Sheep — Share in total livestock in Southern Europe

Southern Europe: Sheep — Share in total livestock was 11.1 %LSU in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
11.1 %LSU
Change on year
down 0.3%
Rank
11th
of 37 regions
All-time high
16.6 %LSU
in 1961
All-time low
10.23 %LSU
in 2020
Years of data
63
1961–2023

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

051015196119922023

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

Analysis

Southern Europe recorded 11.1 %LSU for sheep — share in total livestock in 2023.

That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Europe peaked at 16.6 %LSU in 1961 and was at its lowest, 10.23 %LSU, in 2020.

Southern Europe ranks 11th of 37 regions on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 15.89 %LSU 14.78 %LSU 16.6 %LSU 9
1970s 13.32 %LSU 12.51 %LSU 14.33 %LSU 10
1980s 13.38 %LSU 12.48 %LSU 14.62 %LSU 10
1990s 14.75 %LSU 14.12 %LSU 15.09 %LSU 10
2000s 13.2 %LSU 12.26 %LSU 14.26 %LSU 10
2010s 11.42 %LSU 10.81 %LSU 11.97 %LSU 10
2020s 10.93 %LSU 10.23 %LSU 11.24 %LSU 4

Countries ranked near Southern Europe

  1. 8 Equatorial Guinea 31.51 %LSU compare
  2. 9 Lesotho 29.61 %LSU compare
  3. 10 Saudi Arabia 28.45 %LSU compare
  4. 11 Mauritania 27.69 %LSU compare
  5. 12 Saint Kitts and Nevis 27.65 %LSU compare
  6. 13 Morocco 26.88 %LSU compare
  7. 14 Romania 26.83 %LSU compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

More environment data for Southern Europe

All data for Southern Europe →

Frequently asked questions

What is sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Europe?
Sheep — share in total livestock in Southern Europe was 11.1 %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 Europe?
The highest recorded value was 16.6 %LSU in 1961.
What is the lowest sheep — share in total livestock recorded in Southern Europe?
The lowest recorded value was 10.23 %LSU in 2020.
How does Southern Europe rank for sheep — share in total livestock?
Southern Europe ranks 11th out of 37 regions with data for 2023.
Is sheep — share in total livestock rising or falling in Southern Europe?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Southern Europe 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 Europe. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/sheep-share-in-total-livestock/southern-europe/

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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.