1962 30.47 million LSU -5.3%
1963 30.86 million LSU +1.3%
1964 31.89 million LSU +3.3%
1965 34.15 million LSU +7.1%
1966 34.90 million LSU +2.2%
1967 36.44 million LSU +4.4%
1968 37.03 million LSU +1.6%
1969 37.59 million LSU +1.5%
1970 37.45 million LSU -0.4%
1971 37.45 million LSU -0.0%
1972 37.44 million LSU -0.0%
1973 37.12 million LSU -0.8%
1974 36.91 million LSU -0.6%
1975 36.84 million LSU -0.2%
1976 36.20 million LSU -1.8%
1977 35.09 million LSU -3.1%
1978 34.34 million LSU -2.1%
1979 34.21 million LSU -0.4%
1980 34.12 million LSU -0.2%
1981 34.19 million LSU +0.2%
1982 35.05 million LSU +2.5%
1983 37.06 million LSU +5.7%
1984 38.36 million LSU +3.5%
1985 40.76 million LSU +6.3%
1986 43.55 million LSU +6.8%
1987 46.13 million LSU +5.9%
1988 47.60 million LSU +3.2%
1989 49.57 million LSU +4.1%
1990 50.64 million LSU +2.2%
1991 52.86 million LSU +4.4%
1992 53.77 million LSU +1.7%
1993 55.76 million LSU +3.7%
1994 59.09 million LSU +6.0%
1995 65.36 million LSU +10.6%
1996 70.79 million LSU +8.3%
1997 59.04 million LSU -16.6%
1998 64.63 million LSU +9.5%
1999 66.24 million LSU +2.5%
2000 67.96 million LSU +2.6%
2001 65.60 million LSU -3.5%
2002 62.11 million LSU -5.3%
2003 60.51 million LSU -2.6%
2004 59.93 million LSU -1.0%
2005 58.59 million LSU -2.2%
2006 56.91 million LSU -2.9%
2007 53.34 million LSU -6.3%
2008 53.83 million LSU +0.9%
2009 45.75 million LSU -15.0%
2010 44.77 million LSU -2.1%
2011 42.79 million LSU -4.4%
2012 41.67 million LSU -2.6%
2013 40.98 million LSU -1.7%
2014 40.98 million LSU +0.0%
2015 41.08 million LSU +0.2%
2016 41.30 million LSU +0.5%
2017 40.29 million LSU -2.4%
2018 41.22 million LSU +2.3%
2019 41.68 million LSU +1.1%
2020 43.61 million LSU +4.6%
2021 44.77 million LSU +2.7%
2022 46.59 million LSU +4.0%
2023 47.92 million LSU +2.9%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 47.92 million LSU is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 522,261 LSU, 91.7× the median. (49 countries reporting)
  • China's 47.92 million LSU is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.07 million LSU, 44.6× the median. (20 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 33.95 million LSU 30.47 million LSU 37.59 million LSU 9
1970s 36.30 million LSU 34.21 million LSU 37.45 million LSU 10
1980s 40.64 million LSU 34.12 million LSU 49.57 million LSU 10
1990s 59.82 million LSU 50.64 million LSU 70.79 million LSU 10
2000s 58.45 million LSU 45.75 million LSU 67.96 million LSU 10
2010s 41.67 million LSU 40.29 million LSU 44.77 million LSU 10
2020s 45.72 million LSU 43.61 million LSU 47.92 million LSU 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 2 Brazil 167.04 million LSU compare
  2. 3 India 97.24 million LSU compare
  3. 4 United Republic of Tanzania 18.96 million LSU compare
  4. 4 USSR 69.39 million LSU compare
  5. 5 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 11.57 million LSU compare
  6. 6 China, mainland 47.81 million LSU compare
  7. 6 Türkiye 11.49 million LSU compare
  8. 7 Argentina 37.97 million LSU compare
  9. 7 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 7.77 million LSU compare
  10. 8 Australia and New Zealand 35.48 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 — stocks in China?
Cattle — stocks in China was 47.92 million LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest cattle — stocks recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 70.79 million LSU in 1996.
What is the lowest cattle — stocks recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 30.47 million LSU in 1962.
How does China rank for cattle — stocks?
China ranks 5th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
Is cattle — 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 — Stocks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Cattle — Stocks in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/cattle-stocks/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Cattle — 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.