Sheep and Goat Meat — Producing Animals/Slaughtered in South Africa
South Africa: Sheep and Goat Meat — Producing Animals/Slaughtered was 5.63 million An in 2024. ▼ Falling
Sheep and Goat Meat — Producing Animals/Slaughtered in South Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in An.
Analysis
In 2024, sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered in South Africa stood at 5.63 million An.
The figure is down 21.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered in South Africa peaked at 14.22 million An in 1969 and was at its lowest, 5.60 million An, in 2019.
South Africa ranks 38th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Sheep and Goat Meat — Producing Animals/Slaughtered in South Africa, year by year
| Year | An | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 9.82 million An | — |
| 1962 | 10.69 million An | +8.9% |
| 1963 | 11.22 million An | +4.9% |
| 1964 | 11.64 million An | +3.7% |
| 1965 | 11.98 million An | +2.9% |
| 1966 | 12.37 million An | +3.3% |
| 1967 | 12.71 million An | +2.7% |
| 1968 | 13.05 million An | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 14.22 million An | +9.0% |
| 1970 | 12.09 million An | -15.0% |
| 1971 | 12.70 million An | +5.1% |
| 1972 | 11.68 million An | -8.0% |
| 1973 | 10.66 million An | -8.7% |
| 1974 | 10.28 million An | -3.6% |
| 1975 | 10.70 million An | +4.1% |
| 1976 | 10.98 million An | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 10.84 million An | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 11.54 million An | +6.4% |
| 1979 | 11.70 million An | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 11.72 million An | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 11.78 million An | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 11.79 million An | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 11.82 million An | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 11.83 million An | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 11.86 million An | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 9.89 million An | -16.6% |
| 1987 | 11.81 million An | +19.4% |
| 1988 | 11.88 million An | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 11.95 million An | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 11.96 million An | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 11.18 million An | -6.5% |
| 1992 | 11.39 million An | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 10.44 million An | -8.3% |
| 1994 | 10.01 million An | -4.1% |
| 1995 | 9.31 million An | -7.1% |
| 1996 | 7.98 million An | -14.3% |
| 1997 | 7.43 million An | -6.8% |
| 1998 | 7.43 million An | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 9.05 million An | +21.8% |
| 2000 | 9.60 million An | +6.0% |
| 2001 | 7.52 million An | -21.6% |
| 2002 | 7.02 million An | -6.7% |
| 2003 | 6.86 million An | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 6.70 million An | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 6.73 million An | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 6.85 million An | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 5.88 million An | -14.2% |
| 2008 | 6.36 million An | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 6.78 million An | +6.6% |
| 2010 | 6.59 million An | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 5.92 million An | -10.2% |
| 2012 | 6.63 million An | +12.1% |
| 2013 | 6.81 million An | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 7.13 million An | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 6.98 million An | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 6.39 million An | -8.5% |
| 2017 | 5.99 million An | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 5.79 million An | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 5.60 million An | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 6.43 million An | +14.9% |
| 2021 | 5.91 million An | -8.0% |
| 2022 | 5.61 million An | -5.2% |
| 2023 | 5.63 million An | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 5.63 million An | -0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.97 million An | 9.82 million An | 14.22 million An | 9 |
| 1970s | 11.32 million An | 10.28 million An | 12.70 million An | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.63 million An | 9.89 million An | 11.95 million An | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.62 million An | 7.43 million An | 11.96 million An | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.03 million An | 5.88 million An | 9.60 million An | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.38 million An | 5.60 million An | 7.13 million An | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.84 million An | 5.61 million An | 6.43 million An | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered in South Africa?
- Sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered in South Africa was 5.63 million An in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 14.22 million An in 1969.
- What is the lowest sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.60 million An in 2019.
- How does South Africa rank for sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered?
- South Africa ranks 38th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sheep and goat meat — producing animals/slaughtered rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sheep and Goat Meat — Producing Animals/Slaughtered. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
Crop and livestock statistics are recorded for 278 products, covering the following categories: 1) CROPS PRIMARY: Cereals, Citrus Fruit, Fibre Crops, Fruit, Oil Crops, Oil Crops and Cakes in Oil Equivalent, Pulses, Roots and Tubers, Sugar Crops, Treenuts and Vegetables. Data are expressed in terms of area harvested, production quantity and yield. Cereals: Area and production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed or silage or used for grazing are therefore excluded. 2) CROPS PROCESSED: Beer of barley; Cotton lint; Cottonseed; Margarine, short; Molasses; Oil, coconut (copra); Oil, cottonseed; Oil, groundnut; Oil, linseed; Oil, maize; Oil, olive, virgin; Oil, palm; Oil, palm kernel; Oil, rapeseed; Oil, safflower; Oil, sesame; Oil, soybean; Oil, sunflower; Palm kernels; Sugar Raw Centrifugal; Wine. 3) LIVE ANIMALS: Animals live n.e.s.; Asses; Beehives; Buffaloes; Camelids, other; Camels; Cattle; Chickens; Ducks; Geese and guinea fowls; Goats; Horses; Mules; Pigeons, other birds; Pigs; Rabbits and hares; Rodents, other; Sheep; Turkeys. 4) LIVESTOCK PRIMARY: Beeswax; Eggs (various types); Hides buffalo, fresh; Hides, cattle, fresh; Honey, natural; Meat (ass, bird nes, buffalo, camel, cattle, chicken, duck, game, goat, goose and guinea fowl, horse, mule, Meat nes, meat other camelids, Meat other rodents, pig, rabbit, sheep, turkey); Milk (buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep); Offals, nes; Silk-worm cocoons, reelable; Skins (goat, sheep); Snails, not sea; Wool, greasy. 5) LIVESTOCK PROCESSED: Butter (of milk from sheep, goat, buffalo, cow); Cheese (of milk from goat, buffalo, sheep, cow milk); Cheese of skimmed cow milk; Cream fresh; Ghee (cow and buffalo milk); Lard; Milk (dry buttermilk, skimmed condensed, skimmed cow, skimmed dried, skimmed evaporated, whole condensed, whole dried, whole evaporated); Silk raw; Tallow; Whey (condensed and dry); Yoghurt.