Sheep — Share in total livestock in Iceland
Iceland: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 24.06 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep — Share in total livestock in Iceland, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 24.06 %LSU for sheep — share in total livestock in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Iceland peaked at 54.6 %LSU in 1961 and was at its lowest, 24.06 %LSU, in 2023.
Iceland ranks 20th 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 Iceland, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 54.6 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 53.64 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 1963 | 52.07 %LSU | -2.9% |
| 1964 | 50.51 %LSU | -3.0% |
| 1965 | 50.31 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 52.24 %LSU | +3.8% |
| 1967 | 53.3 %LSU | +2.0% |
| 1968 | 53.62 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 53.25 %LSU | -0.7% |
| 1970 | 51.8 %LSU | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 50.49 %LSU | -2.5% |
| 1972 | 49.54 %LSU | -1.9% |
| 1973 | 48.57 %LSU | -2.0% |
| 1974 | 48 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 48.2 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 48.93 %LSU | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 48.96 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 48.94 %LSU | -0.0% |
| 1979 | 48.14 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 46.74 %LSU | -2.9% |
| 1981 | 46.84 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 43.81 %LSU | -6.5% |
| 1983 | 40.84 %LSU | -6.8% |
| 1984 | 39.65 %LSU | -2.9% |
| 1985 | 38.64 %LSU | -2.5% |
| 1986 | 37.29 %LSU | -3.5% |
| 1987 | 35.47 %LSU | -4.9% |
| 1988 | 33.17 %LSU | -6.5% |
| 1989 | 31.29 %LSU | -5.7% |
| 1990 | 29.94 %LSU | -4.3% |
| 1991 | 27.92 %LSU | -6.7% |
| 1992 | 27.06 %LSU | -3.1% |
| 1993 | 27.51 %LSU | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 28.05 %LSU | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 26.2 %LSU | -6.6% |
| 1996 | 25.96 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 26.59 %LSU | +2.4% |
| 1998 | 27.11 %LSU | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 27.35 %LSU | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 26.96 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 27.68 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 28.43 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 28.02 %LSU | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 28.19 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 27.41 %LSU | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 26.93 %LSU | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 26.5 %LSU | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 26.18 %LSU | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 26.56 %LSU | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 27.14 %LSU | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 26.96 %LSU | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 27.26 %LSU | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 28.2 %LSU | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 28.09 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 27.25 %LSU | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 26.95 %LSU | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 26.93 %LSU | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 25.36 %LSU | -5.8% |
| 2019 | 24.86 %LSU | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 25.08 %LSU | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 24.85 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 24.27 %LSU | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 24.06 %LSU | -0.9% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 24.06 %LSU is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.39 %LSU, 4.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 24.06 %LSU is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.72 %LSU, 2.8× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52.62 %LSU | 50.31 %LSU | 54.6 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 49.16 %LSU | 48 %LSU | 51.8 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 39.37 %LSU | 31.29 %LSU | 46.84 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.37 %LSU | 25.96 %LSU | 29.94 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.29 %LSU | 26.18 %LSU | 28.43 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.9 %LSU | 24.86 %LSU | 28.2 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.56 %LSU | 24.06 %LSU | 25.08 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 17 Azerbaijan 26.02 %LSU compare
- 18 North Macedonia 25.6 %LSU compare
- 19 Tunisia 24.77 %LSU compare
- 21 Mongolia 23.67 %LSU compare
- 22 Cabo Verde 3.31 %LSU compare
- 22 Yemen 21.76 %LSU compare
- 23 Montenegro 21.49 %LSU compare
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % 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 -1.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep — share in total livestock in Iceland?
- Sheep — share in total livestock in Iceland was 24.06 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 54.6 %LSU in 1961.
- What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.06 %LSU in 2023.
- How does Iceland rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
- Iceland ranks 20th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland 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.