Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Iceland
Iceland: Sheep and Goats — Stocks was 35,682 LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Iceland, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, sheep and goats — stocks in Iceland stood at 35,682 LSU. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.8% on the previous year and down 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep and goats — stocks in Iceland peaked at 89,649 LSU in 1978 and was at its lowest, 35,682 LSU, in 2023.
That places Iceland 126th out of 187 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Iceland, year by year
| Year | LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 83,399 LSU | — |
| 1962 | 82,992 LSU | -0.5% |
| 1963 | 77,744 LSU | -6.3% |
| 1964 | 73,652 LSU | -5.3% |
| 1965 | 76,211 LSU | +3.5% |
| 1966 | 84,686 LSU | +11.1% |
| 1967 | 84,751 LSU | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 82,925 LSU | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 82,035 LSU | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 78,067 LSU | -4.8% |
| 1971 | 73,575 LSU | -5.8% |
| 1972 | 78,647 LSU | +6.9% |
| 1973 | 82,882 LSU | +5.4% |
| 1974 | 84,606 LSU | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 86,392 LSU | +2.1% |
| 1976 | 86,060 LSU | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 87,112 LSU | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 89,649 LSU | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 89,110 LSU | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 79,699 LSU | -10.6% |
| 1981 | 82,815 LSU | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 74,794 LSU | -9.7% |
| 1983 | 71,215 LSU | -4.8% |
| 1984 | 71,499 LSU | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 70,954 LSU | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 67,578 LSU | -4.8% |
| 1987 | 62,453 LSU | -7.6% |
| 1988 | 58,718 LSU | -6.0% |
| 1989 | 56,124 LSU | -4.4% |
| 1990 | 54,885 LSU | -2.2% |
| 1991 | 51,113 LSU | -6.9% |
| 1992 | 48,763 LSU | -4.6% |
| 1993 | 48,912 LSU | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 49,945 LSU | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 45,869 LSU | -8.2% |
| 1996 | 46,428 LSU | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 47,772 LSU | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 49,043 LSU | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 49,104 LSU | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 46,619 LSU | -5.1% |
| 2001 | 47,395 LSU | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 47,010 LSU | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 46,337 LSU | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 45,579 LSU | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 45,536 LSU | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 45,610 LSU | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 45,534 LSU | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 45,842 LSU | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 47,008 LSU | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 48,057 LSU | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 47,589 LSU | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 47,436 LSU | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 46,468 LSU | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 48,752 LSU | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 48,165 LSU | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 47,427 LSU | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 45,993 LSU | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 43,351 LSU | -5.7% |
| 2019 | 41,742 LSU | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 40,234 LSU | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 38,687 LSU | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 36,716 LSU | -5.1% |
| 2023 | 35,682 LSU | -2.8% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 35,682 LSU is above the median for high income countries, which is 33,497 LSU, 1.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 35,682 LSU is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 80,749 LSU, 44% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 80,933 LSU | 73,652 LSU | 84,751 LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 83,610 LSU | 73,575 LSU | 89,649 LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 69,585 LSU | 56,124 LSU | 82,815 LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 49,184 LSU | 45,869 LSU | 54,885 LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 46,247 LSU | 45,534 LSU | 47,395 LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 46,498 LSU | 41,742 LSU | 48,752 LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 37,830 LSU | 35,682 LSU | 40,234 LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % 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 -1.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep and goats — stocks in Iceland?
- Sheep and goats — stocks in Iceland was 35,682 LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep and goats — stocks recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 89,649 LSU in 1978.
- What is the lowest sheep and goats — stocks recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 35,682 LSU in 2023.
- How does Iceland rank for sheep and goats — stocks?
- Iceland ranks 126th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep and goats — stocks rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep and Goats — 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.