Sheep — Share in total livestock in South Africa
South Africa: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 16 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep — Share in total livestock in South Africa, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 16 %LSU for sheep — share in total livestock in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in South Africa peaked at 31.63 %LSU in 1966 and was at its lowest, 15.86 %LSU, in 2012.
That places South Africa 39th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28.57 %LSU | 26.29 %LSU | 31.63 %LSU | 9 |
| 1970s | 24.03 %LSU | 21.84 %LSU | 27.03 %LSU | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.15 %LSU | 22.45 %LSU | 24.62 %LSU | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.65 %LSU | 19.18 %LSU | 22.33 %LSU | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.52 %LSU | 16.42 %LSU | 19.27 %LSU | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.06 %LSU | 15.86 %LSU | 16.38 %LSU | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.97 %LSU | 15.95 %LSU | 16 %LSU | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value -6.69 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value 0.0005 1000 USD per person (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate -3.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 1.18 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 2.03 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value 30,837 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import quantity 7,586 t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep — share in total livestock in South Africa?
- Sheep — share in total livestock in South Africa was 16 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 31.63 %LSU in 1966.
- What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.86 %LSU in 2012.
- How does South Africa rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
- South Africa ranks 39th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.