State of the Rhino

2024 State of the Rhino

Every September, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) publishes our signature report, State of the Rhino, which documents current population estimates and trends, where available, as well as key challenges and conservation developments for the five surviving rhino species in Africa and Asia. 

Key takeaways from the 2024 State of the Rhino report:

  • Rhino poaching in Africa increased by 4% from 2022 to 2023. At least 586 African rhinos were poached in 2023, one every 15 hours.
  • While thriving in several regions, the total black rhino population declined slightly over the last year due to heavy poaching in Namibia and Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park in South Africa.
  • White rhino populations in South Africa are on the rise despite poaching. 
  • Greater one-horned rhinos have been making use of improved habitats and wildlife corridors. 
  • Two calves were born at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park in September and November 2023.
  • Since July 2023, Indonesian authorities have been investigating and prosecuting Javan rhino poaching groups, who confessed to killing 26 rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park from 2019 to 2023.

Download the 2024 State of the Rhino report

International Rhino Foundation's State of the Rhino 2024 graphic showing five rhino species' population estimates and endangered status
With all five species combined, there are just under 28,000 rhinos left in the world.

This report is dedicated to the committed individuals in African and Asian Rhino Range countries working to secure the five species of rhinos in the wild. The International Rhino Foundation especially respects and admires the tremendous sacrifices made by frontline rangers in rhino bearing areas. We are proud to support these efforts.


State of the Rhino

Why is it important to talk about rhino numbers? 

Successful conservation requires regular, accurate data on wildlife numbers and trends in order to manage populations, identify the risk of extinction and develop conservation strategies. In other words, you can’t save something if you don’t know what you have. Understanding population trends, threats and opportunities is the only way to know how and where to prioritize protection efforts and limited resources to target areas where conservation actions will have the most impact. This is particularly true for rhinos, who not only face environmental threats like habitat loss, fragmentation and invasion of alien plant species, but the devastating additional complication of poaching. 

Yet obtaining reliable data on exact population numbers is a herculean task, complicated by biological, environmental and socio-political obstacles. The ability to obtain accurate rhino numbers varies by country, the species and current political climate in every rhino range state.

Many rhino range states don’t conduct rhino counts every year so are unable to provide annual population estimates – and even when they do they don’t always publish the data. Countries that are part of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the international agreement between governments created to ensure that wildlife trade doesn’t impact species’ survival, generally report population counts every two to three years in conjunction with the CITES Conference of the Parties. While understanding rhino population numbers is considered by most to be essential, collecting and sharing data can be prohibitive or problematic. 

The threat of poaching adds a layer of complexity to releasing information about rhino populations. Publishing data on the size or locations of populations for a taxon like rhinos that are highly sought after for the illegal wildlife trade could assist criminal syndicates in identifying target areas to poach. Governments may also avoid releasing population data to downplay news on any increasing populations. 

chart showing Total World Rhino Population changes from 2007 to 2024

On the other hand, some governments may want to avoid the embarrassment of sharing news of decreasing population numbers. And publishing raw population data without proper context can be misleading. For example, an increase in numbers might suggest rhinos are thriving when significant threats are still present, giving people a false sense of security or complacency.

Logistically, rhino populations in many areas are extremely difficult to count. Rhinos are often solitary and can be difficult to spot, especially in dense vegetation. Their shy behavior makes it hard to track them consistently, leading to underestimation in population counts. Whether they are roaming over vast landscapes like Kruger National Park in South Africa or quietly traversing through dense jungles such as Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia, surveying these areas is difficult and expensive, requiring significant resources such as aerial surveillance, camera traps and tracking teams. Additionally, animals can disperse over borders between countries, risking either double counting or individuals being missed entirely. 

Governmental wildlife agencies may not have sufficient resources to invest in frequent and comprehensive population assessments. There is no single standard for counting rhinos. Different countries use various techniques tailored to their species and unique habitat. In India and Nepal rhinos are counted every 3-4 years by large teams of people riding elephants in order to spot rhinos while staying safe from rhinos and other wildlife. In some countries camera traps are used to identify and estimate rhino populations. And in others helicopters and aerial teams are used to count rhinos over vast landscapes. In Namibia rhino rangers track rhinos by vehicle and record every single rhino using an ear notching identification method. No method for counting rhinos is 100% accurate every time, but scientists make their estimates with the best available data.

