How many sheep are in Australia? Flock numbers for Australia, NZ and the world
Australia had 65.8 million sheep and lambs on farms at 30 June 2025, down 8.0% in a year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2026a). That is about 2.4 sheep for every Australian (our arithmetic). Meat & Livestock Australia forecasts the flock at 67.1 million by 30 June 2026 on its own model (Meat & Livestock Australia 2026). New Zealand had 23.25 million sheep at 30 June 2025 (Beef + Lamb New Zealand 2026), and the world had about 1.36 billion in 2024 (FAO 2025).
How many sheep are in Australia?
The official answer is 65.8 million sheep and lambs at 30 June 2025, a decrease of 8.0% from June 2024 (ABS 2026a). The exact model total is 65,795,821 head (ABS 2026b). The ABS released these flock figures on 31 August 2026, and they are the newest official count. Figures for 30 June 2026 have not been published yet.
The ABS now works out the flock with a model instead of a farm survey. It combines data from abattoirs and meat processors, levy records and other sources to estimate the animals "on holding", meaning on farms, at 30 June each year (ABS 2026a). Because the model gets better data over time, older years are sometimes revised. The ABS lifted its 30 June 2024 total by 157,098 head in this release (ABS 2026a).
About 27.6 million people lived in Australia at 30 June 2025 (ABS 2025). Dividing 65.8 million sheep by that population gives about 2.4 sheep per person (our arithmetic).
Which state has the most sheep?
New South Wales has by far the biggest flock. Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia follow. The table shows each state at 30 June 2024 and 30 June 2025.
| State | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales (includes ACT) | 28,339.1 | 25,860.7 |
| Victoria | 15,890.1 | 14,666.6 |
| Western Australia | 11,442.0 | 10,642.5 |
| South Australia | 10,581.0 | 9,714.2 |
| Queensland | 2,612.2 | 2,523.0 |
| Tasmania | 2,652.0 | 2,388.7 |
Source: ABS (2026a). The ABS table has no row for the Northern Territory.
Every state's flock fell in the year to June 2025. New South Wales dropped by about 2.5 million head and Western Australia's flock, which was 25.6 million in 2004-05, was 10.6 million in 2024-25 (ABS 2026b; our arithmetic). Tasmania, a common search, had about 2.4 million sheep.
If you are working out how many sheep your own land can carry, that is a separate question. See how many sheep per acre and the dry sheep equivalent (DSE) guide.
Is Australia's sheep flock getting smaller?
Yes, over the long run. The ABS Year Book says sheep numbers "reached a peak of 180 million in Australia in 1970" and that "in general, numbers have fallen since then" (ABS 2005). It blamed poor wool market prospects after 1990 for a rapid fall until 1995.
The ABS's newer data series starts in 2004-05, when the flock was 101.1 million. By 2024-25 it was 65.8 million (ABS 2026b), a fall of about 35% (our arithmetic). Today's flock is a bit over a third of the 1970 peak (our arithmetic). The ABS footnotes show that the early years come from its former Agricultural Commodities collection, while the years from 2022-23 are modelled estimates (ABS 2026b). The series mixes methods, so treat small year-to-year moves with care.
What happens next?
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) published its projections in March 2026. It estimates the national flock will "fall 2.7% to 67.1 million head by 30 June 2026", reflecting below average rainfall across Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and southern New South Wales (Meat & Livestock Australia 2026). It also forecasts lamb slaughter to fall 11% in 2026 to 21.86 million head, and mutton slaughter to fall 30% to 7.13 million head.
MLA's 67.1 million is not directly comparable with the ABS 65.8 million. The two bodies use different models. A 2.7% fall to 67.1 million means MLA's own figure for June 2025 was about 69 million, higher than the ABS count (our arithmetic). Compare MLA with MLA, and ABS with ABS.
How many sheep are in New Zealand?
New Zealand had 23.25 million sheep at 30 June 2025, the final figure from Statistics New Zealand as reported by Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ). The B+LNZ Stock Number Survey, published in August 2026, estimates the flock fell 2.0% to 22.78 million at 30 June 2026, with declines in every region (Beef + Lamb New Zealand 2026).
The drop is long term. B+LNZ says total sheep numbers have fallen 46% since 2000-01, from 42.26 million to 22.78 million, as land moved into dairy, forestry, native planting and other uses. Beef cattle went the other way in the latest year, rising 3.3% to 3.96 million (Beef + Lamb New Zealand 2026).
How many sheep per person are there?
New Zealand still has the most sheep per person of these countries, at about four for every resident. The table divides each official sheep count by an official population figure for about the same date. All the ratios are our arithmetic.
| Place | Sheep | People | Sheep per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand, June 2025 | 23.25 million | 5,324,700 | 4.4 |
| Australia, June 2025 | 65,795,821 | 27,614,411 | 2.4 |
| United Kingdom, June 2025 | 30,483,608 | 69,483,900 | 0.44 |
| World, 2024 | 1,362,590,940 | about 8.16 billion | 0.17 |
Sources: sheep from Beef + Lamb New Zealand (2026), ABS (2026b), Defra (2025) and FAO (2025); people from Stats NZ (2025), ABS (2025), ONS (2026) and FAO (2026). New Zealand's population figure is provisional.
Worldwide there is roughly one sheep for every six people (our arithmetic).
How many sheep are in the UK and the US?
The UK had 30.5 million sheep and lambs on 1 June 2025, down 1.7% on 2024. Lambs made up almost half of that, at 14.8 million (Defra 2025). The exact total is 30,483,608. Defra says UK results for June 2026 are expected in December 2026, so the 2025 figure is the latest.
