Total poultry in India increased 49%, from 489 million in 2003 to 729 million in 2012, according to latest data from the Statistical Yearbook of India, 2017. In comparison, total livestock, including cattle, buffaloes, goats, yaks etc., increased 5.5% from 485 million in 2003 to 512 million in 2012, the data show.

In line, the consumption of chicken surged 181% in urban and 256% in rural India from 2004-05 to 2011-12, IndiaSpend reported in April 2015.

Of all livestock, India had the most cattle (190.9 million) followed by goats (135.2 million) and buffaloes (108.7 million). The greatest percentage increase was in the number of yaks, from 65,000 in 2003 to 77,000 in 2012.

By absolute numbers, there were over 10 million more buffaloes and goats each in 2012 as compared to 2003, the data show.

Source: Statistical Year Book India 2017

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly gave livestock and poultry numbers in thousands. All total livestock and poultry numbers are in millions. The story had been updated with the correct numbers. We regret the error.

(Shah is a writer/editor with IndiaSpend and FactChecker.)

Shreya Shah