Rhino conservation is nuanced and challenging, even with accurate population assessments. But when this most basic of conservation needs goes unfulfilled, it hinders rhino protection and preservation around the globe. The aim of the International Rhino Foundation’s (IRF) annual State of the Rhino report is to not only provide accurate numbers and trends, but to also share the context in which they occur to support rhino conservation efforts in Africa and Asia. 

In this report, you will see total population estimates for black and white rhinos as of the end of 2023, while individual rhino range country data may only be as recent as of the end of 2021. For countries where there are conflicting numbers, either through different census methods or from different sources, we have provided that information as well. And for all five species, we have included our thoughts on population trends – where we are most concerned and where we’re celebrating successes. All of this is in service to the collective work IRF conducts with our partners around the globe, helping ensure all five rhino species survive.

African Rhinos

graphic showing white rhino distribution, population and endangered status

White Rhino

IUCN Estimated Population and Status: 17,464; Near Threatened

White rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) are the most populous of the five rhino species with approximately 17,464 animals across 11 countries in Africa. There are two white rhino subspecies, southern (C.s. simum) and northern (C.s. cottoni), but as there are only two northern white rhinos left in the world – both females – that subspecies is considered functionally extinct. Historically as a species, white rhinos made an incredible comeback from fewer than 100 individuals in the early 1900s to more than 21,000 at the end of 2012.

Unfortunately, from 2012 to 2021, their large numbers made them the primary target for rhino poachers, who are part of transnational criminal syndicates looking to sell rhino horn on the black market. During this period, white rhino numbers decreased by 24% to an estimated 15,942. Although the number of rhino deaths annually has decreased since the most recent peak in 2015, poaching remains the biggest threat to rhinos, and white rhinos in particular bear the brunt. Last year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG) announced the first population increase for the white rhino species in over a decade. They have recently announced another 3.4% increase for white rhinos, bringing their species estimate to 17,464 as of the end of 2023. 

graphic showing black rhino distribution, population and endangered status

Black Rhino

IUCN Estimated Population and Status: 6,421; Critically Endangered

Black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) can currently be found in 12 countries in Africa, totalling an estimated 6,421 individuals. The black rhino population is made up of three subspecies, including approximately 2,583 south-western (D.b. bicornis); 2,450 southern (D.b. minor) and 1,388 eastern (D.b. michaeli). A fourth subspecies, the western black rhino (D.b. longipes), was declared extinct in 2011; its last evidence of existence was in Cameroon in 2006.

At one time, black rhinos were the most common of the world’s rhino species and records indicate there could have been as many as 100,000 throughout Africa in 1960. By 1970, poaching had reduced the population to approximately 65,000 and black rhinos continued to decline precipitously until a low of about 2,300 individuals in the mid 1990s. Thanks to intense protection and management efforts, black rhino populations stabilized and, despite ongoing poaching pressure, have increased by approximately 28% over the last decade. The AfRSG recently reported that the total black rhino population as of the end of 2023 is now approximately 6,421 – a 1% decrease over the last year, due mostly to the concentrated poaching seen in Namibia and South Africa’s Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. This slight decrease is the first noted for black rhinos since 1995, and hopefully only a one-time pause in their otherwise steady growth. 

graph of black and white rhino population changes from 1973 to 2024
Despite a 10-year decline during the height of the poaching crisis, white rhino populations have come a long way and are increasing again.Black rhinos have been steadily increasing since their population low in 1995. Both species are far better off than they were 30 years ago and will hopefully continue this upward trend.

African Rhino Populations and Poaching

African Rhino Range CountriesEstimated Rhino Population, by species (as of the end of 2021, unless otherwise noted)Last-Reported Rhino Poaching Count 
Angola3 white rhinoNot reported
Botswana265 rhino
(23 black, 242 white) 
138 from 2018 to 2022
Chad7 black rhino0 from 2018 to 2021
Democratic Republic of Congo20 white rhino2 from 2018 to 2021
Eswatini146 rhino
(48 black, 98 white)
0 in 20233 total since 2006
Kenya1,811 rhino
(938 black, 873 white)
1 in 2022
Malawi56 black rhino1 in 2022
Mozambique16 rhino
(2 black, 14 white)
0 in 2022
Namibia3,612 rhino
(2,196 black, 1,416 white)
67 in 2023
Rwanda58 rhino
(28 black, 30 white)
0 in 2022
South Africa16,056 rhino*
(2,065 black, 13,991 white)
*estimate as of the end of 2023, reported Aug 2024
499 in 2023; 
229 from Jan to Jun 2024
Tanzania212 black rhino0 in 2022
Uganda35 white rhino0 from 2006 to 2021
Zambia66 rhino
(58 black, 8 white)
1 in 2022
Zimbabwe1,033 rhino
(616 black, 417 white)
11 in 2022
bar graph of rhino poaching across Africa from 2006 to 2024 with figures from South Africa highlighted
There were a total of 586 rhino poaching deaths reported across Africa in 2023; 499 of those occurred in South Africa. The 586 rhinos lost in 2023 represent about 2.5% of the African rhino population that year, or one rhino killed every 15 hours.

