Top Donkey Producing Countries

Donkeys (Equus asinus) were first domesticated around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago in northeastern Africa, particularly in regions that are now part of Egypt and Sudan. Their domestication revolutionized transport and agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions, as donkeys are well-adapted to harsh climates and poor-quality forage. Over centuries, donkeys spread throughout the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia, and eventually to the Americas and other parts of the world through trade and colonization. Today, the top countries raising donkeys are China, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Mexico. China leads by a significant margin, with millions of donkeys used for transport, farming, and increasingly for their skins, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Ethiopia and other African nations rely heavily on donkeys for rural transport and agriculture, while in Mexico and Pakistan, donkeys remain vital for smallholder farmers and urban labor. The global distribution of donkeys reflects their enduring importance as hardy, versatile working animals in both historical and modern agricultural systems.

Data from United Nations FAO Stat