Sheep — Share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 20.2 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep — Share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, sheep — share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand stood at 20.2 %LSU. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 9.0% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand peaked at 47.99 %LSU in 1965 and was at its lowest, 20.2 %LSU, in 2023.
Australia and New Zealand ranks 26th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep — Share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 47.03 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 46.88 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 46.6 %LSU | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 46.98 %LSU | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 47.99 %LSU | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 47.35 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 1967 | 47.63 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 46.64 %LSU | -2.1% |
| 1969 | 45.9 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1970 | 45.09 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 1971 | 43.6 %LSU | -3.3% |
| 1972 | 39.6 %LSU | -9.2% |
| 1973 | 35.34 %LSU | -10.8% |
| 1974 | 34.76 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 34.47 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 34.08 %LSU | -1.1% |
| 1977 | 34 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 35.3 %LSU | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 37.35 %LSU | +5.8% |
| 1980 | 38.61 %LSU | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 39.33 %LSU | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 40.33 %LSU | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 41.43 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 42.21 %LSU | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 42.61 %LSU | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 41.38 %LSU | -2.9% |
| 1987 | 42.57 %LSU | +2.9% |
| 1988 | 42.83 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 43.25 %LSU | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 43.15 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 41.74 %LSU | -3.3% |
| 1992 | 39.44 %LSU | -5.5% |
| 1993 | 37.7 %LSU | -4.4% |
| 1994 | 35.4 %LSU | -6.1% |
| 1995 | 33.65 %LSU | -4.9% |
| 1996 | 33.22 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 32.58 %LSU | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 32.04 %LSU | -1.7% |
| 1999 | 32.06 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 31.46 %LSU | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 29.81 %LSU | -5.2% |
| 2002 | 28.74 %LSU | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 28.39 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 28.3 %LSU | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 28.27 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 26.35 %LSU | -6.8% |
| 2007 | 25.48 %LSU | -3.3% |
| 2008 | 23.78 %LSU | -6.7% |
| 2009 | 22.39 %LSU | -5.8% |
| 2010 | 22.25 %LSU | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 21.99 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 22.21 %LSU | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 21.92 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 21.26 %LSU | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 21.74 %LSU | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 21.88 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 22.09 %LSU | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 21.58 %LSU | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 21.4 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 21.49 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 21.71 %LSU | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 22.21 %LSU | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 20.2 %LSU | -9.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 47 %LSU | 45.9 %LSU | 47.99 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 37.36 %LSU | 34 %LSU | 45.09 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.45 %LSU | 38.61 %LSU | 43.25 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 36.1 %LSU | 32.04 %LSU | 43.15 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.3 %LSU | 22.39 %LSU | 31.46 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.83 %LSU | 21.26 %LSU | 22.25 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.4 %LSU | 20.2 %LSU | 22.21 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia and New Zealand
- 23 Montenegro 21.49 %LSU compare
- 24 New Zealand 21.44 %LSU compare
- 25 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 20.9 %LSU compare
- 27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20.09 %LSU compare
- 28 Australia 19.81 %LSU compare
- 29 Kazakhstan 19.01 %LSU compare
More environment data for Australia and New Zealand
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.87 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.39 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.335 °C (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 4.99 million t (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 2.98 million t (2024)
- Agricultural land — Value of agricultural production (Int. $) per Area 187.5 USD_PPP/ha (2024)
- Arable land — Area 31,787 1000 ha (2024)
- Cropland — Area per capita 1.01 ha/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep — share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand?
- Sheep — share in total livestock in Australia and New Zealand was 20.2 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Australia and New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 47.99 %LSU in 1965.
- What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Australia and New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.2 %LSU in 2023.
- How does Australia and New Zealand rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
- Australia and New Zealand ranks 26th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Australia and New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia and New Zealand 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.
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.