Much of the information in this section has been sourced from data gathered or estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Data on cow's milk production relates to total production of whole milk, excluding milk suckled by young animals but including amounts fed to livestock. Figures generally relate to a January to December reporting year although some countries report data for periods other than a calendar year, notably Australia where data relates to years ending 30 June and New Zealand where data represents years ending 31 May.

FAO have access to official statistics on cows milk production for most important milk producing countries, where they are not available FAO make estimates based on food consumption surveys and other indicators.

Tables showing butter and cheese output represent total production and include product manufactured in dairy factories and on farm. No data are available for some countries and those reported by other countries may be underestimated, particularly as regards farm production. The world totals therefore reflect the limited coverage of the data.

Data on cheese relate to all kinds of cheese produced, including full-fat, low-fat, hard and soft, fresh cheese and curd. Data on butter include ghee, which is liquid butter clarified by boiling.