As of 31 March 2023, the total carabao inventory was estimated at 2,769.10 thousand heads, which indicates a decrease of -0.1 percent compared with the previous year’s same period count of 2,771.45 thousand heads. About 99.2 percent of the country’s carabao population came from smallhold farms, while the remaining 0.7 percent and 0.1 percent were from semi-commercial farms and commercial farms, respectively. (Figure 2)

Bicol Region recorded the highest carabao population of 325.55 thousand heads as of 31 March 2023. This was followed by Western Visayas and Central Luzon with corresponding inventories of 261.72 thousand heads and 248.54 thousand heads. These three regions shared 30.2 percent to the country’s total carabao population during the period.