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The Geography of Farmed Animals and Farmed Animal Advocacy Funding

Similarly to how the scale of animal suffering differs across species, it also differs by region. Here, we explore the geographic distribution of farmed animals and funding in farmed animal advocacy. Based on those two factors, we identify countries with the greatest disparity between the number of farmed animals and the amount of animal advocacy funding.

Because the great majority of the global population of farmed vertebrate animals are fishes (72%) and chickens (22%),1 we decided to limit this analysis to these two animal groups. Also, we do not consider invertebrates in this post, given the lack of data on the number of farmed invertebrates by country.

Fig. 1: Farmed animals in the world

Geographic Distribution of Farmed Fishes

Fig. 2: Geographic distribution of farmed fishes (in %)

Fishes are the most numerous farmed vertebrates in the world.2 More than half of all farmed fishes are in China (58%), followed by Indonesia (8.7%), India (8.6%), and Bangladesh (4.5%). Egypt (3%), Vietnam (2.4%), Myanmar (2.2%), and the Philippines (1.7%) are also among the countries with the highest numbers of farmed fishes.3

From 2020 to 2030, the greatest growth in aquaculture (in tonnes) is expected to take place in South Africa (90.5%), Chile (47.6%), Canada (42.5%), Russia (36%), Peru (28.2%) and India (27.3%).4 However, in 2030, aquaculture is expected to be dominated by China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.5

Geographic Distribution of Farmed Chickens

Fig. 3: Geographic distribution of farmed chickens (in %)

Chickens are the most numerous farmed land vertebrates in the world.6 The countries with the highest number of farmed chickens are China (20%), Indonesia (13%), Pakistan (6%), Brazil (6%) and the U.S. (6%). Iran (4%), India (3%), and Mexico (2%) are also among the countries with the highest numbers of farmed chickens.7

From 2023 to 2032, the greatest growth in chicken meat8 production (in kilotonnes) is expected to take place in Kazakhstan (4%), Paraguay (3.9%), India (3.7%), Egypt (3.5%), the Philippines (3.2%), Pakistan (3.1%), and Saudi Arabia (3%).9 However, global chicken meat production is expected to be dominated by China, the U.S., and Brazil in 2032.10

Similarly, from 2023 to 2032, the greatest growth in egg production (in kilotonnes) is expected to take place in Vietnam (5%), Ethiopia (4.8%), India (3.1%), the Philippines (3%), and Egypt (2.6%).11 However, in 2032, egg production is expected to be dominated by China, India, Indonesia, the E.U., and the U.S.

Geographic Distribution of Funding

Despite the growth in international farmed animal advocacy funding,12 its geographic distribution is not representative of the geographic distribution of farmed animals. Although robust data on the distribution of farmed animal advocacy funding is lacking, the limited data we have suggests that almost half of all philanthropic funding for farmed animal advocacy goes to organizations in the U.S. (45%), followed by the U.K. (8.3%) and other countries in Europe (specifically Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands).13

Fig. 4: Geographic distribution of funding for farmed animal advocacy

Identifying Promising Countries

While more than half of all farmed animals are located in China (58% of farmed fishes and 20% of farmed chickens), it only receives 2.2% of the global funding for farmed animal advocacy. Similarly, Indonesia has the second-highest number of farmed animals (8.7% of farmed fishes and 13.4% of farmed chickens), but it only receives 0.4% of global funding. A similar trend occurs with India, which has high numbers of farmed animals (8.6% of farmed fishes and 3.1% of farmed chickens) but only receives 1.4% of global funding.

Fig. 5: Global distribution of farmed fishes, chickens, and % of farmed animal advocacy funding

Countries with the highest numbers of farmed fishes also include Bangladesh, Egypt, Myanmar, and the Philippines, and the countries with the highest numbers of farmed chickens include Pakistan, Brazil, Iran, and Mexico. All of these countries receive only a small proportion of farmed animal advocacy funding relative to the U.S. and some European countries.

Therefore, based on those two factors, we identify the following countries with the greatest disparity between the numbers of farmed animals and the level of animal advocacy funding:

  • China, Indonesia, and India for both farmed fishes and farmed chickens
  • Bangladesh, Egypt, Myanmar, and Philippines for farmed fishes
  • Pakistan, Brazil, Iran, and Mexico for farmed chickens

Because there are many other factors to consider when identifying promising countries for farmed animal advocacy, we advise caution when interpreting these results. (See limitations section below.)

For more details on the data we used, please refer to this spreadsheet.

Limitations

The most important limitation of this analysis in general (and specifically in using these results to identify promising countries in the farmed animal advocacy movement) is that it does not consider any factors other than the number of farmed animals and the amount of funding. This limitation is especially true when we consider that the number of animals and the proportion of funding can only be used as proxies for scale and neglectedness. The analysis excludes considerations of tractability or global influence, which can play an important role in how much positive change for animals we can potentially create in each of these countries. For example, cultural attitudes toward animals, existing animal welfare legislation, and a country’s representation and influence in global forums can play a role in how much positive change we can create for animals.

Moreover, data on the numbers of farmed fishes could be more unreliable than data on land-based farmed animals because official data are provided in tonnes rather than numbers of individuals. The estimates we used to determine the number of farmed fishes are based on the average weight of fish species.

In addition, we did not include data on future projections of farmed animals in terms of numbers of individuals because official data on future projections are only available in tonnes (of fish, poultry meat, and eggs).

Finally, data on the geographic distribution of funding is limited and likely skewed toward the U.S. and Western European countries, as organizations in those countries are probably more likely to be sought out by and respond to the Farmed Animal Funders survey that our funding data is based on. This might overestimate the proportion of funding going toward those countries.

Conclusion

There is a general imbalance between the geographic distribution of farmed animals and the geographic distribution of farmed animal advocacy funding. The highest numbers of farmed animals are in China and South Asian countries, but most funding is going toward the U.S. and European countries.

Based on these two factors alone, which can be considered proxies for scale and neglectedness, we identify China, Indonesia, and India as the countries with the greatest disparity between the numbers of farmed animals and the amount of farmed animal advocacy funding. Based on the same factors, we also identified other countries with a high disparity between the numbers of farmed animals and the amount of animal advocacy funding. Note that the method we used to identify these countries has an important limitation: It doesn’t include any consideration of tractability or global influence, which are also relevant factors for country prioritization.

How You Can Help

ACE currently recommends several charities that focus on reducing the suffering of farmed animals in various countries. We also support promising animal advocacy projects around the world through our Movement Grants program. Please consider donating to our Recommended Charity Fund or our Movement Grants program.

References

  1. For more details about data and sources, see this spreadsheet. 

  2. Estimates suggest that there were about 85 billion farmed fishes in the world in 2016. 

  3. For more details about data and sources, see this spreadsheet. 

  4. FAO (2022) 

  5. FAO (2022) 

  6. Estimates suggest that there are about 26 billion farmed chickens in the world (FAOSTAT, 2021). 

  7. For more details about data and sources, see this spreadsheet. 

  8. OECD/FAO (2023) uses the term “poultry meat” but doesn’t specify whether it includes species other than chickens. 

  9. OECD/FAO (2023) 

  10. OECD/FAO (2023) 

  11. OECD/FAO (2023) 

  12. FAF (2021) 

  13. These data come from a survey conducted by Farmed Animal Funders in 2021. The raw data has been shared with ACE confidentially.