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World Dairy Cow Numbers
Published 26 January 12
World Dairy Cow Numbers
- FAO estimates that there were 265m Dairy cows in 2010.
- Approximately 55% of the world's dairy cows were held by the top 10 (for those with figures for 2010).
- The UK was 30th in the list with 1.9m cows.
Preliminary figures for 2010 show that there were approximately 265m dairy cows in the world, an increase of 10m (4.1%) compared to the previous year. India came out as the largest holder of dairy cattle with an estimated figure of 43.6m for 2010. Of interest is that China stands in 4th place with 12.5m cows. This shows the continued growth required in order to meet domestic demand and the reason why it continues to be one of the largest importers of dairy products.
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| Countries by Cow Numbers (Cows Milk, Whole, Fresh) | ||||
| 2008 | 2009 (Estimates) | 2010 (Estimates) | ||
| 1 | India | 38,838,000 | 38,928,000 | 43,600,000 |
| 2 | Brazil | 21,585,300 | 22,435,300 | 22,924,900 |
| 3 | Sudan | 14,561,000 | 14,662,000 | 14,968,800 |
| 4 | China | 12,388,123 | 12,242,583 | 12,503,190 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 9,390,000 | 9,744,000 | 10,100,000 |
| 6 | Kenya | 7,200,000 | 7,330,000 | 9,350,000 |
| 7 | United States of America | 9,315,000 | 9,203,000 | 9,117,000 |
| 8 | Russian Federation | 8,928,440 | 8,740,970 | 9,022,000 |
| 9 | United Republic of Tanzania | 6,500,000 | 6,800,000 | 6,900,000 |
| 10 | Ethiopia | 6,400,000 | 6,500,000 | 6,604,300 |
| 30 | UK | 1,977,000 | 1,903,000 | 1,864,000 |
| World | 250,334,211 | 254,223,723 | 264,565,949 | |
Source: FAO