More Than 1.1 Million Visitors Last Year!

The Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden has long been the most visited cultural institution and ticketed tourist attraction in Hungary. However, even compared to previous years, 2024 brought an exceptional number of visitors, with a total of 1,119,564 recorded.

This number does not include the visitors to the Margaret Island Mini Zoo, which is also operated by us. While we don’t have exact figures for the passersby who admired the animals from the walkways, we do know that 200,103 people entered the Mini Zoo itself. In total, across both locations, 1,319,667 people visited us last year.

Compared to 2023, visitor numbers increased by 23.5% at the main zoo and by 18.6% overall (including both locations). This is significantly higher than in previous years—the last time we saw such high attendance was in 2003, making 2024 our busiest year in two decades. Additionally, based on ticket data, one-fifth of our visitors came from abroad.

A Rich and Diverse Animal Collection

Throughout the year, visitors enjoyed an extraordinarily diverse collection of animals, which surpasses all other Hungarian zoos in terms of the number of species and ranks highly even in international comparisons. The Budapest Zoo is home to 646 species, including:

• 103 mammal species
• 106 bird species
• 84 reptile species
• 20 amphibian species
• 174 fish species
• 156 invertebrate species

At the Margaret Island Mini Zoo, visitors can see 19 bird species and 3 mammal species. The total number of individual animals exceeds 7,000. The high diversity of species and animal groups aligns with our century-old mission to showcase the richness of the natural world to the public.

Major Developments & Conservation Achievements

Alongside record attendance, 2024 saw significant improvements at the zoo, thanks in part to the Zoo Foundation. Key upgrades included:

• Expansion of the enclosure for the endangered Asiatic wild dogs, which regularly breed in Budapest
• Renovation of the prairie dog habitat
• Modernization of the former wombat enclosure, now transformed into the “Wombat House”

This last upgrade is especially noteworthy because Budapest Zoo has the highest success rate outside of Australia in breeding these rarely seen marsupials. Additionally, new enclosures in the Biodome were populated with camels, African Barbary sheeps, buffalos, and Hungarian Grey cattles.

New arrivals in 2024 included:

• White-lipped bamboo viper and mangrove viper at the Venom House
• Elephantnose fish at the Magic Mountain exhibit
• Brown bears, Hargita and Csángó, who made their debut on August 9—our zoo’s birthday—after their newly renovated enclosure was completed
• Several rare species from Vietnam, as part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ VietnAmazing campaign, which raises awareness of Southeast Asia’s endangered wildlife

Conservation & Breeding Success

Among the most notable births were:

• Spectacled penguin chicks, part of an endangered species
• A zebra foal, born in mid-December
• Two golden takins, Meilin and Bao—the first-ever golden takins successfully bred in Hungary

Beyond breeding endangered species, our zoo also contributed to international conservation efforts. For example, three Northern bald ibises (hatched in 2023) were released in Andalusia, Spain, as part of a program to reintroduce zoo-born ibises into the wild.

Wildlife rescue efforts were also highly successful, with the full report on rescued animals to be released soon by the Hungarian Bird Rescue Foundation, established by the Budapest Zoo.

After a record-breaking 2024, we look forward to continuing our work in conservation, education, and providing unforgettable experiences for visitors in 2025. A huge thank you to everyone who visited and supported our zoo last year!