Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South America
South America: Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area was 0.51 LSU/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Cattle and Buffaloes — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South America, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU/ha.
Analysis
South America recorded 0.51 LSU/ha for cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in South America peaked at 0.51 LSU/ha in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.23 LSU/ha, in 1961.
South America ranks 3rd of 31 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 South America, year by year
| Year | LSU/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.23 LSU/ha | — |
| 1962 | 0.23 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.23 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.23 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.24 LSU/ha | +4.3% |
| 1966 | 0.25 LSU/ha | +4.2% |
| 1967 | 0.25 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.26 LSU/ha | +4.0% |
| 1969 | 0.26 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.26 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.26 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.27 LSU/ha | +3.8% |
| 1973 | 0.28 LSU/ha | +3.7% |
| 1974 | 0.29 LSU/ha | +3.6% |
| 1975 | 0.29 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.31 LSU/ha | +6.9% |
| 1977 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +3.2% |
| 1978 | 0.31 LSU/ha | -3.1% |
| 1979 | 0.31 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.32 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.33 LSU/ha | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 0.34 LSU/ha | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 0.35 LSU/ha | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 0.35 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.36 LSU/ha | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 0.36 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.37 LSU/ha | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 0.38 LSU/ha | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 0.38 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.38 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.38 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.38 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.38 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.39 LSU/ha | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 0.42 LSU/ha | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 0.44 LSU/ha | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.45 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.46 LSU/ha | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 0.46 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.47 LSU/ha | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 0.47 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.47 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.47 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.48 LSU/ha | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 0.49 LSU/ha | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 0.5 LSU/ha | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 0.51 LSU/ha | +2.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2422 LSU/ha | 0.23 LSU/ha | 0.26 LSU/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.29 LSU/ha | 0.26 LSU/ha | 0.32 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.326 LSU/ha | 0.32 LSU/ha | 0.35 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.372 LSU/ha | 0.35 LSU/ha | 0.38 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.435 LSU/ha | 0.39 LSU/ha | 0.45 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.46 LSU/ha | 0.45 LSU/ha | 0.47 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.495 LSU/ha | 0.48 LSU/ha | 0.51 LSU/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near South America
- 1 Belgium-Luxembourg 2.01 LSU/ha compare
- 1 Micronesia (Federated States of) 2.17 LSU/ha compare
- 2 Lao People's Democratic Republic 1.09 LSU/ha compare
- 2 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 1.87 LSU/ha compare
- 3 Republic of Korea 1.67 LSU/ha compare
- 3 Timor-Leste 0.74 LSU/ha compare
- 4 Belgium 1.49 LSU/ha compare
- 4 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 0.54 LSU/ha compare
- 5 Bangladesh 1.4 LSU/ha compare
- 5 Ireland 1.4 LSU/ha compare
- 5 United Republic of Tanzania 0.48 LSU/ha compare
- 6 Viet Nam 0.46 LSU/ha compare
More environment data for South America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.218 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate 4.24 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 18.97 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, annual growth rate -0.0956 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import value, annual growth rate -12.25 % change on previous year (2024)
- Plywood and LVL — Import quantity, annual growth rate -11.07 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in South America?
- Cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area in South America was 0.51 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 South America?
- The highest recorded value was 0.51 LSU/ha in 2023.
- What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.23 LSU/ha in 1961.
- How does South America rank for cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area?
- South America ranks 3rd out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
- Is cattle and buffaloes — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South America 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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About this data
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.