Milk production in Australia
Australia: Milk production was 8.67 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
8.67 million tonnes
Change on year
up 2.4%
World rank
23rd
of 192 countries
All-time high
11.27 million tonnes
in 2002
All-time low
5.41 million tonnes
in 1981
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Milk production in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for milk production in Australia is 8.67 million tonnes, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and down 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, milk production in Australia peaked at 11.27 million tonnes in 2002 and was at its lowest, 5.41 million tonnes, in 1981.
That places Australia 23rd out of 192 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Milk production in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.28 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 6.76 million tonnes | +7.8% |
| 1963 | 6.88 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 1964 | 7.01 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 7.13 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1966 | 7.27 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1967 | 7.52 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1968 | 7.02 million tonnes | -6.7% |
| 1969 | 7.18 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1970 | 7.76 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 1971 | 7.47 million tonnes | -3.6% |
| 1972 | 7.30 million tonnes | -2.4% |
| 1973 | 7.17 million tonnes | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 6.93 million tonnes | -3.4% |
| 1975 | 6.70 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 1976 | 6.44 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 1977 | 5.95 million tonnes | -7.6% |
| 1978 | 5.66 million tonnes | -4.9% |
| 1979 | 5.82 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1980 | 5.57 million tonnes | -4.4% |
| 1981 | 5.41 million tonnes | -2.9% |
| 1982 | 5.43 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 5.70 million tonnes | +4.9% |
| 1984 | 6.11 million tonnes | +7.2% |
| 1985 | 6.22 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 6.22 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 6.36 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 6.32 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 6.48 million tonnes | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 6.46 million tonnes | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 6.60 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 6.94 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 1993 | 7.55 million tonnes | +8.8% |
| 1994 | 8.33 million tonnes | +10.2% |
| 1995 | 8.46 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 8.99 million tonnes | +6.2% |
| 1997 | 9.32 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 9.44 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 10.18 million tonnes | +7.8% |
| 2000 | 10.85 million tonnes | +6.6% |
| 2001 | 10.55 million tonnes | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 11.27 million tonnes | +6.9% |
| 2003 | 10.33 million tonnes | -8.4% |
| 2004 | 10.08 million tonnes | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 10.13 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 10.09 million tonnes | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 9.58 million tonnes | -5.0% |
| 2008 | 9.22 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 9.39 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 9.02 million tonnes | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 9.10 million tonnes | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 9.48 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 9.52 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 9.54 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 9.49 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 9.68 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 9.02 million tonnes | -6.9% |
| 2018 | 9.29 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 8.85 million tonnes | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 9.10 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 9.07 million tonnes | -0.4% |
| 2022 | 8.45 million tonnes | -6.8% |
| 2023 | 8.47 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 8.67 million tonnes | +2.4% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 8.67 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.53 million tonnes, 5.7× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- Australia's 8.67 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29,145 tonnes, 297.5× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.01 million tonnes | 6.28 million tonnes | 7.52 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 6.72 million tonnes | 5.66 million tonnes | 7.76 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.98 million tonnes | 5.41 million tonnes | 6.48 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.23 million tonnes | 6.46 million tonnes | 10.18 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.15 million tonnes | 9.22 million tonnes | 11.27 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.30 million tonnes | 8.85 million tonnes | 9.68 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.75 million tonnes | 8.45 million tonnes | 9.10 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is milk production in Australia?
- Milk production in Australia was 8.67 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest milk production recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.27 million tonnes in 2002.
- What is the lowest milk production recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.41 million tonnes in 1981.
- How does Australia rank for milk production?
- Australia ranks 23rd out of 192 countries with data for 2024.
- Is milk production rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Milk production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Milk represents the raw equivalents of all dairy products including cheese, yoghurt, cream and milk consumed as the final product.