Cattle — Share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Cattle — Share in total livestock was 6.79 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Cattle — Share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, cattle — share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia stood at 6.79 %LSU.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle — share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia peaked at 21.47 %LSU in 1976 and was at its lowest, 5.95 %LSU, in 1991.
Saudi Arabia ranks 176th of 190 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Cattle — Share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 18.5 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 18.4 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 1963 | 18.26 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 18.08 %LSU | -1.0% |
| 1965 | 17.86 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 1966 | 17.79 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 17.22 %LSU | -3.2% |
| 1968 | 17.35 %LSU | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 18.59 %LSU | +7.1% |
| 1970 | 18.97 %LSU | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 18.77 %LSU | -1.1% |
| 1972 | 19.31 %LSU | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 21.28 %LSU | +10.2% |
| 1974 | 20.54 %LSU | -3.5% |
| 1975 | 20.88 %LSU | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 21.47 %LSU | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 20.87 %LSU | -2.8% |
| 1978 | 20.62 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 1979 | 20.08 %LSU | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 20.51 %LSU | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 17.54 %LSU | -14.5% |
| 1982 | 12.73 %LSU | -27.4% |
| 1983 | 10.05 %LSU | -21.1% |
| 1984 | 9.41 %LSU | -6.4% |
| 1985 | 9.59 %LSU | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 9.46 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 6.3 %LSU | -33.4% |
| 1988 | 6.43 %LSU | +2.1% |
| 1989 | 6.33 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1990 | 6.04 %LSU | -4.6% |
| 1991 | 5.95 %LSU | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 6.48 %LSU | +8.9% |
| 1993 | 6.55 %LSU | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 6.71 %LSU | +2.4% |
| 1995 | 6.88 %LSU | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 6.79 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 6.45 %LSU | -5.0% |
| 1998 | 6.89 %LSU | +6.8% |
| 1999 | 7.21 %LSU | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 7.15 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 7.21 %LSU | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 7.45 %LSU | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 7.51 %LSU | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 7.38 %LSU | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 7.4 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 7.93 %LSU | +7.2% |
| 2007 | 8.92 %LSU | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 9.35 %LSU | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 10.05 %LSU | +7.5% |
| 2010 | 8.63 %LSU | -14.1% |
| 2011 | 8.22 %LSU | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 9.17 %LSU | +11.6% |
| 2013 | 8.27 %LSU | -9.8% |
| 2014 | 6.6 %LSU | -20.2% |
| 2015 | 6.61 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 6.6 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 6.58 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 8.34 %LSU | +26.7% |
| 2019 | 9.61 %LSU | +15.2% |
| 2020 | 8.15 %LSU | -15.2% |
| 2021 | 8.14 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 6.97 %LSU | -14.4% |
| 2023 | 6.79 %LSU | -2.6% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 6.79 %LSU is below the median for high income countries, which is 49.99 %LSU, 14% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 6.79 %LSU is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 17.22 %LSU, 39% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cattle — Share in total livestock 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 | -33.4% | 9.46 %LSU | 6.3 %LSU |
| 1982 | -27.4% | 17.54 %LSU | 12.73 %LSU |
| 2018 | +26.7% | 6.58 %LSU | 8.34 %LSU |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.01 %LSU | 17.22 %LSU | 18.59 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 20.28 %LSU | 18.77 %LSU | 21.47 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 10.84 %LSU | 6.3 %LSU | 20.51 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.6 %LSU | 5.95 %LSU | 7.21 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.04 %LSU | 7.15 %LSU | 10.05 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.86 %LSU | 6.58 %LSU | 9.61 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.51 %LSU | 6.79 %LSU | 8.15 %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 — share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia?
- Cattle — share in total livestock in Saudi Arabia was 6.79 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest cattle — share in total livestock recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.47 %LSU in 1976.
- What is the lowest cattle — share in total livestock recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.95 %LSU in 1991.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for cattle — share in total livestock?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 176th out of 190 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cattle — share in total livestock rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 — 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.