Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock was 56.46 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 56.46 %LSU. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 66.82 %LSU in 1961 and was at its lowest, 56.46 %LSU, in 2023.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 18th out of 31 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Cattle and Buffaloes — Share in total livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 66.82 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 66.76 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 66.38 %LSU | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 66.31 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 66.27 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 65.35 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 1967 | 65.39 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 65.24 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 65.3 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 65.57 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 65.61 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 65.74 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 66.04 %LSU | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 66.22 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 65.65 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1976 | 65.35 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 64.84 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 1978 | 64.67 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 65.03 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 64.93 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 64.47 %LSU | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 64.29 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 64.29 %LSU | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 64.1 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 63.58 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 63.3 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 62.24 %LSU | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 61.63 %LSU | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 61.5 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 61.48 %LSU | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 61.54 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 62.01 %LSU | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 62.77 %LSU | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 62.19 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 62.25 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 61.71 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 61.58 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 61.57 %LSU | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 61.79 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 61.04 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 60.35 %LSU | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 60.16 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 60.11 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 59.45 %LSU | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 59.71 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 59.93 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 59.1 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 58.96 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 59.01 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 58.78 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 58.68 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 59.4 %LSU | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 59.19 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 59.02 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 58.7 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 58.4 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 57.72 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 57.34 %LSU | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 56.6 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 56.97 %LSU | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 56.69 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 56.67 %LSU | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 56.46 %LSU | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 65.98 %LSU | 65.24 %LSU | 66.82 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 65.47 %LSU | 64.67 %LSU | 66.22 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 63.43 %LSU | 61.5 %LSU | 64.93 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 61.89 %LSU | 61.48 %LSU | 62.77 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 59.78 %LSU | 58.96 %LSU | 61.04 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.38 %LSU | 56.6 %LSU | 59.4 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.7 %LSU | 56.46 %LSU | 56.97 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 15 Namibia 76.57 %LSU compare
- 16 Costa Rica 76.47 %LSU compare
- 17 Madagascar 75.59 %LSU compare
- 18 New Zealand 75.56 %LSU compare
- 19 Sri Lanka 75.26 %LSU compare
- 20 Eswatini 74.4 %LSU compare
- 21 Australia and New Zealand 74.28 %LSU compare
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Area 704,021 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa was 56.46 %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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 66.82 %LSU in 1961.
- What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.46 %LSU in 2023.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 18th out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
- Is cattle and buffaloes — share in total livestock rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.