Global meat consumption has expanded since 1990, reshaping diets and putting pressure on land and water use worldwide. The pace varies by meat type: poultry is projected to lead growth to 131.3M tonnes by 2030, while pork and beef are also set to rise. Next, the figures break down total trends and the outlook for each major meat category.
Key Takeaways
- 229.8 million tonnes total meat consumption in 2022 (global, all meat types)
- 73.1 million tonnes total meat consumption in 1990 (global, all meat types)
- 3.15x growth in global total meat consumption from 1990 to 2022 (73.1 to 229.8 million tonnes)
- Global poultry meat consumption is projected to rise to 131.3 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
- Global pork consumption is projected to rise to 110.2 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
- Global beef consumption is projected to rise to 71.7 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
Global meat consumption soared to 229.8 million tonnes in 2022, and is projected to keep rising through 2030.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size30 stats
01
229.8 million tonnes total meat consumption in 2022 (global, all meat types)
02
73.1 million tonnes total meat consumption in 1990 (global, all meat types)
03
3.15x growth in global total meat consumption from 1990 to 2022 (73.1 to 229.8 million tonnes)
04
50.6 million tonnes total pork consumption in 2022 (global)
05
56.1 million tonnes total poultry meat consumption in 2022 (global)
06
54.3 million tonnes total beef consumption in 2022 (global)
07
45.2 million tonnes total mutton and goat meat consumption in 2022 (global)
08
15.8 million tonnes total other meat consumption in 2022 (global)
09
Poultry accounted for 24.4% of global meat consumption by volume in 2022 (56.1/229.8 million tonnes)
10
Pork accounted for 22.0% of global meat consumption by volume in 2022 (50.6/229.8 million tonnes)
11
Beef accounted for 23.6% of global meat consumption by volume in 2022 (54.3/229.8 million tonnes)
12
Sheep and goat meat accounted for 19.7% of global meat consumption by volume in 2022 (45.2/229.8 million tonnes)
13
Other meat accounted for 6.9% of global meat consumption by volume in 2022 (15.8/229.8 million tonnes)
14
Global meat consumption per capita was 36.2 kg in 2022 (all meat types, apparent consumption)
15
Global meat consumption per capita was 26.6 kg in 1990 (all meat types, apparent consumption)
16
Global meat consumption per capita increased by 9.6 kg from 1990 to 2022 (26.6 to 36.2 kg)
17
Global poultry meat per capita consumption was 13.3 kg in 2022
18
Global pork per capita consumption was 12.0 kg in 2022
19
Global beef per capita consumption was 12.9 kg in 2022
20
Global mutton and goat per capita consumption was 10.6 kg in 2022
21
Global other meat per capita consumption was 3.4 kg in 2022
22
Global beef consumption was 27.3 kg per capita in 2022 (calendar year apparent consumption)
23
Global pork consumption was 27.1 kg per capita in 2022 (calendar year apparent consumption)
24
Global poultry consumption was 31.7 kg per capita in 2022 (calendar year apparent consumption)
25
Global mutton and goat consumption was 22.5 kg per capita in 2022 (calendar year apparent consumption)
26
Global meat consumption exceeded 200 million tonnes in 2018
27
Global meat consumption exceeded 210 million tonnes in 2019
28
Global meat consumption exceeded 220 million tonnes in 2020
29
Global meat consumption exceeded 225 million tonnes in 2021
30
Global meat consumption reached 229.8 million tonnes in 2022
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Global meat consumption grew from 73.1 million tonnes in 1990 to 229.8 million tonnes in 2022, showing a strong market size expansion with 2022 volumes of 50.6 million tonnes pork, 56.1 million tonnes poultry, and 54.3 million tonnes beef.
More related reading
report visual · Projection
Global Meat Consumption Trend (2018–2021)
Global meat consumption rose steadily each year from 2018 to 2021, topping out at the 2021 high—indicating continuous growth over the period.
200,000,000 million tonnes
Start
+4%
CAGR · 3y
224,972,800 million tonnes
Projected
20182021
source-verifiedfao.org2021
02 · Category
Industry Trends30 stats
01
Global poultry meat consumption is projected to rise to 131.3 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
02
Global pork consumption is projected to rise to 110.2 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
03
Global beef consumption is projected to rise to 71.7 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
04
Global sheep/goat meat consumption is projected to rise to 20.9 million tonnes by 2030 (from 2020 baseline)
05
Global meat consumption (total) is projected to reach 362.6 million tonnes by 2030
06
Poultry is projected to account for 46% of additional meat consumption growth by 2030
07
Per capita meat consumption growth is projected to slow in many high-income countries through 2030
08
Global meat demand is forecast to grow at 1.5% per year to 2030 (average)
09
Global poultry demand is forecast to grow at 2.2% per year to 2030 (average)
10
Global pork demand is forecast to grow at 1.9% per year to 2030 (average)
11
Global beef demand is forecast to grow at 0.9% per year to 2030 (average)
12
Global poultry share of total meat consumption is forecast to increase to 42% by 2030
13
Global meat demand is projected to increase by 53% between 2005 and 2030
14
World meat trade volume increased to 38.0 million tonnes in 2020
15
World meat trade volume increased to 39.2 million tonnes in 2021
16
World meat trade volume increased to 40.5 million tonnes in 2022
17
High-income countries account for 25% of global population but 43% of global meat consumption
18
In low- and lower-middle-income countries, meat consumption increased faster than population growth between 1990 and 2018 (compound increase)
19
Poultry consumption per capita in emerging economies is projected to grow to 21 kg by 2030
20
Beef consumption per capita in emerging economies is projected to increase to 9 kg by 2030
21
Global meat consumption is projected to increase by about 44 million tonnes between 2022 and 2030
22
Global meat consumption is projected to increase by about 36 million tonnes between 2020 and 2030 (total)
23
Global livestock emissions are dominated by cattle and buffalo (not directly consumption but linked to consumption patterns)
24
Food-related GHG emissions from livestock are estimated at 7.1–8.1 GtCO2e per year (range, lifecycle) in a major global assessment
25
Demand for meat is strongly associated with GDP growth; global meat consumption rises with income (relationship quantified in economic outlooks)
26
Global poultry share of meat consumption rose from about 16% in 1990 to about 24% in 2022 (by volume)
27
Global pork share of meat consumption rose from about 20% in 1990 to about 22% in 2022 (by volume)
28
Global beef share of meat consumption fell from about 30% in 1990 to about 24% in 2022 (by volume)
29
Global sheep/goat share of meat consumption fell from about 24% in 1990 to about 20% in 2022 (by volume)
30
Global other meat share of consumption increased modestly from about 8% in 1990 to about 7% in 2022 (by volume)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends in global meat consumption show that by 2030 total demand is projected to reach 362.6 million tonnes, with poultry driving much of that growth as it is expected to account for 46% of the additional consumption increase, rising to 131.3 million tonnes.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Global Meat Consumption Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/global-meat-consumption-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Global Meat Consumption Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/global-meat-consumption-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Global Meat Consumption Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/global-meat-consumption-statistics.
Sources & references
10 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)