Sheep in New Zealand
Year ended June 1937–2022, millions
| Year ended June | Number of sheep |
|---|---|
| 1937 | 31,306,000 |
| 1938 | 32,379,000 |
| 1939 | 31,897,000 |
| 1940 | 31,063,000 |
| 1941 | 31,752,000 |
| 1942 | 29,256,000 |
| 1943 | 29,636,000 |
| 1944 | 33,200,000 |
| 1945 | 33,975,000 |
| 1946 | 30,476,000 |
| 1947 | 32,682,000 |
| 1948 | 32,483,000 |
| 1949 | 32,845,000 |
| 1950 | 33,857,000 |
| 1951 | 34,786,000 |
| 1952 | 35,384,000 |
| 1953 | 36,193,000 |
| 1954 | 38,011,000 |
| 1955 | 39,117,000 |
| 1956 | 40,255,000 |
| 1957 | 42,382,000 |
| 1958 | 46,026,000 |
| 1959 | 46,876,000 |
| 1960 | 47,134,000 |
| 1961 | 48,462,000 |
| 1962 | 48,988,000 |
| 1963 | 50,190,000 |
| 1964 | 51,292,000 |
| 1965 | 53,748,000 |
| 1966 | 57,343,000 |
| 1967 | 60,030,000 |
| 1968 | 60,474,000 |
| 1969 | 59,937,000 |
| 1970 | 60,276,000 |
| 1971 | 58,912,000 |
| 1972 | 60,883,000 |
| 1973 | 56,684,000 |
| 1974 | 55,883,000 |
| 1975 | 55,320,000 |
| 1976 | 56,400,000 |
| 1977 | 59,105,000 |
| 1978 | 61,278,223 |
| 1979 | 63,791,096 |
| 1980 | 68,771,772 |
| 1981 | 69,883,765 |
| 1982 | 70,301,461 |
| 1983 | 70,262,574 |
| 1984 | 69,738,672 |
| 1985 | 67,853,622 |
| 1986 | 67,469,515 |
| 1987 | 64,243,862 |
| 1988 | 64,600,077 |
| 1989 | 60,568,653 |
| 1990 | 57,852,192 |
| 1991 | 55,161,643 |
| 1992 | 52,568,393 |
| 1993 | 50,298,361 |
| 1994 | 49,466,054 |
| 1995 | 48,816,271 |
| 1996 | 47,393,907 |
| 1999 | 45,679,891 |
| 2002 | 39,571,837 |
| 2003 | 39,552,113 |
| 2004 | 39,271,137 |
| 2005 | 39,879,668 |
| 2006 | 40,081,594 |
| 2007 | 38,460,477 |
| 2008 | 34,087,864 |
| 2009 | 32,383,589 |
| 2010 | 32,562,612 |
| 2011 | 31,132,329 |
| 2012 | 31,262,715 |
| 2013 | 30,786,761 |
| 2014 | 29,803,402 |
| 2015 | 29,120,827 |
| 2016 | 27,583,673 |
| 2017 | 27,526,537 |
| 2018 | 27,295,749 |
| 2019 | 26,821,846 |
| 2020 | 26,028,935 |
| 2021 | 25,732,889 |
| 2022 | 25,333,562 |
Definitions
‘Farm’ denotes one or more blocks of land, managed as a single operation, engaged in agricultural activity. Activities include livestock farming, horticulture, viticulture, nurseries, forestry, growing grain and seed crops, and land that could be used for these purposes.
Data calculation/treatment
The final overall response rate for the Agricultural Production Census 2022 was 73 percent. This was a lower response rate compared with the 2017 agricultural production census, which had a response rate of 84 percent.
For more information
Limitations of the data
All results from these collections are subject to non-sampling error, and sampling error.
Exclusions
As the Agricultural Production Census 2022 covered the year ending June 2022 it did not capture the damages caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, which devastated parts of the Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti region in early 2023. Agricultural statistics from previous years were used in the natural disaster recovery response planning.
Changes to data collection/processing
2021 questionnaire changes (from 2020) included following changes:
Horticulture – did not include questions on the area of fruit trees and vines planted, and the area of vegetables and other horticulture crops harvested.
Irrigation – did not include questions on area actually irrigated.
Effluent management – did not include questions on effluent management systems.
Other farming practices – did not include questions on formal farm nutrient planning documents used by the farm.
Cultivation, direct drilling and pasture renewal – did not include questions on land area on the farm that was cultivated or direct drilled for any purpose.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by total New Zealand (Annual-Jun) (Final) 2022
Webpage:
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Industry sectors > Agriculture > Variable by Total New Zealand (Annual-Jun)'.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by total New Zealand (Annual-Jun) (Final) 2022
From the dataset Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by total New Zealand (Annual-Jun) (Final) 2022, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 4-91
- Columns: 2-399
- Provided: 5,016 data points
This data forms the table Agriculture - All agricultural production statistics for total New Zealand 1935–2022.
Dataset originally released on:
May 22, 2023
About this dataset
The Agricultural Production Census is part of an ongoing programme of agricultural production statistics conducted in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries. Sample surveys were held in 2003–06, 2008–11, and 2013–14, 2018–2021, with censuses in 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022.
Purpose of collection
To collect information about livestock farming (including sheep, beef and dairy cattle, and deer), crop growing (including grain and seed crops), fruit, vegetables, wine grapes, forestry and farm practices (including fertiliser use).