Spotlight on Kruger National Park

pie charts showing percentage of rhino poaching occurring in different provinces in South Africa, across 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Kruger National Park – once the hotspot for rhino poaching – had 78 rhinos killed in 2023, a decrease of 37% from 2022. The vast majority of poaching last year (65%) occurred in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which had an alarming 325 rhinos poached – 307 of those deaths occurred in just one state park, Hluhluwe iMfolozi.

Long-embattled Kruger National Park (KNP) has maintained its significantly reduced poaching rate in 2024 thanks to the Park’s vigilant focus on a suite of core activities and areas. Kruger’s extensive and ongoing dehorning program of all rhinos in core areas continues to save rhinos. Strong collaboration between South Africa National Parks’ (SANParks) internal departments and external stakeholders is proving to re-energize and coordinate essential players. The Park has prioritized the dismissal, arrest, conviction and prosecution of SANParks staff (including Field Rangers) that were enabling poachers or involved in poaching activities themselves. Field Rangers being handed down prison sentences has sent a strong message regarding internal involvement and corruption.

Under the leadership of the Head Ranger, the continued implementation of the KNP Ranger Services Integrity Management Plan (IMP) is not only assisting in the Kruger National Park, but is setting a benchmark for other parks to follow. Indeed, it is being hailed as a model around the globe. The IMP is a holistic approach that assesses the drivers and dynamics of corruption, and then addresses these with a comprehensive set of actions that focuses on building individual integrity and organizational resilience to corruption. This includes the roll out of polygraph testing, as well as financial literacy, wellness and skills development programs for staff.

It is vital for state rhino park authorities to entrench and enforce these practices. Severe budget cuts across all State reserves in South Africa will have dire consequences for these rhino populations, and without a swift strategy to proactively address capacity and build strong capabilities, the poaching pressures that have plagued Kruger and other state parks will surely be repeated in new areas. 

There are many lessons to be learned from Kruger’s intense history with rhino poaching. Our hope is that parks and reserves around the world can learn from Kruger’s experience and we can collectively work to stem rhino poaching.

Asian Rhinos

Greater One-horned Rhino

IUCN Estimated Population and Status: 4,014; Vulnerable

graphic showing greater one-horned rhino distribution, population and endangered status

Greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) reside primarily in India and Nepal, though there is a population that occasionally crosses into Bhutan. Bhutan, India and Nepal work together to implement a trans-boundary management strategy for the greater one-horned rhino. Thanks to this collaboration and strict government protection and management, the greater one-horned rhino population has steadily grown from fewer than 100 animals over the last century, increasing by about 20% over the past decade. 

Though the greater one-horned rhino population is growing, the species is still classified as Vulnerable. Poaching remains a significant threat, and the species has been driven from many of the areas where it used to be common. Its full recovery depends not only on protecting rhinos where they have managed to survive, but also reintroducing them to places from which they’ve disappeared. Another significant landscape-level threat to greater one-horned rhinos is the prevalence of invasive species, which choke out native rhino food plants and limit the amount of habitat available. There is also some concern that greater one-horned rhinos could be one of the hardest hit by climate change, as stronger monsoon seasons and limited space and resources cause habitat disruption and increase the threat of human-wildlife conflict.

bar graph showing greater one-horned rhino population increases from the 1980s to today

Javan Rhino

IUCN Estimated Population and Status: 76*; Critically Endangered

graphic showing Javan rhino distribution, population and endangered status

*The discovery of a major poaching operation in Ujung Kulon National Park, where a reported 26 rhinos were poached from 2019 to 2023, has created uncertainty about the number of Javan rhinos currently left in the Park, as well as their population trend. The International Rhino Foundation believes that an estimate of 50 Javan rhinos is likely to be more accurate, though the Park’s monitoring teams will need to confirm the annual camera-trap count of individuals.