The United States has far fewer. On 1 January 2026 the US had 4.99 million sheep and lambs, down 1% from 2025 (USDA NASS 2026). That is fewer than New South Wales alone (our arithmetic).
How many sheep are in the world?
FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, counts 1,362,590,940 sheep worldwide in 2024, its latest year (FAO 2025). FAO flags that total as an estimated value. The world flock has grown about 17% since 2014, when FAOSTAT shows 1,161,267,593 (FAO 2025; our arithmetic).
| Rank | Country | Sheep (head) | FAOSTAT flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 182,939,178 | Official figure |
| 2 | India | 114,623,765 | Imputed |
| 3 | Australia | 79,330,000 | Estimated |
| 4 | Iran | 53,820,779 | Estimated |
| 5 | Nigeria | 52,136,324 | Imputed |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 31,016,701 | Official figure |
| 16 | New Zealand | 23,583,001 | Official figure |
Source: FAO (2025). Ranking is our sort of the FAOSTAT country figures.
Note that FAOSTAT's 2024 figure for Australia, 79.33 million, is an FAO estimate. The ABS puts Australia's flock at 30 June 2024 at 71.5 million (ABS 2026b), so use the ABS for Australian numbers. On either figure Australia ranks third in the world.
Where to go next
National totals come from models and surveys. On your own place, the number that matters is the one in the paddock. Our guide on how to count sheep covers counting through a gate, in twos and fives, and keeping a tally. For the cattle side of the story, see how many cows there are in the world.
Common questions
How many sheep are in Australia?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 65.8 million sheep and lambs on farms at 30 June 2025, down 8.0% from June 2024. This is the latest official figure, released in August 2026. New South Wales had the most, with about 25.9 million. That works out to about 2.4 sheep per Australian, by our arithmetic.
How many sheep will Australia have in 2026?
No official count for 30 June 2026 has been released yet. Meat & Livestock Australia forecast in March 2026 that the flock would fall 2.7% to 67.1 million head by 30 June 2026, after below average rainfall in southern regions. MLA uses its own model, so its figure is not directly comparable with the ABS count.
How many sheep are in New Zealand?
New Zealand had 23.25 million sheep at 30 June 2025, the final Statistics New Zealand figure reported by Beef + Lamb New Zealand. Beef + Lamb New Zealand estimates the flock fell 2.0% to 22.78 million at 30 June 2026. Sheep numbers have fallen 46% since 2000-01, when there were 42.26 million.
How many sheep per person are in NZ?
About 4.4 sheep per person, by our arithmetic. We divided the 23.25 million sheep at 30 June 2025 by Stats NZ's provisional population of 5,324,700 at the same date. Australia has about 2.4 sheep per person and the United Kingdom about 0.44, using official figures for mid-2025.
How many sheep are in the world?
FAOSTAT counts 1,362,590,940 sheep worldwide in 2024, its latest year, which FAO marks as an estimate. China has the most, with about 183 million, then India with about 115 million and Australia third. Worldwide there is roughly one sheep for every six people, by our arithmetic.
References
- ABS (2005) 'Year Book Australia, 2005', cat. no. 1301.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/468790264A8C3121CA256F7200832F9D (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- ABS (2025) 'National, state and territory population, June 2025', Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/jun-2025 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- ABS (2026a) 'Australian Agriculture: Livestock, 2024-25 financial year', Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/agriculture/australian-agriculture-livestock/latest-release (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- ABS (2026b) 'Sheep flock experimental and historical estimates by Australia, state and territory, at 30 June, 2005 to 2025', data cube, Australian Agriculture: Livestock, 2024-25, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/agriculture/australian-agriculture-livestock/2024-25/AALDC_Sheep%20flock%20series_2005%20to%202025.xlsx (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- Beef + Lamb New Zealand (2026) 'Stock Number Survey as at 30 June 2026', P26005, Beef + Lamb New Zealand. Available at: https://beeflambnz.com/sites/default/files/2026-08/Stock-number-survey-30-June%202026.pdf (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- Defra (2025) 'Livestock populations in the United Kingdom at 1 June 2025', Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (updated 2 October 2026). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/livestock-populations-in-the-united-kingdom/livestock-populations-in-the-united-kingdom-at-1-june-2025 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- FAO (2025) 'FAOSTAT: Production, crops and livestock products (QCL)', bulk data file updated December 2025, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Production_Crops_Livestock_E_All_Data_(Normalized).zip (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- FAO (2026) 'FAOSTAT: Population and employment, annual population (OA)', data from UN World Population Prospects 2024, bulk data file updated March 2026, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production/Population_E_All_Data_(Normalized).zip (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- Meat & Livestock Australia (2026) 'Tighter supply expected as national sheep flock set to decline in 2026: MLA Sheep Industry Projections 2026', 27 March. Available at: https://www.mla.com.au/news-and-events/industry-news/tighter-supply-expected-as-national-sheep-flock-set-to-decline-in-2026-mla-sheep-industry-projections-2026/ (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- ONS (2026) 'Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2025', Office for National Statistics, released 1 October 2026. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2025 (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- Stats NZ (2025) 'National population estimates: At 30 June 2025', Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, 19 August. Available at: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/national-population-estimates-at-30-june-2025/ (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- USDA NASS (2026) 'Sheep and Goats', released 30 January 2026, National Agricultural Statistics Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/shep0126.pdf (Accessed: 17 October 2026).