Red meat consumption statistics show substantial differences between countries and measurement systems. The figures below include red-meat estimates from a Foods study, broader meat-supply data from the FAO as presented by Our World in Data, and forecasts from OECD-FAO and USDA ERS. Because these measures are not identical, each section keeps its unit, geography, and period explicit.
Table of contents
- The long-run global and China pattern
- Red meat consumption in high-GDP countries
- Country comparison
- Daily meat supply in 2023
- The United States: availability forecasts
- What global forecasts indicate
The long-run global and China pattern
The Foods 2023 study reports that global annual per-capita meat consumption increased from 32.10 kilograms per year in 1961 to 62.57 kilograms per year in 2019. That is a comparison between two historical observations separated by 58 years; it is not a forecast and does not describe red meat alone.
China experienced a much larger change over the same period in the study. Annual per-capita meat consumption rose from 7.62 kilograms in 1961 to 102.17 kilograms in 2019. The two endpoints describe the scale of change reported for China, while the study’s country table separately reports red-meat consumption figures for selected high-GDP countries.
For readers interested in wild game, the distinction matters. A total-meat figure can include several meat categories, whereas a red-meat figure is a narrower measure. These statistics are therefore useful for understanding the broader food context, but they should not be treated as a direct estimate of venison consumption.
Red meat consumption in high-GDP countries
The Foods 2023 high-GDP country table reports annual red meat consumption in kilograms per person. The values span a wide range. Saudi Arabia is listed at 10.78 kilograms per person, while Austria is listed at 76.62 kilograms per person. Japan is listed at 28.22 kilograms, and Kuwait at 27.39 kilograms.
Several countries fall near or above 60 kilograms per person. The reported figures are 64.26 kilograms for France, 62.69 for Italy, 62.35 for Denmark, 62.03 for Ireland, 60.06 for the Netherlands, and 59.64 for Canada. Germany is listed at 68.56 kilograms, while New Zealand is listed at 70.95 kilograms.
Other observations include 56.72 kilograms for Switzerland, 58.34 for Sweden, 54.64 for Iceland, 52.82 for Finland, 48.93 for the United Kingdom, 48.68 for Norway, 46.16 for Taiwan, 21.39 for Oman, and 10.78 for Saudi Arabia. The source presents these as country values in its high-GDP table; the supplied figures do not provide a separate measurement year for each table entry.
Country comparison
The table below places the reported annual red-meat figures side by side. All values are kilograms per person per year and come from the high-GDP country table in the Foods 2023 study.
| Country | Red meat consumption (kg/person/year) |
|---|---|
| Austria | 76.62 |
| Australia | 75.07 |
| United States | 70.77 |
| New Zealand | 70.95 |
| Germany | 68.56 |
| France | 64.26 |
| Italy | 62.69 |
| Denmark | 62.35 |
| Ireland | 62.03 |
| Netherlands | 60.06 |
| Canada | 59.64 |
| Sweden | 58.34 |
| Switzerland | 56.72 |
| Iceland | 54.64 |
| Finland | 52.82 |
| United Kingdom | 48.93 |
| Norway | 48.68 |
| Taiwan | 46.16 |
| Kuwait | 27.39 |
| Japan | 28.22 |
| Oman | 21.39 |
| Saudi Arabia | 10.78 |
Australia’s reported value is 75.07 kilograms per person per year, and Austria’s is 76.62 kilograms. The United States is listed at 70.77 kilograms. At the lower end of this supplied comparison, Saudi Arabia’s 10.78-kilogram figure is followed by Oman at 21.39 kilograms, Kuwait at 27.39 kilograms, and Japan at 28.22 kilograms.
These observations should be read as a source-specific comparison, not as a universal ranking of current diets. The supplied provenance identifies the research as legacy research and says it was not independently verified. The numbers are retained with that limitation rather than presented as newly checked estimates.
