Data / Number of cattle / South Africa

Number of cattle in South Africa

Number of cattle in South Africa was 12,122,027 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 0.6% from 2023. That is the 28th highest of 190 countries in 2024.

2024, head12,122,027
Change on 2023-0.6%
Rank28th of 190Countries ranked
Series high14,167,0001979
Series low10,445,8521966

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Number of cattle in South Africa, 1961 to 2024

10M11M12M13M14M15M19611971198119912001201120241961: 12,527,000 head1962: 12,600,000 head1963: 12,600,000 head1964: 12,600,000 head1965: 12,500,000 head1966: 10,445,852 head1967: 10,538,274 head1968: 10,697,654 head1969: 11,007,313 head1970: 11,300,000 head1971: 11,234,298 head1972: 11,500,000 head1973: 11,900,000 head1974: 12,300,000 head1975: 12,700,000 head1976: 12,774,000 head1977: 13,060,000 head1978: 13,135,000 head1979: 14,167,000 head1980: 13,575,000 head1981: 12,900,000 head1982: 12,900,000 head1983: 13,100,000 head1984: 12,900,000 head1985: 12,000,000 head1986: 12,000,000 head1987: 12,200,000 head1988: 12,400,000 head1989: 12,800,000 head1990: 13,300,000 head1991: 13,500,000 head1992: 13,500,000 head1993: 13,100,000 head1994: 12,500,000 head1995: 12,600,000 head1996: 13,000,000 head1997: 13,400,000 head1998: 13,700,000 head1999: 13,800,000 head2000: 13,600,000 head2001: 13,500,000 head2002: 13,635,000 head2003: 13,538,000 head2004: 13,512,000 head2005: 13,790,000 head2006: 13,532,000 head2007: 13,911,358 head2008: 13,865,431 head2009: 13,761,161 head2010: 13,731,044 head2011: 13,688,328 head2012: 13,887,898 head2013: 13,861,194 head2014: 13,915,301 head2015: 13,694,582 head2016: 13,400,272 head2017: 12,953,388 head2018: 12,789,515 head2019: 12,588,635 head2020: 12,297,621 head2021: 12,232,115 head2022: 12,196,802 head2023: 12,198,082 head2024: 12,122,027 head
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
Periodhead
202412,122,027
202312,198,082
202212,196,802
202112,232,115
202012,297,621
201912,588,635
201812,789,515
201712,953,388
201613,400,272
201513,694,582
201413,915,301
201313,861,194
201213,887,898
201113,688,328
201013,731,044
200913,761,161
200813,865,431
200713,911,358
200613,532,000
200513,790,000
200413,512,000
200313,538,000
200213,635,000
200113,500,000
200013,600,000
199913,800,000
199813,700,000
199713,400,000
199613,000,000
199512,600,000
199412,500,000
199313,100,000
199213,500,000
199113,500,000
199013,300,000
198912,800,000
198812,400,000
198712,200,000
198612,000,000
198512,000,000
198412,900,000
198313,100,000
198212,900,000
198112,900,000
198013,575,000
197914,167,000
197813,135,000
197713,060,000
197612,774,000
197512,700,000
197412,300,000
197311,900,000
197211,500,000
197111,234,298
197011,300,000
196911,007,313
196810,697,654
196710,538,274
196610,445,852
196512,500,000
196412,600,000 Estimated
196312,600,000
196212,600,000
196112,527,000

Rankings

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.

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, South Africa, 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, South Africa, 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/south-africa. 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, South Africa, 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/south-africa.

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, South Africa, 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/south-africa (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{food_number_of_cattle_south_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, South Africa, 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/south-africa. 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, South Africa, 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/south-africa
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/cattle-population/south-africa.
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 South Africa?

Number of cattle in South Africa was 12,122,027 head in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is down 0.6% from 2023. That is the 28th highest of 190 countries in 2024.

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 South Africa?

14,167,000 head in 1979, the highest value since 1961 in this series.

Number of cattle in other countries

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