Top Goat Producing Countries

Goats were among the earliest domesticated animals, with archaeological evidence tracing their domestication back over 10,000 years to the Zagros Mountains region of present-day Iran. From there, goats spread throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia, serving as vital sources of milk, meat, fiber, and hides for ancient civilizations. Today, the top countries raising goats are China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, which together account for a significant majority of the world’s goat population. These countries rely on goats for their adaptability to diverse climates and terrains, as well as their importance in smallholder and subsistence farming systems. Goats continue to play an essential role in rural livelihoods, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where other livestock may struggle to thrive.

Rank	Country	Head
1	India	148,747,429
2	China	133,443,170
3	Pakistan	80,326,000
4	Nigeria	76,292,153
5	Bangladesh	59,953,432
6	Ethiopia	47,309,695
7	Chad	43,735,657
8	Kenya	32,570,314
9	Sudan	32,420,404
10	Mali	29,201,079
11	Mongolia	26,456,089
12	Tanzania	21,277,518
13	Niger	19,585,749
14	Indonesia	19,229,067
15	Burkina Faso	17,038,610
16	Iran	16,954,895
17	Uganda	16,140,949
18	South Sudan	14,412,722
19	Nepal	13,442,614
20	Turkey	12,341,514
21	Brazil	11,923,630
22	Somalia	11,629,115
23	Malawi	11,594,697
24	Yemen	9,343,908
25	Mexico	8,786,027
26	Ghana	8,422,243
27	Afghanistan	7,990,484
28	Mauritania	7,476,445
29	Central African Republic	6,515,282
30	Senegal	6,385,674
31	Morocco	6,207,391
32	Saudi Arabia	6,095,789
33	Cameroon	5,652,754
34	Zimbabwe	5,289,646
35	South Africa	5,150,163
36	Algeria	5,029,042
37	Angola	4,572,562
38	Togo	4,481,910
39	Argentina	4,280,903
40	Zambia	4,177,227
41	Congo	4,125,764
42	Cote d Ivoire	3,993,576
43	Guinea	3,947,834
44	Australia	3,933,693
45	Philippines	3,868,337
46	Mozambique	3,862,895
47	North Korea	3,790,794
48	Uzbekistan	3,643,200
49	Burundi	3,281,209
50	Greece	2,844,000
51	Vietnam	2,720,955
52	Libya	2,636,802
53	Spain	2,589,760
54	United States of America	2,586,000
55	Oman	2,443,150
56	United Arab Emirates	2,381,525
57	Turkmenistan	2,372,358
58	Kazakhstan	2,281,513
59	Bolivia	2,281,252
60	Myanmar	2,145,000
61	Tajikistan	2,044,929
62	Benin	2,042,758
63	Haiti	1,912,573
64	Syria	1,906,542
65	Eritrea	1,888,949
66	Russia	1,874,524
67	Namibia	1,868,905
68	Peru	1,754,968
69	Rwanda	1,625,117
70	Venezuela	1,588,307
71	Madagascar	1,498,079
72	Romania	1,492,500
73	France	1,387,770
74	Iraq	1,376,393
75	Botswana	1,217,817
76	Colombia	1,149,054
77	Tunisia	1,097,854
78	Italy	1,060,750
79	Egypt	862,172
80	Jordan	803,940
81	Guinea-Bissau	803,337
82	Albania	775,337
83	Lesotho	762,486
84	Sierra Leone	751,245
85	Kyrgyzstan	742,507
86	Laos	711,218
87	Cuba	656,690
88	Azerbaijan	585,520
89	Jamaica	577,798
90	Netherlands	575,000
91	Lebanon	531,289
92	Ukraine	519,400
93	Djibouti	519,169
94	Thailand	488,883
95	Chile	432,427
96	South Korea	401,066
97	Qatar	384,703
98	Liberia	361,855
99	Sri Lanka	361,740
100	Portugal	350,470
101	Gambia	335,557
102	Malaysia	328,944
103	Congo	327,214
104	Fiji	265,874
105	Eswatini	255,048
106	Palestine	239,966
107	Dominican Republic	226,792
108	Kuwait	219,756
109	Bulgaria	215,000
110	Timor-Leste	205,801
111	Serbia	195,037
112	Germany	164,000
113	Cabo Verde	143,619
114	Moldova	142,000
115	China Taiwan	126,067
116	Comoros	121,228
117	Gabon	117,657
118	New Zealand	116,666
119	Israel	116,000
120	Guatemala	114,566
121	United Kingdom	111,000
122	Paraguay	105,684
123	Austria	100,600
124	Croatia	86,000
125	Guyana	82,863
126	Switzerland	82,184
127	North Macedonia	75,753
128	Costa Rica	73,928
129	Norway	69,320
130	Bhutan	59,577
131	Ecuador	57,849
132	Belarus	55,400
133	Poland	54,091
134	Georgia	50,300
135	Bosnia and Herzegovina	48,372
136	Hungary	45,600
137	Canada	30,025
138	Montenegro	28,539
139	Slovenia	25,684
140	Czechia	25,409
141	Mauritius	25,172
142	Honduras	25,024
143	Bahrain	25,000
144	Armenia	22,522
145	Antigua and Barbuda	22,330
146	Uruguay	18,125
147	French Polynesia	16,490
148	Japan	16,265
149	Vanuatu	16,128
150	Bahamas	15,108
151	Lithuania	14,700
152	Tonga	14,326
153	El Salvador	14,005
154	Saint Lucia	13,255
155	Latvia	11,400
156	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	10,190
157	Equatorial Guinea	9,900
158	Dominica	9,705
159	Panama	9,116
160	Nicaragua	7,874
161	Grenada	6,951
162	Trinidad and Tobago	6,550
163	Sao Tome and Principe	5,966
164	Finland	5,900
165	Seychelles	5,769
166	Malta	5,640
167	Barbados	5,568
168	Saint Kitts and Nevis	5,513
169	Micronesia	4,801
170	Suriname	4,235
171	Brunei Darussalam	4,169
172	Papua New Guinea	3,095
173	Puerto Rico	2,822
174	New Caledonia	1,851
175	Iceland	1,672

Data from United Nations FAO Stat