Cattle — Livestock units per agricultural land area in European Union (27)
European Union (27): Cattle — Livestock units per agricultural land area was 0.39 LSU/ha in 2023. ▼ Falling
Cattle — Livestock units per agricultural land area in European Union (27), 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU/ha.
Analysis
European Union (27) recorded 0.39 LSU/ha for cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area in European Union (27) peaked at 0.5 LSU/ha in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.39 LSU/ha, in 2005.
European Union (27) ranks 7th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Cattle — Livestock units per agricultural land area in European Union (27), year by year
| Year | LSU/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.4 LSU/ha | — |
| 1962 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.4 LSU/ha | -2.4% |
| 1965 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +2.5% |
| 1966 | 0.42 LSU/ha | +2.4% |
| 1967 | 0.43 LSU/ha | +2.4% |
| 1968 | 0.44 LSU/ha | +2.3% |
| 1969 | 0.44 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.44 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.44 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.44 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.46 LSU/ha | +4.5% |
| 1974 | 0.48 LSU/ha | +4.3% |
| 1975 | 0.48 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.48 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.48 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.49 LSU/ha | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 0.49 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.5 LSU/ha | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 0.49 LSU/ha | -2.0% |
| 1982 | 0.49 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.49 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.5 LSU/ha | +2.0% |
| 1985 | 0.5 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.49 LSU/ha | -2.0% |
| 1987 | 0.48 LSU/ha | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 0.47 LSU/ha | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 0.47 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.48 LSU/ha | +2.1% |
| 1991 | 0.47 LSU/ha | -2.1% |
| 1992 | 0.44 LSU/ha | -6.4% |
| 1993 | 0.42 LSU/ha | -4.5% |
| 1994 | 0.41 LSU/ha | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.4 LSU/ha | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 0.4 LSU/ha | -2.4% |
| 2002 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.39 LSU/ha | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 0.39 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.39 LSU/ha | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.41 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.4 LSU/ha | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.4 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.39 LSU/ha | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 0.39 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.39 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4178 LSU/ha | 0.4 LSU/ha | 0.44 LSU/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.468 LSU/ha | 0.44 LSU/ha | 0.49 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.488 LSU/ha | 0.47 LSU/ha | 0.5 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.425 LSU/ha | 0.4 LSU/ha | 0.48 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.399 LSU/ha | 0.39 LSU/ha | 0.41 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.403 LSU/ha | 0.39 LSU/ha | 0.41 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3925 LSU/ha | 0.39 LSU/ha | 0.4 LSU/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near European Union (27)
- 4 Belgium 1.49 LSU/ha compare
- 5 Ireland 1.4 LSU/ha compare
- 5 Timor-Leste 0.46 LSU/ha compare
- 6 Bangladesh 1.32 LSU/ha compare
- 7 Luxembourg 1.24 LSU/ha compare
- 7 Viet Nam 0.33 LSU/ha compare
- 8 Guadeloupe 1.03 LSU/ha compare
- 8 Malta 1.03 LSU/ha compare
- 8 Türkiye 0.3 LSU/ha compare
- 10 Ethiopia 0.92 LSU/ha compare
- 10 Switzerland 0.92 LSU/ha compare
More environment data for European Union (27)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.429 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.31 °C (2025)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 5.35 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per capita 4.18 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per value of agricultural 5.46 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Import quantity 3.99 million t (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Agricultural Use 2.41 million t (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 6.99 g/Int$ (2024)
- Land area — Area 398,812 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area in European Union (27)?
- Cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area in European Union (27) was 0.39 LSU/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in European Union (27)?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5 LSU/ha in 1980.
- What is the lowest cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in European Union (27)?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.39 LSU/ha in 2005.
- How does European Union (27) rank for cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area?
- European Union (27) ranks 7th out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
- Is cattle — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in European Union (27)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union (27) data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Cattle — Livestock units per agricultural land area. 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.