Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in Australia
Australia: Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks was 26.89 million LSU in 2023. ▲ Rising
Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Australia stood at 26.89 million LSU.
The figure is up 22.5% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Australia peaked at 30.09 million LSU in 1976 and was at its lowest, 15.60 million LSU, in 1961.
That places Australia 11th out of 190 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in Australia, year by year
| Year | LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 15.60 million LSU | — |
| 1962 | 16.23 million LSU | +4.0% |
| 1963 | 16.69 million LSU | +2.9% |
| 1964 | 17.15 million LSU | +2.7% |
| 1965 | 16.93 million LSU | -1.3% |
| 1966 | 16.14 million LSU | -4.7% |
| 1967 | 16.44 million LSU | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 17.30 million LSU | +5.2% |
| 1969 | 18.55 million LSU | +7.2% |
| 1970 | 19.95 million LSU | +7.5% |
| 1971 | 21.94 million LSU | +10.0% |
| 1972 | 24.64 million LSU | +12.3% |
| 1973 | 26.19 million LSU | +6.3% |
| 1974 | 27.75 million LSU | +6.0% |
| 1975 | 29.51 million LSU | +6.3% |
| 1976 | 30.09 million LSU | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 28.38 million LSU | -5.7% |
| 1978 | 26.40 million LSU | -7.0% |
| 1979 | 24.40 million LSU | -7.6% |
| 1980 | 23.58 million LSU | -3.4% |
| 1981 | 22.65 million LSU | -3.9% |
| 1982 | 22.10 million LSU | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 20.23 million LSU | -8.4% |
| 1984 | 19.95 million LSU | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 20.46 million LSU | +2.6% |
| 1986 | 21.09 million LSU | +3.1% |
| 1987 | 19.72 million LSU | -6.5% |
| 1988 | 19.67 million LSU | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 20.19 million LSU | +2.7% |
| 1990 | 20.85 million LSU | +3.2% |
| 1991 | 21.30 million LSU | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 21.49 million LSU | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 21.66 million LSU | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 23.18 million LSU | +7.0% |
| 1995 | 23.16 million LSU | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 23.74 million LSU | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 24.10 million LSU | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 24.17 million LSU | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 23.92 million LSU | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 24.83 million LSU | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 24.95 million LSU | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 25.08 million LSU | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 24.00 million LSU | -4.3% |
| 2004 | 24.72 million LSU | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 25.00 million LSU | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 25.55 million LSU | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 25.23 million LSU | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 24.59 million LSU | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 25.12 million LSU | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 24.06 million LSU | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 25.66 million LSU | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 25.58 million LSU | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 26.36 million LSU | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 26.19 million LSU | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 24.67 million LSU | -5.8% |
| 2016 | 22.47 million LSU | -8.9% |
| 2017 | 23.56 million LSU | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 23.76 million LSU | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 22.25 million LSU | -6.3% |
| 2020 | 21.15 million LSU | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 21.99 million LSU | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 21.96 million LSU | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 26.89 million LSU | +22.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 26.89 million LSU is above the median for high income countries, which is 366,675 LSU, 73.3× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Australia's 26.89 million LSU is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.34 million LSU, 20.0× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.78 million LSU | 15.60 million LSU | 18.55 million LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 25.92 million LSU | 19.95 million LSU | 30.09 million LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.96 million LSU | 19.67 million LSU | 23.58 million LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.76 million LSU | 20.85 million LSU | 24.17 million LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.91 million LSU | 24.00 million LSU | 25.55 million LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.46 million LSU | 22.25 million LSU | 26.36 million LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.00 million LSU | 21.15 million LSU | 26.89 million LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 8 Argentina 37.97 million LSU compare
- 9 Viet Nam 5.61 million LSU compare
- 9 Australia and New Zealand 35.48 million LSU compare
- 10 Ethiopia 35.45 million LSU compare
- 10 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 3.95 million LSU compare
- 11 Lao People's Democratic Republic 2.50 million LSU compare
- 12 Democratic Republic of the Congo 916,234 LSU compare
- 12 Mexico 25.63 million LSU compare
- 13 Sudan (former) 20.68 million LSU compare
- 13 Syrian Arab Republic 593,557 LSU compare
- 14 Colombia 20.44 million LSU compare
- 14 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 372,711 LSU compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Australia?
- Cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Australia was 26.89 million LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cattle and buffaloes — stocks recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 30.09 million LSU in 1976.
- What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — stocks recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.60 million LSU in 1961.
- How does Australia rank for cattle and buffaloes — stocks?
- Australia ranks 11th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cattle and buffaloes — stocks rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks. 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.