Number of cattle in Namibia
Namibia: Number of cattle was 2.91 million animals in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.91 million animals
Change on year
down 3.6%
World rank
69th
of 197 countries
All-time high
3.17 million animals
in 2016
All-time low
1.84 million animals
in 1987
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Number of cattle in Namibia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in animals.
Analysis
In 2024, number of cattle in Namibia stood at 2.91 million animals.
The figure is down 3.6% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of cattle in Namibia peaked at 3.17 million animals in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.84 million animals, in 1987.
Namibia ranks 69th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Number of cattle in Namibia, year by year
| Year | animals | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.12 million animals | — |
| 1962 | 2.30 million animals | +8.6% |
| 1963 | 2.28 million animals | -0.6% |
| 1964 | 2.29 million animals | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 2.30 million animals | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 2.33 million animals | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 2.35 million animals | +0.9% |
| 1968 | 2.40 million animals | +2.1% |
| 1969 | 2.45 million animals | +2.1% |
| 1970 | 2.50 million animals | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 2.55 million animals | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 2.60 million animals | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 2.65 million animals | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 2.98 million animals | +12.5% |
| 1975 | 1.85 million animals | -37.9% |
| 1976 | 1.95 million animals | +5.4% |
| 1977 | 2.22 million animals | +14.0% |
| 1978 | 2.25 million animals | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 2.39 million animals | +6.2% |
| 1980 | 2.48 million animals | +3.8% |
| 1981 | 2.08 million animals | -16.0% |
| 1982 | 1.92 million animals | -7.9% |
| 1983 | 1.86 million animals | -2.8% |
| 1984 | 1.88 million animals | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 1.87 million animals | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 1.99 million animals | +6.1% |
| 1987 | 1.84 million animals | -7.8% |
| 1988 | 1.97 million animals | +7.3% |
| 1989 | 2.01 million animals | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 2.09 million animals | +3.6% |
| 1991 | 2.21 million animals | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 2.21 million animals | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 2.07 million animals | -6.0% |
| 1994 | 2.04 million animals | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 2.03 million animals | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 1.99 million animals | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 2.06 million animals | +3.3% |
| 1998 | 2.19 million animals | +6.7% |
| 1999 | 2.29 million animals | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 2.50 million animals | +9.2% |
| 2001 | 2.51 million animals | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 2.33 million animals | -7.1% |
| 2003 | 2.34 million animals | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 2.31 million animals | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 3.13 million animals | +35.7% |
| 2006 | 2.38 million animals | -23.9% |
| 2007 | 2.35 million animals | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 2.54 million animals | +8.0% |
| 2009 | 2.47 million animals | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 2.40 million animals | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 2.35 million animals | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 2.90 million animals | +23.6% |
| 2013 | 2.63 million animals | -9.3% |
| 2014 | 2.88 million animals | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 2.77 million animals | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 3.17 million animals | +14.6% |
| 2017 | 2.95 million animals | -7.0% |
| 2018 | 2.83 million animals | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 2.81 million animals | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 2.52 million animals | -10.3% |
| 2021 | 2.59 million animals | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 3.12 million animals | +20.3% |
| 2023 | 3.02 million animals | -3.2% |
| 2024 | 2.91 million animals | -3.6% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 2.91 million animals is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.73 million animals, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 2.91 million animals is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.41 million animals, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of cattle in Namibia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | -37.9% | 2.98 million animals | 1.85 million animals |
| 2005 | +35.7% | 2.31 million animals | 3.13 million animals |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.31 million animals | 2.12 million animals | 2.45 million animals | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.39 million animals | 1.85 million animals | 2.98 million animals | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.99 million animals | 1.84 million animals | 2.48 million animals | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.12 million animals | 1.99 million animals | 2.29 million animals | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.49 million animals | 2.31 million animals | 3.13 million animals | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.77 million animals | 2.35 million animals | 3.17 million animals | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.83 million animals | 2.52 million animals | 3.12 million animals | 5 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More agriculture & rural data for Namibia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0699 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 340.78 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4913 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 7.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 7.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of cattle in Namibia?
- Number of cattle in Namibia was 2.91 million animals in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of cattle recorded in Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.17 million animals in 2016.
- What is the lowest number of cattle recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.84 million animals in 1987.
- How does Namibia rank for number of cattle?
- Namibia ranks 69th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of cattle rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of cattle. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).