Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks was 451,926 LSU in 2023. ▲ Rising
Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in Saudi Arabia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 451,926 LSU for cattle and buffaloes — stocks in 2023.
The figure is down 7.4% on the previous year and up 41.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Saudi Arabia peaked at 490,000 LSU in 2020 and was at its lowest, 77,000 LSU, in 1961.
Saudi Arabia ranks 113th of 190 countries 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 — Stocks in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 77,000 LSU | — |
| 1962 | 78,400 LSU | +1.8% |
| 1963 | 79,800 LSU | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 81,200 LSU | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 82,600 LSU | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 84,000 LSU | +1.7% |
| 1967 | 84,509 LSU | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 94,500 LSU | +11.8% |
| 1969 | 105,000 LSU | +11.1% |
| 1970 | 112,000 LSU | +6.7% |
| 1971 | 119,000 LSU | +6.2% |
| 1972 | 130,144 LSU | +9.4% |
| 1973 | 162,439 LSU | +24.8% |
| 1974 | 182,000 LSU | +12.0% |
| 1975 | 197,227 LSU | +8.4% |
| 1976 | 224,493 LSU | +13.8% |
| 1977 | 221,500 LSU | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 246,868 LSU | +11.5% |
| 1979 | 261,283 LSU | +5.8% |
| 1980 | 279,108 LSU | +6.8% |
| 1981 | 245,000 LSU | -12.2% |
| 1982 | 210,000 LSU | -14.3% |
| 1983 | 195,179 LSU | -7.1% |
| 1984 | 189,407 LSU | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 202,893 LSU | +7.1% |
| 1986 | 212,118 LSU | +4.5% |
| 1987 | 136,765 LSU | -35.5% |
| 1988 | 136,809 LSU | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 135,544 LSU | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 134,935 LSU | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 138,525 LSU | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 156,809 LSU | +13.2% |
| 1993 | 160,455 LSU | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 169,783 LSU | +5.8% |
| 1995 | 176,932 LSU | +4.2% |
| 1996 | 181,357 LSU | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 194,083 LSU | +7.0% |
| 1998 | 205,800 LSU | +6.0% |
| 1999 | 196,359 LSU | -4.6% |
| 2000 | 203,354 LSU | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 214,341 LSU | +5.4% |
| 2002 | 225,541 LSU | +5.2% |
| 2003 | 232,353 LSU | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 239,371 LSU | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 246,400 LSU | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 258,300 LSU | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 294,700 LSU | +14.1% |
| 2008 | 292,431 LSU | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 297,142 LSU | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 275,327 LSU | -7.3% |
| 2011 | 298,343 LSU | +8.4% |
| 2012 | 340,552 LSU | +14.1% |
| 2013 | 319,460 LSU | -6.2% |
| 2014 | 247,993 LSU | -22.4% |
| 2015 | 250,461 LSU | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 252,953 LSU | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 255,471 LSU | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 334,078 LSU | +30.8% |
| 2019 | 396,928 LSU | +18.8% |
| 2020 | 490,000 LSU | +23.4% |
| 2021 | 490,000 LSU | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 487,990 LSU | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 451,926 LSU | -7.4% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 451,926 LSU is above the median for high income countries, which is 366,675 LSU, 1.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 451,926 LSU is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 307,298 LSU, 1.5× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cattle and Buffaloes — Stocks in Saudi Arabia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | -35.5% | 212,118 LSU | 136,765 LSU |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 85,223 LSU | 77,000 LSU | 105,000 LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 185,695 LSU | 112,000 LSU | 261,283 LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 194,282 LSU | 135,544 LSU | 279,108 LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 171,504 LSU | 134,935 LSU | 205,800 LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 250,393 LSU | 203,354 LSU | 297,142 LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 297,157 LSU | 247,993 LSU | 396,928 LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 479,979 LSU | 451,926 LSU | 490,000 LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More environment data for Saudi Arabia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -52.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -27.86 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.424 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.58 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.53 % 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 9.62 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Saudi Arabia?
- Cattle and buffaloes — stocks in Saudi Arabia was 451,926 LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cattle and buffaloes — stocks recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 490,000 LSU in 2020.
- What is the lowest cattle and buffaloes — stocks recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 77,000 LSU in 1961.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for cattle and buffaloes — stocks?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 113th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cattle and buffaloes — stocks rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.