Sheep — Share in total livestock in Nigeria
Nigeria: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 17.52 %LSU in 2023. ▲ Rising
Sheep — Share in total livestock in Nigeria, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
In 2023, sheep — share in total livestock in Nigeria stood at 17.52 %LSU. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Nigeria peaked at 17.52 %LSU in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.4 %LSU, in 1961.
Nigeria ranks 32nd of 180 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep — Share in total livestock in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | %LSU | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.4 %LSU | — |
| 1962 | 2.63 %LSU | +9.6% |
| 1963 | 2.9 %LSU | +10.3% |
| 1964 | 3.2 %LSU | +10.3% |
| 1965 | 3.46 %LSU | +8.1% |
| 1966 | 3.81 %LSU | +10.1% |
| 1967 | 4.15 %LSU | +8.9% |
| 1968 | 4.43 %LSU | +6.7% |
| 1969 | 4.81 %LSU | +8.6% |
| 1970 | 5.19 %LSU | +7.9% |
| 1971 | 5.54 %LSU | +6.7% |
| 1972 | 5.98 %LSU | +7.9% |
| 1973 | 6.36 %LSU | +6.4% |
| 1974 | 6.75 %LSU | +6.1% |
| 1975 | 7.06 %LSU | +4.6% |
| 1976 | 7.46 %LSU | +5.7% |
| 1977 | 7.84 %LSU | +5.1% |
| 1978 | 8.11 %LSU | +3.4% |
| 1979 | 8.36 %LSU | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 8.64 %LSU | +3.3% |
| 1981 | 8.87 %LSU | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 9.07 %LSU | +2.3% |
| 1983 | 9.26 %LSU | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 9.38 %LSU | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 9.55 %LSU | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 9.41 %LSU | -1.5% |
| 1987 | 9.42 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 9.46 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 9.42 %LSU | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 9.66 %LSU | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 10.02 %LSU | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 10.28 %LSU | +2.6% |
| 1993 | 10.23 %LSU | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 10.62 %LSU | +3.8% |
| 1995 | 10.97 %LSU | +3.3% |
| 1996 | 11.33 %LSU | +3.3% |
| 1997 | 12.53 %LSU | +10.6% |
| 1998 | 13.38 %LSU | +6.8% |
| 1999 | 14.43 %LSU | +7.8% |
| 2000 | 15.29 %LSU | +6.0% |
| 2001 | 16.18 %LSU | +5.8% |
| 2002 | 16.18 %LSU | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16.39 %LSU | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 16.26 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 16.29 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 16.35 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 16.4 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 16.46 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 16.5 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 16.51 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 16.37 %LSU | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 16.42 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 16.71 %LSU | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 16.78 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 16.63 %LSU | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 16.87 %LSU | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 16.91 %LSU | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 16.96 %LSU | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 17.02 %LSU | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 17.02 %LSU | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 17.04 %LSU | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 17.14 %LSU | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 17.52 %LSU | +2.2% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 17.52 %LSU is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.43 %LSU, 3.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 17.52 %LSU is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.63 %LSU, 1.8× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.53 %LSU | 2.4 %LSU | 4.81 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 6.87 %LSU | 5.19 %LSU | 8.36 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.25 %LSU | 8.64 %LSU | 9.55 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.35 %LSU | 9.66 %LSU | 14.43 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.23 %LSU | 15.29 %LSU | 16.5 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.72 %LSU | 16.37 %LSU | 17.02 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.18 %LSU | 17.02 %LSU | 17.52 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
- 29 Kazakhstan 19.01 %LSU compare
- 30 Cyprus 18.81 %LSU compare
- 31 Bahrain 17.82 %LSU compare
- 32 Afghanistan 17.52 %LSU compare
- 34 Gabon 17.13 %LSU compare
- 35 Uzbekistan 17.07 %LSU compare
More environment data for Nigeria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.07 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.281 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.78 % 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 0.4617 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep — share in total livestock in Nigeria?
- Sheep — share in total livestock in Nigeria was 17.52 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 17.52 %LSU in 2023.
- What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.4 %LSU in 1961.
- How does Nigeria rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
- Nigeria ranks 32nd out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.