Sheep in New Zealand
Year ended June 1936–2025, millions
| Year ended June | Number of sheep |
|---|---|
| 1936 | 30,114,000 |
| 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 | 25,132,697 |
| 2023 | 24,359,267 |
| 2024 | 23,583,001 |
| 2025 | 23,252,463 |
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.
For more information
Limitations of the data
All results from these collections are subject to non-sampling error, and sampling error.
The figures from the agricultural production surveys may differ from those produced from other sources, such as the National Exotic Forestry Description Survey produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Stock Number Survey from Beef and Lamb New Zealand Limited, and Dairy Statistics from Livestock Improvement Corporation Limited/Dairy NZ. These surveys use different survey frames and designs.
Changes to data collection/processing
2025 questionnaire changes (from 2024)
Horticulture – questions on the area of fruit trees and vines planted, and the area of vegetables and other horticulture crops harvested were not included in 2025.
Irrigation – questions on irrigation were not included in 2025.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by total New Zealand (Annual-Jun) (Final) 2025
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) 2025
From the dataset Agricultural Production Statistics: Variable by total New Zealand (Annual-Jun) (Final) 2025, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 4-94
- Columns: 2-200
- Provided: 4,811 data points
This data forms the table Agriculture - All agricultural production statistics for total New Zealand 1935–2025.
Dataset originally released on:
April 16, 2026
About this dataset
The 2025 Agriculture Production Survey is part of an ongoing programme of agricultural production statistics conducted in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries. Previous sample surveys were held in 2003–06, 2008–11, 2013–16, 2018–2021 and 2023-2025 with censuses in 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022.
Agriculture Production Survey measures farming operations below the enterprise level.
Method of collection/Data provider
The agricultural production surveys include all units identified on Statistics NZ's Business Register as having agricultural activity.
The survey population for the agricultural production surveys is all businesses engaged in 'agricultural production activity' (including livestock, cropping, horticulture, and forestry), or which own land intended for agricultural activity. The survey population includes businesses engaged in agriculture or forestry production as a secondary activity.
The final overall response rate for the Agriculture Production Survey 2025 was 72.1 percent.
The 2025 survey had a sample size of 24,600 geographic locations.