What is sheep — share in total livestock in Africa?

Sheep — share in total livestock in Africa was 11.78 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Africa?

The highest recorded value was 12.66 %LSU in 1966.

What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 11.64 %LSU in 2018.

How does Africa rank for sheep — share in total livestock?

Africa ranks 8th out of 31 groups with data for 2023.

Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Where does this Africa data come from?

The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep — Share in total livestock. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Sheep — Share in total livestock in Africa

Name: Sheep — Share in total livestock in Africa
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)

Africa: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 11.78 %LSU in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

11.78 %LSU

Change on year

up 0.4%

Rank

8th

of 31 groups

All-time high

12.66 %LSU

in 1966

All-time low

11.64 %LSU

in 2018

Years of data

1961–2023

Sheep — Share in total livestock in Africa, 1961–2023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for sheep — share in total livestock in Africa is 11.78 %LSU, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Africa peaked at 12.66 %LSU in 1966 and was at its lowest, 11.64 %LSU, in 2018.

Africa ranks 8th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

Sheep — Share in total livestock in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Sheep — Share in total livestock in Africa, 1961 to 2023.
Year	%LSU	Change
1961	12.46 %LSU	—
1962	12.17 %LSU	-2.3%
1963	12.08 %LSU	-0.7%
1964	12.03 %LSU	-0.4%
1965	12.19 %LSU	+1.3%
1966	12.66 %LSU	+3.9%
1967	12.52 %LSU	-1.1%
1968	12.51 %LSU	-0.1%
1969	12.51 %LSU	+0.0%
1970	12.17 %LSU	-2.7%
1971	12.11 %LSU	-0.5%
1972	11.77 %LSU	-2.8%
1973	11.86 %LSU	+0.8%
1974	11.76 %LSU	-0.8%
1975	11.86 %LSU	+0.9%
1976	11.66 %LSU	-1.7%
1977	11.91 %LSU	+2.1%
1978	11.81 %LSU	-0.8%
1979	11.68 %LSU	-1.1%
1980	12.12 %LSU	+3.8%
1981	12.08 %LSU	-0.3%
1982	11.91 %LSU	-1.4%
1983	11.88 %LSU	-0.3%
1984	11.88 %LSU	+0.0%
1985	11.95 %LSU	+0.6%
1986	11.8 %LSU	-1.3%
1987	12.01 %LSU	+1.8%
1988	11.91 %LSU	-0.8%
1989	12.02 %LSU	+0.9%
1990	11.82 %LSU	-1.7%
1991	11.8 %LSU	-0.2%
1992	11.65 %LSU	-1.3%
1993	11.66 %LSU	+0.1%
1994	12.01 %LSU	+3.0%
1995	11.78 %LSU	-1.9%
1996	11.92 %LSU	+1.2%
1997	11.96 %LSU	+0.3%
1998	11.99 %LSU	+0.3%
1999	11.98 %LSU	-0.1%
2000	12.06 %LSU	+0.7%
2001	12.03 %LSU	-0.2%
2002	12 %LSU	-0.2%
2003	11.95 %LSU	-0.4%
2004	12.12 %LSU	+1.4%
2005	12.1 %LSU	-0.2%
2006	12.09 %LSU	-0.1%
2007	12 %LSU	-0.7%
2008	11.8 %LSU	-1.7%
2009	11.83 %LSU	+0.3%
2010	11.79 %LSU	-0.3%
2011	11.9 %LSU	+0.9%
2012	11.74 %LSU	-1.3%
2013	11.83 %LSU	+0.8%
2014	11.87 %LSU	+0.3%
2015	11.66 %LSU	-1.8%
2016	11.72 %LSU	+0.5%
2017	11.75 %LSU	+0.3%
2018	11.64 %LSU	-0.9%
2019	11.91 %LSU	+2.3%
2020	11.82 %LSU	-0.8%
2021	11.89 %LSU	+0.6%
2022	11.73 %LSU	-1.3%
2023	11.78 %LSU	+0.4%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	12.35 %LSU	12.03 %LSU	12.66 %LSU	9
1970s	11.86 %LSU	11.66 %LSU	12.17 %LSU	10
1980s	11.96 %LSU	11.8 %LSU	12.12 %LSU	10
1990s	11.86 %LSU	11.65 %LSU	12.01 %LSU	10
2000s	12 %LSU	11.8 %LSU	12.12 %LSU	10
2010s	11.78 %LSU	11.64 %LSU	11.91 %LSU	10
2020s	11.8 %LSU	11.73 %LSU	11.89 %LSU	4

Countries ranked near Africa

5 Palestine 41.93 %LSU compare
6 Turkmenistan 38.45 %LSU compare
7 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 5.99 %LSU compare
7 Jordan 33.96 %LSU compare
8 Equatorial Guinea 31.51 %LSU compare
8 Republic of Moldova 5.78 %LSU compare
9 Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.06 %LSU compare
9 Lesotho 29.61 %LSU compare
10 Saudi Arabia 28.45 %LSU compare
10 United Republic of Tanzania 4.04 %LSU compare
11 Mauritania 27.69 %LSU compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

More environment data for Africa

Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.93 Percentage change (2025)
Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 26.92 million m3 (2024)
Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Import value 11.21 million 1000 USD (2024)
Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 66.41 million m3 (2024)
Sawlogs and veneer logs — Production 39.12 million m3 (2024)
Sawlogs and veneer logs, coniferous — Production 9.31 million m3 (2024)

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is sheep — share in total livestock in Africa?: Sheep — share in total livestock in Africa was 11.78 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Africa?: The highest recorded value was 12.66 %LSU in 1966.
What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 11.64 %LSU in 2018.
How does Africa rank for sheep — share in total livestock?: Africa ranks 8th out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Africa data come from?: The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep — Share in total livestock. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Sheep — Share in total livestock in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/sheep-share-in-total-livestock/africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Sheep — Share in total livestock
Unit: %LSU
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.