Daily meat supply in 2023
Our World in Data, using FAO data, reports daily per-capita meat supply for 2023. This is a broader measure than red meat consumption: it describes meat supply in grams per person per day and should not be converted into a red-meat total without additional category data.
The United States had a daily per-capita meat supply of 334 grams in 2023. North America was reported at 276 grams, while Oceania was reported at 261 grams. Among the country figures supplied, Tonga had 430 grams per person per day, Mongolia had 373 grams, the Marshall Islands had 344 grams, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had 325 grams, and Australia had 320 grams.
Other high reported country values were 315 grams in Argentina and 315 grams in the Bahamas, 306 grams in Belarus, 299 grams in Nauru, 299 grams in Samoa, and 298 grams in Israel. Brazil was reported at 286 grams. Denmark was at 277 grams, Spain at 276 grams, Croatia at 273 grams, Portugal at 272 grams, Chile at 270 grams, and Ireland at 270 grams.
The remaining supplied 2023 country observations were 269 grams in Iceland, 265 grams in Montenegro, 264 grams in Antigua and Barbuda, and 260 grams in Canada. High-income countries were reported at 254 grams per person per day. These figures are supply statistics for 2023, not household survey results and not direct measurements of what every individual ate.
For wild game cooks, the practical takeaway is measurement discipline: a regional or national meat-supply figure can establish context for meat availability, but it does not reveal how much beef, pork, poultry, venison, or other specific meats made up that supply.
The United States: availability forecasts
The USDA Economic Research Service August 2025 chart projects U.S. per-capita availability of red meat and poultry at 226 pounds in 2025 and 227 pounds in 2026. The chart’s combined category includes red meat and poultry, so it is not interchangeable with the Foods study’s red-meat-only figure or with the FAO-based daily meat-supply measure.
The same USDA ERS chart provides category projections. Beef availability is projected at 58.5 pounds per person in 2025 and 56.9 pounds in 2026. Pork is projected at 49.7 pounds in 2025 and 50.9 pounds in 2026. Broiler availability is projected at 102.7 pounds in 2025 and 102.8 pounds in 2026. Turkey is projected at 13.0 pounds in 2025 and 13.6 pounds in 2026.
| U.S. category | 2025 projection (lb/person) | 2026 projection (lb/person) |
|---|---|---|
| Red meat and poultry | 226 | 227 |
| Beef | 58.5 | 56.9 |
| Pork | 49.7 | 50.9 |
| Broiler | 102.7 | 102.8 |
| Turkey | 13.0 | 13.6 |
The forecast period is explicit: these are projections for 2025 and 2026 from an August 2025 chart, not final measurements for those years. The beef projection is lower in 2026 than in 2025, while pork, broiler, and turkey are each projected higher in 2026. Those movements are category-specific forecast differences, not evidence of a change in venison consumption.
What global forecasts indicate
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2025–2034 projects total meat consumption growth of 47.9 million tonnes over the next decade. It also projects annual per-capita meat consumption to rise by 0.9 kilograms per person per year by 2034. These are outlook figures covering the coming decade from the 2025–2034 outlook period, not historical observations.
The outlook projects meat output to grow by 13% over the coming decade and greenhouse-gas emissions from meat production to rise by 6% over that decade. It attributes different shares of bovine, pig-meat, and poultry production gains to improved slaughter weights: 8% for bovine production gains, 27% for pig-meat production gains, and 19% for poultry meat production gains.
The report also describes the distribution of consumption. High-income countries accounted for 35% of global meat consumption in 2024 while representing 17% of the world’s population. In middle-income economies, rising incomes are expected to lift daily per-capita intake of meat, dairy, fish, and other animal products by 6% over the next decade.
Finally, the outlook reports that low-income countries are projected to average 143 kilocalories per day from animal-source foods. The FAO healthy-diet benchmark used in the report is 300 kilocalories per day. Those figures refer to animal-source foods overall, not red meat alone, and they are best understood as a nutrition and access comparison rather than a red-meat target.