Chickens — Stocks in South Africa

South Africa: Chickens — Stocks was 1.63 million LSU in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
1.63 million LSU
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
32nd
of 193 countries
All-time high
2.00 million LSU
in 2011
All-time low
185,000 LSU
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Chickens — Stocks in South Africa, 1961–2023

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 1.63 million LSU for chickens — stocks in 2023.

That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, chickens — stocks in South Africa peaked at 2.00 million LSU in 2011 and was at its lowest, 185,000 LSU, in 1961.

That places South Africa 32nd out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Chickens — Stocks in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Chickens — Stocks in South Africa, 1961 to 2023.
Year LSU Change
1961 185,000 LSU —
1962 190,000 LSU +2.7%
1963 195,000 LSU +2.6%
1964 200,000 LSU +2.6%
1965 205,000 LSU +2.5%
1966 210,000 LSU +2.4%
1967 215,000 LSU +2.4%
1968 220,000 LSU +2.3%
1969 220,000 LSU +0.0%
1970 225,000 LSU +2.3%
1971 260,000 LSU +15.6%
1972 290,000 LSU +11.5%
1973 335,000 LSU +15.5%
1974 246,000 LSU -26.6%
1975 250,000 LSU +1.6%
1976 260,000 LSU +4.0%
1977 270,000 LSU +3.8%
1978 280,000 LSU +3.7%
1979 290,000 LSU +3.6%
1980 300,000 LSU +3.4%
1981 310,000 LSU +3.3%
1982 315,000 LSU +1.6%
1983 320,000 LSU +1.6%
1984 340,000 LSU +6.2%
1985 360,000 LSU +5.9%
1986 380,000 LSU +5.6%
1987 400,000 LSU +5.3%
1988 420,000 LSU +5.0%
1989 440,000 LSU +4.8%
1990 870,000 LSU +97.7%
1991 880,000 LSU +1.1%
1992 880,000 LSU +0.0%
1993 920,000 LSU +4.5%
1994 950,000 LSU +3.3%
1995 1.00 million LSU +5.3%
1996 1.10 million LSU +10.0%
1997 1.15 million LSU +4.5%
1998 1.13 million LSU -1.7%
1999 1.19 million LSU +5.3%
2000 1.26 million LSU +5.9%
2001 1.38 million LSU +9.5%
2002 1.48 million LSU +7.2%
2003 1.44 million LSU -2.7%
2004 1.45 million LSU +0.7%
2005 1.21 million LSU -16.6%
2006 1.26 million LSU +4.0%
2007 1.41 million LSU +12.0%
2008 1.70 million LSU +20.6%
2009 1.85 million LSU +8.8%
2010 1.97 million LSU +6.5%
2011 2.00 million LSU +1.5%
2012 2.00 million LSU +0.0%
2013 1.62 million LSU -19.2%
2014 1.61 million LSU -0.6%
2015 1.62 million LSU +0.8%
2016 1.64 million LSU +1.2%
2017 1.67 million LSU +1.9%
2018 1.71 million LSU +2.4%
2019 1.74 million LSU +1.9%
2020 1.69 million LSU -3.0%
2021 1.66 million LSU -2.1%
2022 1.64 million LSU -0.7%
2023 1.63 million LSU -0.7%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 1.63 million LSU is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 201,010 LSU, 8.1× the median. (50 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 1.63 million LSU is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 175,740 LSU, 9.3× the median. (44 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Chickens — Stocks in South Africa 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.

YearChange FromTo
1990 +97.7% 440,000 LSU 870,000 LSU
1974 -26.6% 335,000 LSU 246,000 LSU

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 204,444 LSU 185,000 LSU 220,000 LSU 9
1970s 270,600 LSU 225,000 LSU 335,000 LSU 10
1980s 358,500 LSU 300,000 LSU 440,000 LSU 10
1990s 1.01 million LSU 870,000 LSU 1.19 million LSU 10
2000s 1.44 million LSU 1.21 million LSU 1.85 million LSU 10
2010s 1.76 million LSU 1.61 million LSU 2.00 million LSU 10
2020s 1.66 million LSU 1.63 million LSU 1.69 million LSU 4

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 29 Canada 1.71 million LSU compare
  2. 29 Côte d'Ivoire 1.39 million LSU compare
  3. 30 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1.70 million LSU compare
  4. 31 Cabo Verde 6,710 LSU compare
  5. 31 Ukraine 1.65 million LSU compare
  6. 33 Germany 1.56 million LSU compare
  7. 34 Iraq 1.45 million LSU compare
  8. 35 Italy 1.43 million LSU compare

See the full ranking of 244 places →

More environment data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is chickens — stocks in South Africa?
Chickens — stocks in South Africa was 1.63 million LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest chickens — stocks recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 2.00 million LSU in 2011.
What is the lowest chickens — stocks recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 185,000 LSU in 1961.
How does South Africa rank for chickens — stocks?
South Africa ranks 32nd out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
Is chickens — stocks rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Chickens — Stocks. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Chickens — Stocks in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/chickens-stocks/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Chickens — Stocks
Unit
LSU
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
244 places, 13,956 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

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.