Ethiopia has the world’s largest estimated donkey population, while Nigeria ranks 10th globally with 1,344,853 donkeys, according to data attributed to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and compiled by World Population Review.
The ranking places Ethiopia first with 10,803,079 donkeys, followed by Sudan with 7,677,752 and Pakistan with 5,938,000.
Chad ranks fourth with 5,042,154 donkeys, while Mexico occupies fifth position with 3,293,871. Niger, Burkina Faso, Iran and Afghanistan complete the countries ranked sixth to ninth.
Nigeria’s estimated population of 1,344,853 places it ahead of China, which has 1,299,000 donkeys, and Mali, with 1,263,440.
The other countries in the top 20 are Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Peru, Bolivia, Senegal and Venezuela.
| Rank | Country | Estimated donkey population |
| 1 | Ethiopia | 10,803,079 |
| 2 | Sudan | 7,677,752 |
| 3 | Pakistan | 5,938,000 |
| 4 | Chad | 5,042,154 |
| 5 | Mexico | 3,293,871 |
| 6 | Niger | 2,110,632 |
| 7 | Burkina Faso | 1,670,785 |
| 8 | Iran | 1,568,474 |
| 9 | Afghanistan | 1,530,569 |
| 10 | Nigeria | 1,344,853 |
The figures are based on the latest available data, which World Population Review identifies as 2024 estimates. The organisation says the overall global total in its table is 53,004,279 donkeys.
However, it cautions that FAO livestock data can have limitations. In some countries, estimates may cover combined equid categories rather than donkeys alone, while other figures may be modelled or imputed because of gaps in national data collection. FAOSTAT provides agricultural data for more than 245 countries and territories, covering periods from 1961 to the latest available year.
A 2021 analysis by Brooke and the University of Edinburgh also identified Ethiopia, Sudan, Pakistan, Chad, Mexico, Niger, Afghanistan, Iran and Nigeria among the countries with the largest donkey populations. The report estimated Nigeria’s donkey population at 1,342,609 in 2019, a figure close to the 1,344,853 estimate in the latest ranking.
The researchers noted that donkeys are important working animals in many low- and middle-income countries, supporting transport, agriculture and household livelihoods. They also warned that global donkey population data remain inconsistent because many countries conduct livestock censuses infrequently or do not record working equids separately.
