Cattle livestock count heads in Zambia
Zambia: Cattle livestock count heads was 4.89 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.89 million
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
55th
of 197 countries
All-time high
5.12 million
in 2023
All-time low
1.27 million
in 1964
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cattle livestock count heads in Zambia, 1961–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 4.89 million for cattle livestock count heads in 2024.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and up 19.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle livestock count heads in Zambia peaked at 5.12 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.27 million, in 1964.
That places Zambia 55th out of 197 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cattle livestock count heads in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.28 million | — |
| 1962 | 1.27 million | -0.9% |
| 1963 | 1.27 million | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 1.27 million | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 1.30 million | +2.8% |
| 1966 | 1.32 million | +1.7% |
| 1967 | 1.41 million | +6.3% |
| 1968 | 1.43 million | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 1.55 million | +8.0% |
| 1970 | 1.57 million | +1.7% |
| 1971 | 1.62 million | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 1.67 million | +3.0% |
| 1973 | 1.71 million | +2.3% |
| 1974 | 1.72 million | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 1.79 million | +4.2% |
| 1976 | 2.01 million | +12.0% |
| 1977 | 2.09 million | +3.9% |
| 1978 | 2.13 million | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 2.21 million | +4.1% |
| 1980 | 2.18 million | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 2.32 million | +6.3% |
| 1982 | 2.46 million | +6.0% |
| 1983 | 2.33 million | -4.9% |
| 1984 | 2.22 million | -5.1% |
| 1985 | 2.47 million | +11.5% |
| 1986 | 2.52 million | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 2.60 million | +3.2% |
| 1988 | 2.64 million | +1.4% |
| 1989 | 2.67 million | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 2.88 million | +7.7% |
| 1991 | 2.98 million | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 3.00 million | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 2.80 million | -6.7% |
| 1994 | 2.60 million | -7.1% |
| 1995 | 2.40 million | -7.7% |
| 1996 | 2.20 million | -8.3% |
| 1997 | 2.70 million | +22.8% |
| 1998 | 2.75 million | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 2.90 million | +5.7% |
| 2000 | 2.62 million | -9.8% |
| 2001 | 2.70 million | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 2.52 million | -6.8% |
| 2003 | 2.38 million | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 2.34 million | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 2.57 million | +9.6% |
| 2006 | 2.80 million | +9.1% |
| 2007 | 2.46 million | -12.2% |
| 2008 | 2.32 million | -5.8% |
| 2009 | 3.04 million | +31.2% |
| 2010 | 3.10 million | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 2.54 million | -18.1% |
| 2012 | 3.92 million | +54.4% |
| 2013 | 4.03 million | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 4.08 million | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 3.95 million | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 3.79 million | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 3.72 million | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 3.71 million | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 3.93 million | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 3.81 million | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 4.11 million | +7.9% |
| 2022 | 4.70 million | +14.2% |
| 2023 | 5.12 million | +8.9% |
| 2024 | 4.89 million | -4.5% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 4.89 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.73 million, 1.8× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 4.89 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.41 million, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cattle livestock count heads in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +54.4% | 2.54 million | 3.92 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.34 million | 1.27 million | 1.55 million | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.85 million | 1.57 million | 2.21 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.44 million | 2.18 million | 2.67 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.72 million | 2.20 million | 3.00 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.57 million | 2.32 million | 3.04 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.68 million | 2.54 million | 4.08 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.53 million | 3.81 million | 5.12 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0001 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.1752 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0008 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 1.09 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 65.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0411 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 54.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle livestock count heads in Zambia?
- Cattle livestock count heads in Zambia was 4.89 million in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cattle livestock count heads recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.12 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest cattle livestock count heads recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.27 million in 1964.
- How does Zambia rank for cattle livestock count heads?
- Zambia ranks 55th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cattle livestock count heads rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Cattle livestock count heads. 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).