Since the 2011 death of the last Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) in Vietnam, the species now only exists in one country, in one national park – Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP). This year, Indonesian Police are investigating the killing of 26 Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon NP from 2019 to 2023 and the primary poacher has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. If the reports by Indonesian police are accurate that 26 Javan rhinos have been killed, the current Javan rhino population, which was last estimated to be 76, would now stand at 50 individuals. We encourage the Indonesian government to reassess the current Javan rhino population as well as determine the male-female ratio in order to bolster efforts to secure this imperiled species.

Sumatran Rhino

IUCN Estimated Population and Status: 34-47; Critically Endangered

graphic showing Sumatran rhino distribution, population and endangered status

Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) are also extant in just one country, Indonesia. The IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group (AsRSG) reports that there are up to 4 isolated populations and as many as 10 subpopulations of Sumatran rhinos left in Indonesia. Only one of these wild populations, in Gunung Lesuer, is believed to have enough individuals to be viable. Uncertainty is and has been the key word for tracking Sumatran rhino population trends over time. As this reclusive species seems to disappear further into dense jungles, direct sightings have become rare and indirect signs like footprints are getting harder to find.

The government of Indonesia reports that there are no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos in total, while the AsRSG specifies that the actual count could be as low as 34-47 individuals with no single subpopulation having more than 30 rhinos. There has been no evidence of Sumatran rhino poaching found for over a decade – there also have been no naturally occurring carcasses discovered either, making the species’ disappearance even more of a mystery. The beacon of hope for the species is the breeding program at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, a protected, semi-wild facility in Sumatra that has now produced five calves and continues its breeding efforts to create an insurance population of rhinos.

Asian Rhino Populations and Poaching

Asian Rhino Range CountriesEstimated Rhino Population, by species 
(as of the end of 2021, unless otherwise noted)
Last-Reported Rhino Poaching Count 
India3,262 greater one-horned rhino2 in 2023;
2 to date in 2024
Nepal752 greater one-horned rhino4 in 2023
Bhutanno permanent rhino population;
greater one-horned rhino range overlaps with India’s Manas NP
none
Indonesia84 to 97 rhino
(~50 Javan*, 34-47 Sumatran)
*This estimate subtracts the 26 poached rhinos from IUCN’s last estimate of 76 Javan rhinos at the end of 2021.
26 Javan rhinos reported poached from 2019-2023

Rhino Headlines

Research

Illegal Wildlife Trade

Global Rhino Headlines


The threats rhinos face are nothing new, but the rhino conservation toolbox is growing everyday. While tried-and-true conservation actions such as boots-on-the-ground protection or natural breeding for Sumatran rhinos, are continuously enhanced, newer tools like Artificial Intelligence for rhino monitoring and Assisted Reproductive Technologies, like IVF, are expanding their potential in the conservation toolbox. 

From Africa to Asia, every rhino species has a unique set of conservation challenges based on the environmental, socioeconomic and political realities of the province and country they reside in. IRF and our partners around the globe work to ensure the strategies and tools used for each species appropriately reflect these realities, the best available science and the resources available. Over our 33 years, we’ve gathered a collection of tools that enable us to Save Rhinos, Engage People and Protect Habitats. From population management and anti-poaching efforts to community development and capacity building to habitat restoration and rhino range expansion, these tools help create a future where all five rhino species thrive in the wild.

Rhino conservation is often two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes, as with Javan rhinos this year, it feels like a leap back. But we can’t let setbacks deter us, we have to move forward and find new paths and try new tools if old ones aren’t right for the current environment. The only way to truly fail in conservation is to stop trying at all. As of this writing, the government of Indonesia announced a new Javan rhino calf, the 5th known Javan rhino calf in the past two years, a reminder that, with protection and the right conditions, nature is resilient. While no single tool in our toolbox is a silver bullet, utilizing them together in a comprehensive and strategic intersection of science, technology and human determination can help ensure a future for all five rhino species.


This report was prepared by the International Rhino Foundation from sources including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora African and Asian Rhinoceroses – Status, Conservation and Trade report (August, 2022), IUCN SSC’s African Rhino and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups, and input from IRF’s rhino range country advisors and partners.