Sheep and Goats — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa
South Africa: Sheep and Goats — Livestock units per agricultural land area was 0.03 LSU/ha in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep and Goats — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU/ha.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.03 LSU/ha for sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa peaked at 0.05 LSU/ha in 1966 and was at its lowest, 0.03 LSU/ha, in 2002.
South Africa ranks 111th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep and Goats — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa, year by year
| Year | LSU/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.04 LSU/ha | — |
| 1962 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.05 LSU/ha | +25.0% |
| 1967 | 0.05 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.05 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.05 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.04 LSU/ha | -20.0% |
| 1971 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.04 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.03 LSU/ha | -25.0% |
| 2003 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.03 LSU/ha | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0444 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.05 LSU/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.032 LSU/ha | 0.03 LSU/ha | 0.04 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.03 LSU/ha | 0.03 LSU/ha | 0.03 LSU/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.03 LSU/ha | 0.03 LSU/ha | 0.03 LSU/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 111 Cuba 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 France 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 Guyana 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 Liberia 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 Mauritius 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 Philippines 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 Switzerland 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 USSR 0.03 LSU/ha compare
- 111 Australia and New Zealand 0.03 LSU/ha compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Sawnwood — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Production, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Production, per capita 0.0329 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import quantity, annual growth rate 21.75 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa?
- Sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa was 0.03 LSU/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.05 LSU/ha in 1966.
- What is the lowest sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.03 LSU/ha in 2002.
- How does South Africa rank for sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area?
- South Africa ranks 111th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep and goats — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep and Goats — 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.