Who is the Major Beef Eater?

Argentina ranked the highest in cattle meat consumption per capita with 46.9 kg followed by Zimbabwe and USA, based on a comparison of 165 countries in 2020 according to @FAOstatistics . On the other end of the scale was Dem. Republic of the Congo with only 0.260 kg, Liberia with 0.420 kg and Mozambique with 0.560 kg.

Average global cattle meat consumption per capita reached 9.1 kg in 2020, according to @FAOstatistics . This is 0.22 % more than in the previous year and 3.30 % less than 10 years ago.

In absolute terms, USA was the biggest consumer with 12.5 Mt of bovine meat consumption, followed by China and Brazil. Total consumption reached 70.4 Mt in 2020 in the World according to Faostat. This is 1.3 % more than in the previous year and 8.46 % more than 10 years ago.

The average consumption of beef per capita has been falling is projected to fall by a further 5% by 2030, according to Faostat and @OECD . Asia and the Pacific is the only region where per capita beef consumption is projected to increase over the outlook period, albeit from a low base.

In China, the world’s second largest consumer of beef in absolute terms, per capita consumption is projected to rise a further 8% by 2030, after having risen 35% in the last decade. But most countries that have high beef per capita consumption will see their level of beef consumption decline in favour of poultry meat.

Data for more countries on beef consumption and production are available at: