Cattle numbers — every county ranked
Figures as of 2026, published by CSO PxStat. Accessed 2026-10-12.
Colour shows the 12-month change in cattle numbers, published by CSO for each county.
| Rank | County | Cattle numbers | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cork | 1,039,900 | +0.0% |
| 2 | Tipperary | 683,200 | +0.0% |
| 3 | Galway | 441,400 | +0.0% |
| 4 | Limerick | 441,100 | +0.0% |
| 5 | Kilkenny | 361,300 | +0.0% |
| 6 | Meath | 327,000 | +0.0% |
| 7 | Kerry | 323,700 | +0.0% |
| 8 | Wexford | 291,300 | +0.0% |
| 9 | Clare | 278,500 | +0.0% |
| 10 | Mayo | 264,000 | +0.0% |
| 11 | Offaly | 256,100 | +0.0% |
| 12 | Laois | 255,800 | +0.0% |
| 13 | Waterford | 255,000 | +0.0% |
| 14 | Westmeath | 239,200 | +0.0% |
| 15 | Cavan | 230,900 | +0.0% |
| 16 | Monaghan | 221,900 | +0.0% |
| 17 | Roscommon | 213,400 | +0.0% |
| 18 | Donegal | 186,900 | +0.0% |
| 19 | Kildare | 141,500 | +0.0% |
| 20 | Wicklow | 118,800 | +0.0% |
| 21 | Longford | 114,000 | +0.0% |
| 22 | Sligo | 107,100 | +0.0% |
| 23 | Carlow | 105,400 | +0.0% |
| 24 | Louth | 89,700 | +0.0% |
| 25 | Leitrim | 62,300 | +0.0% |
| 26 | Dublin | 20,700 | +0.0% |
Before you use these figures
- Dublin's herd is small enough that percentages swing hard: Dublin has by far the smallest cattle population of any county -- its bull count, for example, is typically only 100-200 head. A change of a few dozen animals there can read as a large percentage move that would be unremarkable anywhere else.
- Counted where the animal was, not where it was born or will be sold: An animal is attributed to the county of the holding it was on on 1 June. Young stock destined for finishing or export elsewhere is still counted at its current holding, so a county's figure describes what was standing in its fields that day, not local breeding or sales activity on its own.
- From the national cattle register, not a sample survey: CSO's own background notes say cattle figures are extracted from AIMS, the Animal Identification and Movement System -- the administrative register every animal's passport and ear tag feed -- as at 1 June each year. Unlike some other measures in the same release, this is close to a full administrative count, not a sample estimate.
- A snapshot on 1 June, not a year-round figure: Cattle numbers move throughout the year as calves are born and animals are moved, finished or exported. This is a single day's count, so only comparisons against the same date a year earlier are meaningful -- there is no month-to-month reading to make.
Cite this ranking:
Cattle numbers, every county ranked Caveats: Dublin's herd is small enough that percentages swing hard; Counted where the animal was, not where it was born or will be sold; From the national cattle register, not a sample survey; A snapshot on 1 June, not a year-round figure StatsMapped last confirmed these figures unchanged on 11 Oct 2026. Source: CSO PxStat https://statsmapped.com/ireland/rankings/cattle
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