France
Profile availableThe horses of Lascaux, sport and draught breeding, donkey breeds and equitation in the French tradition.
Explore: FranceHorse numbers and equestrian cultures
Equids around the world
For centuries, horses, donkeys and mules carried travellers and goods, worked the land and accompanied armies. Engines changed their place in everyday life. Today, breeding, racing, riding and farm work shape very different equestrian worlds from one country to another, reflected in their animal numbers and traditions.
Horses around the world, 1961–2024
Choose a year, then display the total number of horses or horses per 1,000 people.
Horses worldwide · 2024
56,211,907
Per 1,000 people · world · 2024
6.9
Countries in 2024 · Number of horses
Countries with the most horses · 2024
- Mexico6,421,075
- United States6,215,569
- Brazil5,702,612
- Mongolia4,683,233
- Kazakhstan4,353,028
- China3,521,000
- Argentina2,588,704
- Ethiopia2,293,260
- Chad1,550,515
- Russia1,322,642
- Colombia964,426
- Sudan796,418
FAOSTAT — horses, stocks (QCL) · World Bank — people (SP.POP.TOTL)
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Green countries open their profiles directly. Profiles for the gold countries are in preparation.
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Profile availableProfile in preparation
Map data: Natural EarthCountry profiles
10 countries found
Europe
Italy
Profile in preparationHorses and mules in antiquity, regional breeds and agricultural uses.
Portugal
Profile in preparationLusitanos, Miranda donkeys, riding traditions and agricultural archives.
Spain
Profile availableIberian breeds, donkeys and mules, breeding and regional equestrian cultures.
Explore: SpainUnited Kingdom
Profile in preparationRegional ponies, working horses, racing and the history of agricultural censuses.
Africa
Morocco
Profile in preparationBarb horses, working donkeys, the organisation of breeding and tbourida.
Asia
Mongolia
Profile in preparationPastoral breeding, horses in steppe societies and livestock censuses.
North America
United States
Profile in preparationPrehistoric equids, the return of domestic horses and their spread through Indigenous networks.
South America
Argentina
Profile in preparationPrehistoric equids, the arrival of domestic horses, Indigenous exchanges and livestock cultures.
Oceania
Australia
Profile in preparationThe introduction of equids, the spread of horses and donkeys, work and feral populations.
Sources for the figures
Horse numbers, including ponies, come from FAOSTAT. The number of people comes from the World Bank for the same year. These data were checked on 10 November 2026.
- FAOSTAT — horses, stocks (QCL)
Live animals, item 1096, element 5111. Official, estimated and reconstructed figures retain their source flags.
- World Bank — people (SP.POP.TOTL)
The number of people in the same year as the horses. Without this value, horses per person remains unavailable.
- Agreste — horses on agricultural holdings in 2024
Annual agricultural statistics for 2024, provisional results, April 2025, p. 22: 289,788 horses on holdings across France. This matches the French 2024 value in the comparator’s FAOSTAT extract.