Cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Cattle livestock count heads was 5.74 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
5.74 million
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
48th
of 197 countries
All-time high
6.61 million
in 1977
All-time low
3.40 million
in 1966
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe, 1961–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 5.74 million for cattle livestock count heads in 2024.
The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe peaked at 6.61 million in 1977 and was at its lowest, 3.40 million, in 1966.
That places Zimbabwe 48th out of 197 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.55 million | — |
| 1962 | 3.61 million | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 3.71 million | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 3.50 million | -5.8% |
| 1965 | 3.55 million | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 3.40 million | -4.2% |
| 1967 | 3.94 million | +16.0% |
| 1968 | 4.07 million | +3.3% |
| 1969 | 4.80 million | +18.0% |
| 1970 | 5.19 million | +8.1% |
| 1971 | 5.54 million | +6.8% |
| 1972 | 5.60 million | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 5.64 million | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 5.73 million | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 6.13 million | +7.0% |
| 1976 | 6.32 million | +3.0% |
| 1977 | 6.61 million | +4.7% |
| 1978 | 6.03 million | -8.9% |
| 1979 | 5.57 million | -7.6% |
| 1980 | 5.28 million | -5.2% |
| 1981 | 5.29 million | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 5.66 million | +7.1% |
| 1983 | 5.55 million | -2.0% |
| 1984 | 5.46 million | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 5.50 million | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 5.78 million | +5.2% |
| 1987 | 5.92 million | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 5.82 million | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 5.85 million | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 6.41 million | +9.6% |
| 1991 | 5.35 million | -16.5% |
| 1992 | 6.02 million | +12.6% |
| 1993 | 4.18 million | -30.6% |
| 1994 | 4.30 million | +2.9% |
| 1995 | 4.50 million | +4.7% |
| 1996 | 5.44 million | +20.8% |
| 1997 | 5.40 million | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 5.67 million | +5.0% |
| 1999 | 6.07 million | +7.1% |
| 2000 | 6.19 million | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 6.27 million | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 5.67 million | -9.5% |
| 2003 | 5.41 million | -4.7% |
| 2004 | 5.23 million | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 5.23 million | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4.99 million | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 5.05 million | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 5.01 million | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 5.33 million | +6.4% |
| 2010 | 5.77 million | +8.3% |
| 2011 | 6.06 million | +4.9% |
| 2012 | 6.10 million | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 6.15 million | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 4.87 million | -20.8% |
| 2015 | 5.48 million | +12.5% |
| 2016 | 5.53 million | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 5.33 million | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 5.32 million | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 5.06 million | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 5.20 million | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 5.48 million | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 5.53 million | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 5.75 million | +4.0% |
| 2024 | 5.74 million | -0.2% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 5.74 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.73 million, 2.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 5.74 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.41 million, 2.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | -30.6% | 6.02 million | 4.18 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.79 million | 3.40 million | 4.80 million | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.84 million | 5.19 million | 6.61 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.61 million | 5.28 million | 5.92 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.33 million | 4.18 million | 6.41 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.44 million | 4.99 million | 6.27 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.57 million | 4.87 million | 6.15 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.54 million | 5.20 million | 5.75 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate -1.42 % 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 0.1777 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate -0.2864 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0.0003 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.8916 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 34.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0947 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 286.19 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.8815 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe?
- Cattle livestock count heads in Zimbabwe was 5.74 million in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cattle livestock count heads recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 6.61 million in 1977.
- What is the lowest cattle livestock count heads recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.40 million in 1966.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for cattle livestock count heads?
- Zimbabwe ranks 48th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cattle livestock count heads rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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).