Milk production in Ireland
Ireland: Milk production was 8.73 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
8.73 million tonnes
Change on year
down 4.1%
World rank
22nd
of 192 countries
All-time high
9.11 million tonnes
in 2022
All-time low
2.36 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Milk production in Ireland, 1961–2023
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 Ireland is 8.73 million tonnes, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.1% on the previous year and up 56.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, milk production in Ireland peaked at 9.11 million tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.36 million tonnes, in 1961.
That places Ireland 22nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Milk production in Ireland, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.36 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 2.45 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 1963 | 2.46 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 2.55 million tonnes | +3.5% |
| 1965 | 2.64 million tonnes | +3.5% |
| 1966 | 2.72 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 2.95 million tonnes | +8.6% |
| 1968 | 3.15 million tonnes | +6.7% |
| 1969 | 3.15 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 3.08 million tonnes | -2.2% |
| 1971 | 3.16 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 1972 | 3.32 million tonnes | +5.0% |
| 1973 | 3.48 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1974 | 3.34 million tonnes | -3.9% |
| 1975 | 3.59 million tonnes | +7.6% |
| 1976 | 3.86 million tonnes | +7.5% |
| 1977 | 4.16 million tonnes | +7.6% |
| 1978 | 4.70 million tonnes | +13.0% |
| 1979 | 4.79 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1980 | 4.72 million tonnes | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 4.68 million tonnes | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 5.11 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 1983 | 5.50 million tonnes | +7.7% |
| 1984 | 5.74 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 5.83 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 5.62 million tonnes | -3.6% |
| 1987 | 5.53 million tonnes | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 5.33 million tonnes | -3.6% |
| 1989 | 5.38 million tonnes | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 5.40 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 5.28 million tonnes | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 5.33 million tonnes | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 5.27 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 5.34 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 5.35 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 5.30 million tonnes | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 5.26 million tonnes | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 5.09 million tonnes | -3.1% |
| 1999 | 5.12 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 5.16 million tonnes | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 5.38 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 5.37 million tonnes | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 5.31 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 5.27 million tonnes | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 5.06 million tonnes | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 5.22 million tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 5.22 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5.09 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 5.23 million tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 5.33 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 5.54 million tonnes | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 5.39 million tonnes | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 5.58 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 5.82 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 2015 | 6.59 million tonnes | +13.2% |
| 2016 | 6.85 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 7.48 million tonnes | +9.1% |
| 2018 | 7.83 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2019 | 8.24 million tonnes | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 8.56 million tonnes | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 9.04 million tonnes | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 9.11 million tonnes | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 8.73 million tonnes | -4.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 8.73 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.53 million tonnes, 5.7× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 8.73 million tonnes is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.10 million tonnes, 4.2× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.71 million tonnes | 2.36 million tonnes | 3.15 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.75 million tonnes | 3.08 million tonnes | 4.79 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.34 million tonnes | 4.68 million tonnes | 5.83 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.27 million tonnes | 5.09 million tonnes | 5.40 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.23 million tonnes | 5.06 million tonnes | 5.38 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.46 million tonnes | 5.33 million tonnes | 8.24 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.86 million tonnes | 8.56 million tonnes | 9.11 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More reference data data for Ireland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0921 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5015 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is milk production in Ireland?
- Milk production in Ireland was 8.73 million tonnes in 2023, 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 9.11 million tonnes in 2022.
- What is the lowest milk production recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.36 million tonnes in 1961.
- How does Ireland rank for milk production?
- Ireland ranks 22nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is milk production rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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 — 63 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.