Sheep — Stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Sheep — Stocks was 31.02 million An in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
31.02 million An
Change on year
down 2.5%
World rank
14th
of 179 countries
All-time high
44.66 million An
in 1999
All-time low
19.94 million An
in 1977
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Sheep — Stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1961–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in An.

Analysis

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 31.02 million An for sheep — stocks in 2024.

The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sheep — stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 44.66 million An in 1999 and was at its lowest, 19.94 million An, in 1977.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 14th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Sheep — Stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Sheep — Stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1961 to 2024.
Year An Change
1961 29.07 million An
1962 29.60 million An +1.8%
1963 29.45 million An -0.5%
1964 29.77 million An +1.1%
1965 30.03 million An +0.9%
1966 30.08 million An +0.2%
1967 29.01 million An -3.6%
1968 28.12 million An -3.0%
1969 26.72 million An -5.0%
1970 26.19 million An -2.0%
1971 26.09 million An -0.4%
1972 26.98 million An +3.4%
1973 28.05 million An +4.0%
1974 28.61 million An +2.0%
1975 28.36 million An -0.8%
1976 28.27 million An -0.3%
1977 19.94 million An -29.4%
1978 20.57 million An +3.1%
1979 21.71 million An +5.6%
1980 21.61 million An -0.5%
1981 21.60 million An -0.0%
1982 22.20 million An +2.8%
1983 22.94 million An +3.4%
1984 23.32 million An +1.6%
1985 23.95 million An +2.7%
1986 37.03 million An +54.6%
1987 38.78 million An +4.7%
1988 41.03 million An +5.8%
1989 43.01 million An +4.8%
1990 43.83 million An +1.9%
1991 43.64 million An -0.4%
1992 44.54 million An +2.1%
1993 44.44 million An -0.2%
1994 43.81 million An -1.4%
1995 43.30 million An -1.2%
1996 42.09 million An -2.8%
1997 42.82 million An +1.8%
1998 44.47 million An +3.8%
1999 44.66 million An +0.4%
2000 42.26 million An -5.4%
2001 36.72 million An -13.1%
2002 35.83 million An -2.4%
2003 35.85 million An +0.0%
2004 35.85 million An +0.0%
2005 35.25 million An -1.7%
2006 34.72 million An -1.5%
2007 33.95 million An -2.2%
2008 33.13 million An -2.4%
2009 31.45 million An -5.1%
2010 31.08 million An -1.1%
2011 31.63 million An +1.8%
2012 32.22 million An +1.8%
2013 32.86 million An +2.0%
2014 33.74 million An +2.7%
2015 33.34 million An -1.2%
2016 33.94 million An +1.8%
2017 34.83 million An +2.6%
2018 33.78 million An -3.0%
2019 33.58 million An -0.6%
2020 32.70 million An -2.6%
2021 32.96 million An +0.8%
2022 33.17 million An +0.7%
2023 31.80 million An -4.1%
2024 31.02 million An -2.5%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Sheep — Stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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.

YearChange FromTo
1986 +54.6% 23.95 million An 37.03 million An
1977 -29.4% 28.27 million An 19.94 million An

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 29.10 million An 26.72 million An 30.08 million An 9
1970s 25.48 million An 19.94 million An 28.61 million An 10
1980s 29.55 million An 21.60 million An 43.01 million An 10
1990s 43.76 million An 42.09 million An 44.66 million An 10
2000s 35.50 million An 31.45 million An 42.26 million An 10
2010s 33.10 million An 31.08 million An 34.83 million An 10
2020s 32.33 million An 31.02 million An 33.17 million An 5

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 11 Sudan 40.71 million An compare
  2. 11 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 629,786 An compare
  3. 12 Pakistan 32.73 million An compare
  4. 12 Republic of Moldova 423,608 An compare
  5. 13 Algeria 32.35 million An compare
  6. 13 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 164,779 An compare
  7. 14 Melanesia 49,870 An compare
  8. 15 Kenya 26.21 million An compare
  9. 15 Timor-Leste 39,000 An compare
  10. 16 Mongolia 24.49 million An compare
  11. 16 Polynesia 441 An compare
  12. 17 Mali 24.48 million An compare

See the full ranking of 224 places →

More agriculture & rural data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is sheep — stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Sheep — stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 31.02 million An in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest sheep — stocks recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 44.66 million An in 1999.
What is the lowest sheep — stocks recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 19.94 million An in 1977.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for sheep — stocks?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 14th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
Is sheep — stocks rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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.

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Sheep — Stocks in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/sheep-stocks-3/united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Sheep — Stocks
Unit
An
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
224 places, 12,958 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

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.