Is cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in Africa?

Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Africa data come from?

The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa

Name: Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)

Africa: Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area was 0.17 LSU/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

0.17 LSU/ha

Change on year

unchanged

Rank

22nd

of 31 groups

All-time high

0.17 LSU/ha

in 2022

All-time low

0.07 LSU/ha

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2023

Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa, 1961–2023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU/ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa is 0.17 LSU/ha, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of up 13.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa peaked at 0.17 LSU/ha in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.07 LSU/ha, in 1961.

Africa ranks 22nd of 31 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa, 1961 to 2023.
Year	LSU/ha	Change
1961	0.07 LSU/ha	—
1962	0.07 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1963	0.07 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1964	0.07 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1965	0.07 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1966	0.07 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1967	0.08 LSU/ha	+14.3%
1968	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1969	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1970	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1971	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1972	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1973	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1974	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1975	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1976	0.08 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1977	0.09 LSU/ha	+12.5%
1978	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1979	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1980	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1981	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1982	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1983	0.1 LSU/ha	+11.1%
1984	0.09 LSU/ha	-10.0%
1985	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1986	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1987	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1988	0.09 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1989	0.1 LSU/ha	+11.1%
1990	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1991	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1992	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1993	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1994	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1995	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1996	0.1 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1997	0.11 LSU/ha	+10.0%
1998	0.11 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1999	0.11 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2000	0.11 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2001	0.11 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2002	0.12 LSU/ha	+9.1%
2003	0.12 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2004	0.12 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2005	0.12 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2006	0.13 LSU/ha	+8.3%
2007	0.13 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2008	0.13 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2009	0.14 LSU/ha	+7.7%
2010	0.14 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2011	0.14 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2012	0.14 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2013	0.15 LSU/ha	+7.1%
2014	0.15 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2015	0.15 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2016	0.15 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2017	0.15 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2018	0.16 LSU/ha	+6.7%
2019	0.16 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2020	0.16 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2021	0.16 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2022	0.17 LSU/ha	+6.3%
2023	0.17 LSU/ha	+0.0%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.0733 LSU/ha	0.07 LSU/ha	0.08 LSU/ha	9
1970s	0.083 LSU/ha	0.08 LSU/ha	0.09 LSU/ha	10
1980s	0.092 LSU/ha	0.09 LSU/ha	0.1 LSU/ha	10
1990s	0.103 LSU/ha	0.1 LSU/ha	0.11 LSU/ha	10
2000s	0.123 LSU/ha	0.11 LSU/ha	0.14 LSU/ha	10
2010s	0.149 LSU/ha	0.14 LSU/ha	0.16 LSU/ha	10
2020s	0.165 LSU/ha	0.16 LSU/ha	0.17 LSU/ha	4

Countries ranked near Africa

19 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.03 LSU/ha compare
19 Egypt 0.79 LSU/ha compare
19 Japan 0.79 LSU/ha compare
21 Nicaragua 0.76 LSU/ha compare
22 Brazil 0.71 LSU/ha compare
23 Dominican Republic 0.69 LSU/ha compare
24 Israel 0.65 LSU/ha compare
24 Myanmar 0.65 LSU/ha compare

See the full ranking of 241 places →

More environment data for Africa

Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.93 Percentage change (2025)
Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Export value 5.54 million 1000 USD (2024)
Roundwood, coniferous — Production 32.26 million m3 (2024)
Roundwood — Export value 714,851 1000 USD (2024)
Roundwood — Export quantity 3.78 million m3 (2024)
Roundwood — Import value 182,147 1000 USD (2024)

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa?: Cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa was 0.17 LSU/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.17 LSU/ha in 2022.
What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.07 LSU/ha in 1961.
How does Africa rank for cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area?: Africa ranks 22nd out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
Is cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in Africa?: Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Africa data come from?: The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/cattle-and-buffaloes-livestock-units-per-agricultural-land-area/africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area
Unit: LSU/ha
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage: 241 places, 13,793 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026

The Livestock Patterns domain of FAOSTAT contains data on livestock numbers, shares of major livestock species and densities of livestock units in the agricultural land area. Values are calculated using Livestock Units (LSU), which facilitate aggregating information for different livestock types. Data are available by country, with global coverage, for the period 1961 to the most recent year available with annual updates. This methodology applies the LSU coefficients reported in the "Guidelines for the preparation of livestock sector reviews" (FAO, 2011). From this publication, LSU coefficients are computed by livestock type and by country. The reference unit used for the calculation of livestock units (=1 LSU) is the grazing equivalent of one adult dairy cow producing 3000 kg of milk annually, fed without additional concentrated foodstuffs. FAOSTAT agri-environmental indicators on livestock patterns closely follow the structure of the indicators in EUROSTAT.