Sheep — Share in total livestock in Southern Africa

Southern Africa: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 14.72 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
14.72 %LSU
Change on year
down 2.8%
Rank
8th
of 37 groups
All-time high
28.88 %LSU
in 1966
All-time low
14.29 %LSU
in 2020
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Sheep — Share in total livestock in Southern Africa, 1961–2023

0102030196119922023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Africa is 14.72 %LSU, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 0.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Africa peaked at 28.88 %LSU in 1966 and was at its lowest, 14.29 %LSU, in 2020.

Southern Africa ranks 8th of 37 groups 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 26 %LSU 24.24 %LSU 28.88 %LSU 9
1970s 21.68 %LSU 19.74 %LSU 24.29 %LSU 10
1980s 20.45 %LSU 20.04 %LSU 21.47 %LSU 10
1990s 18.32 %LSU 16.72 %LSU 19.9 %LSU 10
2000s 15.67 %LSU 14.89 %LSU 16.8 %LSU 10
2010s 14.7 %LSU 14.37 %LSU 15.09 %LSU 10
2020s 14.74 %LSU 14.29 %LSU 15.15 %LSU 4

Countries ranked near Southern Africa

  1. 5 Palestine, State of 41.93 %LSU compare
  2. 6 Turkmenistan 38.45 %LSU compare
  3. 7 Jordan 33.96 %LSU compare
  4. 8 Equatorial Guinea 31.51 %LSU compare
  5. 9 Lesotho 29.61 %LSU compare
  6. 10 Saudi Arabia 28.45 %LSU compare
  7. 11 Mauritania 27.69 %LSU compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

More environment data for Southern Africa

All data for Southern Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Africa?
Sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Africa was 14.72 %LSU in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Southern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 28.88 %LSU in 1966.
What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Southern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 14.29 %LSU in 2020.
How does Southern Africa rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
Southern Africa ranks 8th out of 37 groups with data for 2023.
Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Southern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Southern 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.

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Sheep — Share in total livestock in Southern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/sheep-share-in-total-livestock/southern-africa/

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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.