Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Ireland
Ireland: Sheep and Goats — Stocks was 374,091 LSU in 2023. ▲ Rising
Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Ireland, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, sheep and goats — stocks in Ireland stood at 374,091 LSU.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.1% on the previous year and down 25.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep and goats — stocks in Ireland peaked at 756,310 LSU in 2000 and was at its lowest, 234,360 LSU, in 1981.
Ireland ranks 73rd of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Ireland, year by year
| Year | LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 310,650 LSU | — |
| 1962 | 337,590 LSU | +8.7% |
| 1963 | 333,310 LSU | -1.3% |
| 1964 | 338,650 LSU | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 345,580 LSU | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 346,400 LSU | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 305,880 LSU | -11.7% |
| 1968 | 299,020 LSU | -2.2% |
| 1969 | 285,150 LSU | -4.6% |
| 1970 | 278,820 LSU | -2.2% |
| 1971 | 283,580 LSU | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 286,200 LSU | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 283,460 LSU | -1.0% |
| 1974 | 284,450 LSU | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 271,120 LSU | -4.7% |
| 1976 | 265,320 LSU | -2.1% |
| 1977 | 258,190 LSU | -2.7% |
| 1978 | 252,600 LSU | -2.2% |
| 1979 | 241,780 LSU | -4.3% |
| 1980 | 235,960 LSU | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 234,360 LSU | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 244,930 LSU | +4.5% |
| 1983 | 260,850 LSU | +6.5% |
| 1984 | 281,320 LSU | +7.8% |
| 1985 | 308,180 LSU | +9.5% |
| 1986 | 330,400 LSU | +7.2% |
| 1987 | 367,180 LSU | +11.1% |
| 1988 | 430,060 LSU | +17.1% |
| 1989 | 499,120 LSU | +16.1% |
| 1990 | 571,390 LSU | +14.5% |
| 1991 | 588,110 LSU | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 600,040 LSU | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 612,680 LSU | +2.1% |
| 1994 | 598,260 LSU | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 575,530 LSU | -3.8% |
| 1996 | 555,830 LSU | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 535,710 LSU | -3.6% |
| 1998 | 559,230 LSU | +4.4% |
| 1999 | 557,260 LSU | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 756,310 LSU | +35.7% |
| 2001 | 733,810 LSU | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 721,730 LSU | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 685,650 LSU | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 678,470 LSU | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 639,950 LSU | -5.7% |
| 2006 | 597,990 LSU | -6.6% |
| 2007 | 552,890 LSU | -7.5% |
| 2008 | 507,030 LSU | -8.3% |
| 2009 | 478,810 LSU | -5.6% |
| 2010 | 475,590 LSU | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 484,140 LSU | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 518,030 LSU | +7.0% |
| 2013 | 501,570 LSU | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 510,540 LSU | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 514,950 LSU | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 518,910 LSU | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 520,542 LSU | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 380,783 LSU | -26.8% |
| 2019 | 381,814 LSU | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 387,722 LSU | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 399,118 LSU | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 402,727 LSU | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 374,091 LSU | -7.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 374,091 LSU is above the median for high income countries, which is 33,497 LSU, 11.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 374,091 LSU is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 80,749 LSU, 4.6× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Sheep and Goats — Stocks in Ireland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +35.7% | 557,260 LSU | 756,310 LSU |
| 2018 | -26.8% | 520,542 LSU | 380,783 LSU |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 322,470 LSU | 285,150 LSU | 346,400 LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 270,552 LSU | 241,780 LSU | 286,200 LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 319,236 LSU | 234,360 LSU | 499,120 LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 575,404 LSU | 535,710 LSU | 612,680 LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 635,264 LSU | 478,810 LSU | 756,310 LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 480,687 LSU | 380,783 LSU | 520,542 LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 390,914 LSU | 374,091 LSU | 402,727 LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.412 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.89 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.13 % 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 -0.0083 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep and goats — stocks in Ireland?
- Sheep and goats — stocks in Ireland was 374,091 LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep and goats — stocks recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 756,310 LSU in 2000.
- What is the lowest sheep and goats — stocks recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 234,360 LSU in 1981.
- How does Ireland rank for sheep and goats — stocks?
- Ireland ranks 73rd out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep and goats — stocks rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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.