Number of cattle in Lesotho

Number of cattle in Lesotho was 517,450 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 22.8% from 2023. That is the 121st highest of 190 countries in 2024.

2024, head517,450 Estimated

Change on 2023-22.8%

Rank121st of 190Countries ranked

Series high755,1341999

Series low278,9401966

Next release: Thursday, 31 December 2026, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Number of cattle in Lesotho, 1961 to 2024

head. Source: FAOSTAT, Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-12-31.

All 64 values

Period	head
2024	517,450 Estimated
2023	670,022
2022	593,664
2021	288,664
2020	330,726
2019	360,602
2018	453,297
2017	461,573
2016	494,007
2015	508,344
2014	540,133
2013	548,042
2012	650,000 Estimated
2011	635,000 Estimated
2010	626,343
2009	616,562
2008	616,159
2007	687,588
2006	687,588
2005	729,327
2004	677,215
2003	682,488
2002	644,550
2001	732,191
2000	709,884
1999	755,134
1998	495,614
1997	601,410
1996	539,000
1995	580,230
1994	577,975
1993	658,305
1992	699,000
1991	542,399
1990	523,244
1989	583,260
1988	627,195
1987	625,270
1986	524,675
1985	522,125
1984	529,125
1983	537,517
1982	562,372
1981	589,976
1980	593,929
1979	560,327
1978	526,151
1977	485,500
1976	505,400
1975	512,400
1974	465,500
1973	441,700
1972	440,000 Estimated
1971	470,000 Estimated
1970	551,522
1969	474,356
1968	442,582
1967	375,709
1966	278,940
1965	418,951
1964	308,000
1963	336,146
1962	386,342
1961	376,740

Lesotho compared with nearby places

Under 1M
1M to 2M
2M to 4M
4M to 11M
11M and over
No data

Number of cattle, 2024, head. Lesotho is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Rankings

Countries by number of cattle 196 places
EU countries by number of cattle 27 places

Definition

Number of cattle (domestic cattle, not buffaloes) present in the country, as published in FAOSTAT's crops and livestock products domain. FAO asks for the count on one day of the year, usually the census or survey date, so the reference day differs between countries.

FAO fills gaps in national reporting with its own estimates and imputations, which are marked as estimated, and revises past years when countries send new figures.

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How to cite

FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111) (Number of cattle, Lesotho, 1961 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip

MLA 9

Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, Lesotho, 1961 to 2024. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 31 Dec. 2025, https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/lesotho. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2025. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Number of cattle, Lesotho, 1961 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/lesotho.

Harvard

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111), Number of cattle, Lesotho, 1961 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/lesotho (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{food_number_of_cattle_lesotho_2024,
  author = {{Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}},
  title = {{Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, Lesotho, 1961 to 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/lesotho. Publisher attribution: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production\_Crops\_Livestock\_E\_All\_Data\_\%28Normalized\%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
TI  - Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111): Number of cattle, Lesotho, 1961 to 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
PB  - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/lesotho
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/lesotho.
N1  - Publisher attribution: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Accessed on 2026-10-12. https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_%28Normalized%29.zip Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the number of cattle in Lesotho?

Where does this figure come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Production: Crops and livestock products (QCL): Cattle, stocks, head (item 866, element 5111). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest number of cattle in Lesotho?

755,134 head in 1999, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of cattle in other countries

Related statistics for Lesotho

All statistics for Lesotho | Lesotho in figures