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Data

Javan rhino population

About this data

Source
Various sources (2022) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
April 1, 2022
Date range
1965–2021

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Various sources – Rhino populations

Data was compiled by Our World in Data based on a number of historical sources. Data is based on best estimates: there is greater uncertainty in earlier historical data but is provided as the best estimate of the time.

The main data source for rhino populations is the African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups (AfRSG). AfRSG periodically produce the latest estimates of rhino populations in Africa and Asia, in update reports of their status. The available literature from AfRSG can be accessed at: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs.

Where a range of values are reported in the above document we report the central value. This is only the case for rhino population estimates in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Citation of the latest report is as follows: Burgess, Gayle and Ferreira, Sam and Talukdar, Bibhab and Knight, Michael and Baruch-Mordo, Sharon and Ellis, Susie. (2022). African and Asian Rhinoceroses: Status, Conservation and Trade: Report from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC (CITES CoP19 Doc 75).

Where estimates from AfRSG is available, we have used its data. However, we have also combined these statistics with earlier estimates from multiple academic sources. These include:

Pusparini, W., Sievert, P. R., Fuller, T. K., Randhir, T. O., and Andayani, N. (2015). Rhinos in the parks: an island-wide survey of the last wild population of the Sumatran rhinoceros. PloS one, 10(9), e0136643.

For values before 1998: Emslie, R. and Brooks, M. (1999) African Rhino. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC African Rhino Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. ix + 92 pp. Available at: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175863242.pdf

Thapa, K., Nepal, S., Thapa, G., Bhatta, S. R., and Wikramanayake, E. (2013). Past, present and future conservation of the greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis in Nepal. Oryx, 47(3), 345-351.

We also include estimates from the State of the Rhino Report (2020 and 2022) 2022 - https://rhinos.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IRF-State-of-the-Rhino-2022.pdf

Retrieved on
April 1, 2022
Retrieved from
http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups (AfRSG) and other sources (2022). Compiled by Our World in Data.

Data was compiled by Our World in Data based on a number of historical sources. Data is based on best estimates: there is greater uncertainty in earlier historical data but is provided as the best estimate of the time.

The main data source for rhino populations is the African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups (AfRSG). AfRSG periodically produce the latest estimates of rhino populations in Africa and Asia, in update reports of their status. The available literature from AfRSG can be accessed at: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs.

Where a range of values are reported in the above document we report the central value. This is only the case for rhino population estimates in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Citation of the latest report is as follows: Burgess, Gayle and Ferreira, Sam and Talukdar, Bibhab and Knight, Michael and Baruch-Mordo, Sharon and Ellis, Susie. (2022). African and Asian Rhinoceroses: Status, Conservation and Trade: Report from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC (CITES CoP19 Doc 75).

Where estimates from AfRSG is available, we have used its data. However, we have also combined these statistics with earlier estimates from multiple academic sources. These include:

Pusparini, W., Sievert, P. R., Fuller, T. K., Randhir, T. O., and Andayani, N. (2015). Rhinos in the parks: an island-wide survey of the last wild population of the Sumatran rhinoceros. PloS one, 10(9), e0136643.

For values before 1998: Emslie, R. and Brooks, M. (1999) African Rhino. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC African Rhino Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. ix + 92 pp. Available at: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175863242.pdf

Thapa, K., Nepal, S., Thapa, G., Bhatta, S. R., and Wikramanayake, E. (2013). Past, present and future conservation of the greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis in Nepal. Oryx, 47(3), 345-351.

We also include estimates from the State of the Rhino Report (2020 and 2022) 2022 - https://rhinos.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IRF-State-of-the-Rhino-2022.pdf

Retrieved on
April 1, 2022
Retrieved from
http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups (AfRSG) and other sources (2022). Compiled by Our World in Data.

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All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Javan rhino population”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from Various sources. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/javan-rhinos.html [online resource] (archived on May 11, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Various sources (2022) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Various sources (2022) – processed by Our World in Data. “Javan rhino population” [dataset]. Various sources, “Rhino populations” [original data]. Retrieved May 11, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260511-092124/grapher/javan-rhinos.html (archived on May 11, 2026).

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