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 21st out of 192 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.

Sheep — Share in total livestock in Iceland

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

Iceland: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 24.06 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

24.06 %LSU

Change on year

down 0.9%

World rank

21st

of 192 countries

All-time high

54.6 %LSU

in 1961

All-time low

24.06 %LSU

in 2023

Years of data

1961–2023

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 21st of 192 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.

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

18 Azerbaijan 26.02 %LSU compare
19 North Macedonia 25.6 %LSU compare
20 Tunisia 24.77 %LSU compare
22 Mongolia 23.67 %LSU compare
23 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 23.4 %LSU compare
24 Yemen 21.76 %LSU compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

More environment data for Iceland

Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland 0.04 % (2024)
Land area equipped for irrigation — Area 0.05 1000 ha (2024)
Inland waters — Area 217 1000 ha (2024)
Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Land area 15.05 % (2024)
Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 92.61 % (2024)
Permanent meadows and pastures — Area 1,517 1000 ha (2024)
Arable land — Share in Agricultural land 7.39 % (2024)
Arable land — Area 121 1000 ha (2024)
Cropland — Area per capita 0.31 ha/cap (2024)
Cropland — Share in Land area 1.2 % (2024)

All data for Iceland →

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 21st out of 192 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

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.