Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock in Malawi
Malawi: Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock was 24.76 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock in Malawi, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Malawi stood at 24.76 %LSU.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Malawi peaked at 68.78 %LSU in 1985 and was at its lowest, 24.3 %LSU, in 2019.
That places Malawi 151st out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock in Malawi, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 63.14 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 63.72 %LSU | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 64.34 %LSU | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 64.1 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 65.57 %LSU | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 65.17 %LSU | -0.6% |
| 1967 | 61.79 %LSU | -5.2% |
| 1968 | 61.6 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 57.98 %LSU | -5.9% |
| 1970 | 58.95 %LSU | +1.7% |
| 1971 | 59.45 %LSU | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 60.62 %LSU | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 62.33 %LSU | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 62.75 %LSU | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 63.62 %LSU | +1.4% |
| 1976 | 63.79 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 63.5 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 63.87 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 67.34 %LSU | +5.4% |
| 1980 | 66.42 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 1981 | 67.47 %LSU | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 67.13 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 68.03 %LSU | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 68.29 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 68.78 %LSU | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 66.87 %LSU | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 66.66 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 62.72 %LSU | -5.9% |
| 1989 | 62.55 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 62.09 %LSU | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 60.25 %LSU | -3.0% |
| 1992 | 59.68 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 58.66 %LSU | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 57.58 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 55.69 %LSU | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 50.86 %LSU | -8.7% |
| 1997 | 43.2 %LSU | -15.1% |
| 1998 | 47.14 %LSU | +9.1% |
| 1999 | 47.74 %LSU | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 47.54 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 47.53 %LSU | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 47.52 %LSU | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 48.43 %LSU | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 45.5 %LSU | -6.0% |
| 2005 | 44.5 %LSU | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 43.08 %LSU | -3.2% |
| 2007 | 40.86 %LSU | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 39.32 %LSU | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 37.63 %LSU | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 36.17 %LSU | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 34.27 %LSU | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 32.9 %LSU | -4.0% |
| 2013 | 32.56 %LSU | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 32.96 %LSU | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 31.84 %LSU | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 31.37 %LSU | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 30.18 %LSU | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 26.15 %LSU | -13.4% |
| 2019 | 24.3 %LSU | -7.1% |
| 2020 | 25.35 %LSU | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 26.03 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 25.43 %LSU | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 24.76 %LSU | -2.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 24.76 %LSU is below the median for low income countries, which is 57.3 %LSU, 43% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 24.76 %LSU is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 56.28 %LSU, 44% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 63.05 %LSU | 57.98 %LSU | 65.57 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 62.62 %LSU | 58.95 %LSU | 67.34 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 66.49 %LSU | 62.55 %LSU | 68.78 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 54.29 %LSU | 43.2 %LSU | 62.09 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.19 %LSU | 37.63 %LSU | 48.43 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.27 %LSU | 24.3 %LSU | 36.17 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.39 %LSU | 24.76 %LSU | 26.03 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 148 China, mainland 26.21 %LSU compare
- 149 China 26 %LSU compare
- 150 Jamaica 25.57 %LSU compare
- 152 Mauritania 23.94 %LSU compare
- 153 Antigua and Barbuda 23.7 %LSU compare
- 154 Indonesia 23.3 %LSU compare
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Malawi?
- Cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Malawi was 24.76 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 68.78 %LSU in 1985.
- What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.3 %LSU in 2019.
- How does Malawi rank for cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock?
- Malawi ranks 151st out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
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.