What is the highest sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 0.04 LSU/ha in 1961.

What is the lowest sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 0.02 LSU/ha in 2015.

How does South Africa rank for sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area?

South Africa ranks 93rd out of 180 countries with data for 2023.

Is sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. 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 — Livestock units per agricultural land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Sheep — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa

Name: Sheep — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)

South Africa: Sheep — Livestock units per agricultural land area was 0.02 LSU/ha in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

0.02 LSU/ha

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

93rd

of 180 countries

All-time high

0.04 LSU/ha

in 1961

All-time low

0.02 LSU/ha

in 2015

Years of data

1961–2023

Sheep — 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

In 2023, sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa stood at 0.02 LSU/ha. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is down 33.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa peaked at 0.04 LSU/ha in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.02 LSU/ha, in 2015.

South Africa ranks 93rd of 180 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 — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Sheep — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa, 1961 to 2023.
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	0.04 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1967	0.04 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1968	0.04 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1969	0.04 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1970	0.04 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1971	0.03 LSU/ha	-25.0%
1972	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1973	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1974	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1975	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1976	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1977	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1978	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1979	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1980	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1981	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1982	0.04 LSU/ha	+33.3%
1983	0.04 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1984	0.03 LSU/ha	-25.0%
1985	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1986	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1987	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1988	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1989	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1990	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1991	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1992	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1993	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1994	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1995	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1996	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1997	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1998	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
1999	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2000	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2001	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2002	0.03 LSU/ha	+0.0%
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	0.02 LSU/ha	-33.3%
2016	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2017	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2018	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2019	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2020	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2021	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2022	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%
2023	0.02 LSU/ha	+0.0%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.04 LSU/ha	0.04 LSU/ha	0.04 LSU/ha	9
1970s	0.031 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	0.04 LSU/ha	10
1980s	0.032 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	0.04 LSU/ha	10
1990s	0.03 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	10
2000s	0.03 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	10
2010s	0.025 LSU/ha	0.02 LSU/ha	0.03 LSU/ha	10
2020s	0.02 LSU/ha	0.02 LSU/ha	0.02 LSU/ha	4

Countries ranked near South Africa

93 Australia 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Austria 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Bulgaria 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Comoros 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Cuba 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 France 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Guinea 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Guyana 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Haiti 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Hungary 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Iceland 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Rwanda 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Slovakia 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Slovenia 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Somalia 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 Switzerland 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 USSR 0.02 LSU/ha compare
93 OECD 0.02 LSU/ha compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

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)
Plywood and LVL — Import quantity, annual growth rate 77.48 % change on previous year (2024)
Plywood and LVL — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
Plywood and LVL — Import quantity, per capita 0.0022 m3 per person (2024)
Plywood and LVL — Import value, annual growth rate -13.65 % change on previous year (2024)
Plywood and LVL — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa?: Sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa was 0.02 LSU/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.04 LSU/ha in 1961.
What is the lowest sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.02 LSU/ha in 2015.
How does South Africa rank for sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area?: South Africa ranks 93rd out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
Is sheep — livestock units per agricultural land area rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. 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 — Livestock units per agricultural land area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Sheep — Livestock units per agricultural land area in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/sheep-livestock-units-per-agricultural-land-area/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Sheep — Livestock units per agricultural land area
Unit: LSU/ha
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage: 227 places, 12,936 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026

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.