Turkey ranked first in both cattle and small-ruminant populations in a comparison with European Union (EU) countries based on livestock data for 2025.
According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) with December 31, 2025, as the reference date, Turkey’s cattle population was recorded at 17,709,000. The small-ruminant population, including sheep and goats, reached 57,874,000.
The data show that Turkey has a larger livestock population than EU countries, while the comparison does not cover all countries on the European continent or all animal species.
Turkey overtakes France in cattle numbers
France followed Turkey in cattle numbers with 16,237,000 head. Germany, with 10,420,000, and Spain, with 6,300,000 cattle, were the other prominent EU countries.
Turkey’s cattle population of 17,709,000 thus represented the highest level in the comparison.
The number of small ruminants was recorded at 57,874,000. With this figure, Turkey also ranked ahead of EU countries in the small-ruminant category, in which sheep and goats are assessed together.
Turkey returns to the top spot
Turkey’s ranking in comparisons with EU countries has changed in recent years. Turkey ranked first in cattle numbers from 2020 to 2022, but fell to second place behind France in the 2023 data. It maintained its position ahead of EU countries in small-ruminant numbers.
With the 2024 and 2025 data, Turkey once again ranked first in both categories.
TurkStat’s livestock statistics are compiled from administrative and statistical information collected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, while Eurostat data are used for comparisons involving EU countries.
A large animal population alone does not mean leadership in terms of production efficiency or economic performance in the livestock sector. Indicators such as meat and milk production, productivity per animal, feed costs, imports, producer incomes and consumer prices also need to be considered when assessing the sector’s overall condition.
