Sheep — Stocks in New Zealand
New Zealand: Sheep — Stocks was 24.36 million An in 2023. ▼ Falling
Sheep — Stocks in New Zealand, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in An.
Analysis
The most recent figure for sheep — stocks in New Zealand is 24.36 million An, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 20.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep — stocks in New Zealand peaked at 70.30 million An in 1982 and was at its lowest, 24.36 million An, in 2023.
That places New Zealand 19th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Sheep — Stocks in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | An | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 48.46 million An | — |
| 1962 | 48.99 million An | +1.1% |
| 1963 | 50.19 million An | +2.5% |
| 1964 | 51.29 million An | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 53.75 million An | +4.8% |
| 1966 | 57.34 million An | +6.7% |
| 1967 | 60.03 million An | +4.7% |
| 1968 | 60.47 million An | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 59.94 million An | -0.9% |
| 1970 | 60.28 million An | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 58.91 million An | -2.3% |
| 1972 | 60.88 million An | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 56.68 million An | -6.9% |
| 1974 | 55.88 million An | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 55.32 million An | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 56.40 million An | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 59.10 million An | +4.8% |
| 1978 | 62.16 million An | +5.2% |
| 1979 | 63.52 million An | +2.2% |
| 1980 | 68.77 million An | +8.3% |
| 1981 | 69.88 million An | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 70.30 million An | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 70.26 million An | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 69.74 million An | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 67.85 million An | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 67.47 million An | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 64.24 million An | -4.8% |
| 1988 | 64.60 million An | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 60.57 million An | -6.2% |
| 1990 | 57.85 million An | -4.5% |
| 1991 | 55.16 million An | -4.7% |
| 1992 | 52.57 million An | -4.7% |
| 1993 | 50.30 million An | -4.3% |
| 1994 | 49.47 million An | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 48.82 million An | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 47.39 million An | -2.9% |
| 1997 | 46.08 million An | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 44.40 million An | -3.6% |
| 1999 | 45.68 million An | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 42.26 million An | -7.5% |
| 2001 | 40.01 million An | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 39.57 million An | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 39.55 million An | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 39.27 million An | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 39.88 million An | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 40.08 million An | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 38.46 million An | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 34.09 million An | -11.4% |
| 2009 | 32.38 million An | -5.0% |
| 2010 | 32.56 million An | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 31.13 million An | -4.4% |
| 2012 | 31.26 million An | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 30.79 million An | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 29.80 million An | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 29.12 million An | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 27.58 million An | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 27.53 million An | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 27.30 million An | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 26.82 million An | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 26.03 million An | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 25.73 million An | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 25.13 million An | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 24.36 million An | -3.1% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 24.36 million An is above the median for high income countries, which is 343,400 An, 70.9× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 24.36 million An is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 89,736 An, 271.5× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 54.50 million An | 48.46 million An | 60.47 million An | 9 |
| 1970s | 58.91 million An | 55.32 million An | 63.52 million An | 10 |
| 1980s | 67.37 million An | 60.57 million An | 70.30 million An | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.77 million An | 44.40 million An | 57.85 million An | 10 |
| 2000s | 38.56 million An | 32.38 million An | 42.26 million An | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.39 million An | 26.82 million An | 32.56 million An | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.31 million An | 24.36 million An | 26.03 million An | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More environment data for New Zealand
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate -2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 1.63 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2131 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.379 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 33.62 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 11.46 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep — stocks in New Zealand?
- Sheep — stocks in New Zealand was 24.36 million An in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep — stocks recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 70.30 million An in 1982.
- What is the lowest sheep — stocks recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.36 million An in 2023.
- How does New Zealand rank for sheep — stocks?
- New Zealand ranks 19th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sheep — stocks rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep — Stocks. 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 Manure domain of FAOSTAT contains estimates of nitrogen (N) inputs to agricultural soils from livestock manure. Data on the N losses to air and water are also disseminated. These estimates are compiled using official FAOSTAT statistics of animal stocks and by applying the internationally approved Guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Data are available by country, with global coverage and updated annually.The following elements are disseminated: 1) Stocks; 2) Amount excreted in manure (N content); 3) Manure left on pasture (N content); 4) Manure left on pasture that volatilises (N content); 5) Manure left on pasture that leaches (N content); 6) Manure treated (N content); 7) Losses from manure treated (N content); 8) Manure applied to soils (N content); 9) Manure applied to soils that volatilises (N content); 10) Manure applied to soils that leaches (N content).