Top Sheep Producing Countries

Sheep were among the earliest animals to be domesticated by humans, with evidence suggesting their domestication began around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East. Over millennia, sheep spread across Europe, Asia, and Africa, becoming a vital source of wool, meat, and milk. Today, the top countries raising sheep are China, Australia, India, Iran, and Sudan. China leads the world in sheep population and production, primarily for meat, while Australia is renowned for its vast wool industry. India and Iran have long traditions of sheep husbandry, supporting both rural livelihoods and textile industries, and Sudan is a major producer in Africa. The global distribution of sheep reflects both ancient trade routes and the adaptability of sheep to diverse climates and terrains.

Rank	Country	Head
1	China	186,376,976
2	India	74,285,168
3	Australia	68,047,402
4	Nigeria	48,637,013
5	Iran	45,269,666
6	Turkey	45,177,690
7	Chad	41,771,929
8	Sudan	41,010,257
9	Ethiopia	38,609,884
10	United Kingdom	32,957,000
11	Pakistan	31,595,000
12	Algeria	31,126,445
13	Mongolia	31,086,963
14	New Zealand	25,732,889
15	Kenya	24,801,605
16	Morocco	22,726,481
17	South Africa	21,464,621
18	Mali	21,149,809
19	Brazil	20,537,474
20	Russia	19,785,390
21	Uzbekistan	19,327,100
22	Kazakhstan	18,595,263
23	Indonesia	17,902,991
24	Syria	16,783,185
25	Spain	15,081,350
26	Niger	14,132,592
27	Turkmenistan	14,071,461
28	South Sudan	13,992,944
29	Afghanistan	13,530,316
30	Argentina	13,347,911
31	Somalia	11,409,821
32	Burkina Faso	11,373,406
33	Mauritania	11,010,069
34	Peru	10,942,309
35	Romania	10,087,400
36	Saudi Arabia	9,367,317
37	Yemen	9,256,539
38	Mexico	8,766,678
39	Senegal	7,725,647
40	Bolivia	7,633,504
41	Libya	7,378,587
42	Azerbaijan	7,314,166
43	Greece	7,253,000
44	France	6,994,630
45	Iraq	6,754,123
46	Italy	6,728,350
47	Tanzania	6,519,885
48	Tunisia	6,243,197
49	Uruguay	6,233,128
50	Ghana	5,651,648
51	Kyrgyzstan	5,535,597
52	United States of America	5,170,000
53	Tajikistan	4,051,602
54	Ireland	3,991,180
55	Cameroon	3,653,784
56	Guinea	3,288,023
57	Jordan	3,085,261
58	Eritrea	2,435,566
59	Cote d Ivoire	2,343,613
60	Norway	2,264,789
61	Egypt	2,239,210
62	Portugal	2,237,970
63	Uganda	2,167,631
64	Bangladesh	2,126,766
65	United Arab Emirates	2,082,077
66	Colombia	1,805,877
67	Chile	1,719,063
68	Serbia	1,695,408
69	Togo	1,656,820
70	Germany	1,508,100
71	Albania	1,480,450
72	Namibia	1,439,601
73	Cuba	1,376,610
74	Lesotho	1,259,964
75	Angola	1,212,553
76	Bulgaria	1,199,550
77	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,029,966
78	Benin	1,001,441
79	Sierra Leone	998,354
80	Qatar	921,379
81	Congo	915,870
82	Georgia	896,200
83	Hungary	887,000
84	Madagascar	852,075
85	Nepal	793,725
86	Canada	791,300
87	Palestine	771,168
88	Kuwait	748,532
89	Netherlands	729,000
90	Burundi	657,146
91	Croatia	654,000
92	Oman	642,330
93	North Macedonia	633,281
94	Armenia	631,094
95	Venezuela	626,738
96	Ukraine	621,000
97	Guatemala	601,152
98	Rwanda	552,246
99	Ecuador	528,828
100	Israel	520,000
101	Guinea-Bissau	483,942
102	Moldova	474,400
103	Djibouti	469,872
104	Myanmar	440,000
105	Central African Republic	433,229
106	Lebanon	431,285
107	Austria	402,350
108	Iceland	385,194
109	Zimbabwe	368,497
110	Malawi	363,035
111	Switzerland	349,100
112	Sweden	348,770
113	Paraguay	313,844
114	Slovakia	290,918
115	Liberia	289,519
116	Poland	265,277
117	Haiti	262,011
118	Dominican Republic	261,243
119	Mozambique	229,514
120	Gabon	228,656
121	Zambia	187,862
122	Botswana	183,370
123	Czechia	183,145
124	Montenegro	181,909
125	North Korea	168,445
126	Lithuania	136,900
127	Guyana	131,942
128	Finland	131,100
129	Congo	125,135
130	Malaysia	124,223
131	Slovenia	119,267
132	Latvia	90,340
133	Belarus	84,200
134	Faroe Islands	75,374
135	Gambia	63,053
136	Bahrain	60,000
137	Thailand	41,906
138	Equatorial Guinea	41,677
139	Timor-Leste	38,628
140	Eswatini	37,324
141	Fiji	32,061
142	Philippines	30,000
143	Comoros	25,089
144	Cabo Verde	17,548
145	Honduras	16,875
146	Belize	15,453
147	Japan	15,297
148	Grenada	13,861
149	Barbados	13,612
150	Malta	12,730
151	Trinidad and Tobago	12,614
152	Sri Lanka	12,010
153	Bhutan	10,694
154	Luxembourg	9,956
155	Saint Lucia	9,212
156	Antigua and Barbuda	8,612
157	Dominica	8,352
158	Saint Kitts and Nevis	7,676
159	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	7,664
160	Papua New Guinea	7,329
161	Nicaragua	6,688
162	Bahamas	6,595
163	Puerto Rico	6,287
164	Suriname	6,268
165	El Salvador	5,504
166	Mauritius	4,719
167	Brunei Darussalam	4,499
168	Sao Tome and Principe	3,298
169	Costa Rica	2,840
170	New Caledonia	2,211
171	Jamaica	1,319
172	South Korea	1,089

Data from United Nations FAO Stat