Milk production in China

China: Milk production was 45.44 million tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
45.44 million tonnes
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
4th
of 191 countries
All-time high
46.78 million tonnes
in 2023
All-time low
1.83 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Milk production in China, 1961–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

In 2024, milk production in China stood at 45.44 million tonnes.

That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and up 25.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, milk production in China peaked at 46.78 million tonnes in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.83 million tonnes, in 1961.

China ranks 4th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 1.90 million tonnes 1.83 million tonnes 1.96 million tonnes 9
1970s 2.30 million tonnes 1.94 million tonnes 2.76 million tonnes 10
1980s 4.59 million tonnes 2.87 million tonnes 6.39 million tonnes 10
1990s 8.80 million tonnes 6.82 million tonnes 10.87 million tonnes 10
2000s 25.94 million tonnes 11.99 million tonnes 34.81 million tonnes 10
2010s 35.56 million tonnes 34.56 million tonnes 36.35 million tonnes 10
2020s 43.32 million tonnes 38.89 million tonnes 46.78 million tonnes 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 India 247.84 million tonnes compare
  2. 2 United States 102.48 million tonnes compare
  3. 3 Pakistan 66.67 million tonnes compare
  4. 5 Brazil 36.85 million tonnes compare
  5. 6 Germany 33.80 million tonnes compare
  6. 7 Russia 33.04 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is milk production in China?
Milk production in China was 45.44 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 China?
The highest recorded value was 46.78 million tonnes in 2023.
What is the lowest milk production recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 1.83 million tonnes in 1961.
How does China rank for milk production?
China ranks 4th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
Is milk production rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 25.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China 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

Indicator
Milk production
Unit
tonnes
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
192 places, 11,106 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

Milk represents the raw equivalents of all dairy products including cheese, yoghurt, cream and milk consumed as the final product.