Sheep — Share in total livestock in Australia
Australia: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 19.81 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep — Share in total livestock in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
Australia recorded 19.81 %LSU for sheep — share in total livestock in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 11.7% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Australia peaked at 48.79 %LSU in 1965 and was at its lowest, 19.81 %LSU, in 2023.
That places Australia 28th out of 180 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 47.91 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 47.81 %LSU | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 47.37 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 47.71 %LSU | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 48.79 %LSU | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 47.92 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 1967 | 48.51 %LSU | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 47.66 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 47.04 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 46.02 %LSU | -2.2% |
| 1971 | 43.4 %LSU | -5.7% |
| 1972 | 38.39 %LSU | -11.5% |
| 1973 | 33.56 %LSU | -12.6% |
| 1974 | 33.26 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 33.02 %LSU | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 32.18 %LSU | -2.5% |
| 1977 | 31.34 %LSU | -2.6% |
| 1978 | 32.2 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 34.29 %LSU | +6.5% |
| 1980 | 35.22 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 1981 | 35.85 %LSU | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 37.04 %LSU | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 38.09 %LSU | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 39.48 %LSU | +3.6% |
| 1985 | 40.63 %LSU | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 39.41 %LSU | -3.0% |
| 1987 | 41.26 %LSU | +4.7% |
| 1988 | 41.67 %LSU | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 42.66 %LSU | +2.4% |
| 1990 | 43.11 %LSU | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 41.66 %LSU | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 38.98 %LSU | -6.4% |
| 1993 | 37.14 %LSU | -4.7% |
| 1994 | 34.72 %LSU | -6.5% |
| 1995 | 32.76 %LSU | -5.6% |
| 1996 | 32.24 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 31.71 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 31.07 %LSU | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 30.92 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 30.8 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 29.19 %LSU | -5.2% |
| 2002 | 28.16 %LSU | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 27.71 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 27.56 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 27.34 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 24.75 %LSU | -9.5% |
| 2007 | 23.91 %LSU | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 22.49 %LSU | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 21.13 %LSU | -6.0% |
| 2010 | 20.76 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 20.91 %LSU | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 21.28 %LSU | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 21.01 %LSU | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 20.43 %LSU | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 21.01 %LSU | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 21.62 %LSU | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 21.94 %LSU | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 21.27 %LSU | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 21.15 %LSU | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 21.42 %LSU | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 21.86 %LSU | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 22.44 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 19.81 %LSU | -11.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 19.81 %LSU is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.39 %LSU, 3.7× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Australia's 19.81 %LSU is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.4 %LSU, 49.5× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 47.86 %LSU | 47.04 %LSU | 48.79 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 35.77 %LSU | 31.34 %LSU | 46.02 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 39.13 %LSU | 35.22 %LSU | 42.66 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 35.43 %LSU | 30.92 %LSU | 43.11 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.3 %LSU | 21.13 %LSU | 30.8 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.14 %LSU | 20.43 %LSU | 21.94 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.38 %LSU | 19.81 %LSU | 22.44 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 25 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 20.9 %LSU compare
- 25 Caribbean 1.82 %LSU compare
- 26 Australia and New Zealand 20.2 %LSU compare
- 27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20.09 %LSU compare
- 29 Kazakhstan 19.01 %LSU compare
- 30 Cyprus 18.81 %LSU compare
- 31 Bahrain 17.82 %LSU compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep — share in total livestock in Australia?
- Sheep — share in total livestock in Australia was 19.81 %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?
- The highest recorded value was 48.79 %LSU in 1965.
- What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.81 %LSU in 2023.
- How does Australia rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
- Australia ranks 28th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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.