Sheep — Share in total livestock in South America

South America: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 1.89 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1.89 %LSU
Change on year
down 1.0%
Rank
28th
of 37 regions
All-time high
8.54 %LSU
in 1961
All-time low
1.89 %LSU
in 2023
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Sheep — Share in total livestock in South America, 1961–2023

2468196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %LSU.

Analysis

In 2023, sheep — share in total livestock in South America stood at 1.89 %LSU. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in South America peaked at 8.54 %LSU in 1961 and was at its lowest, 1.89 %LSU, in 2023.

South America ranks 28th of 37 regions on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 7.93 %LSU 7.36 %LSU 8.54 %LSU 9
1970s 5.6 %LSU 4.85 %LSU 7.01 %LSU 10
1980s 4.59 %LSU 4.41 %LSU 4.85 %LSU 10
1990s 3.46 %LSU 2.9 %LSU 4.28 %LSU 10
2000s 2.47 %LSU 2.33 %LSU 2.78 %LSU 10
2010s 2.15 %LSU 2.02 %LSU 2.33 %LSU 10
2020s 1.95 %LSU 1.89 %LSU 2.05 %LSU 4

Countries ranked near South America

  1. 25 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 20.9 %LSU compare
  2. 26 Australia and New Zealand 20.2 %LSU compare
  3. 27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20.09 %LSU compare
  4. 28 Australia 19.81 %LSU compare
  5. 29 Kazakhstan 19.01 %LSU compare
  6. 30 Cyprus 18.81 %LSU compare
  7. 31 Bahrain 17.82 %LSU compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

More environment data for South America

All data for South America →

Frequently asked questions

What is sheep — share in total livestock in South America?
Sheep — share in total livestock in South America was 1.89 %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 America?
The highest recorded value was 8.54 %LSU in 1961.
What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in South America?
The lowest recorded value was 1.89 %LSU in 2023.
How does South America rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
South America ranks 28th out of 37 regions with data for 2023.
Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in South America?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South America 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.

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Sheep — Share in total livestock in South America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/sheep-share-in-total-livestock/south-america/

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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

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.