Which countries have more sheep than people in 2026?

As of 2026, seven countries and territories still have more sheep than people: the Falkland Islands, Mongolia, New Zealand, Mauritania, Wales, Australia, and Uruguay. Three other countries that previously qualified, Iceland, Ireland, and Namibia, have since fallen below a one-to-one ratio.

Which country has the highest sheep-to-person ratio?

The Falkland Islands has by far the highest ratio of any populated territory, with roughly 500,000 sheep against a population of about 3,500 people, or around 143 sheep per person.

Has any country lost its majority of sheep over people since 2020?

Yes. Iceland, Ireland, and Namibia all had more sheep than people as of 2020 but have since dropped below that threshold due to a combination of declining flocks and rising human populations.

Why did Iceland's sheep population fall below its human population?

Iceland's national flock fell to roughly 365,000 by 2025 due to a long-term decline in sheep farming, while the country's population climbed past 400,000. This marks the first time in Iceland's recorded history that humans have outnumbered sheep.

Which sovereign country has the highest sheep-to-person ratio, excluding territories?

Mongolia now holds that position, with roughly 23.9 million sheep against a population of about 3.5 million people, a ratio of approximately 6.8 sheep per person. It has overtaken New Zealand, which held the title in earlier counts but has since seen its ratio fall to about 4.5 sheep per person.

How many sheep are in Mauritania compared to people?

Mauritania's national flock numbers approximately 14.6 million sheep against a population of about 5 million people, a ratio of roughly 2.9 sheep per person, one of the higher ratios among countries on the African continent.

From Mongolia’s growing flock to Iceland’s reversal, see which nations still have more sheep than people in 2026, plus updated ratios and sources for each.

Countries With More Sheep Than People in 2026: Updated Numbers, Ratios, and Who’s Fallen Off the List

January 23, 2021 · 5 min read

Since this list was first compiled, three countries have actually lost their sheep majority entirely, while a couple of others have widened the gap. Every figure below reflects the most recent national livestock survey or census available for each country, paired with current population estimates.

What’s Changed Since 2020

Country	2020 Ratio	2026 Ratio	Direction
Falkland Islands	200	143	Down
Mongolia	4.5	6.8	Up
New Zealand	7.7	4.5	Down
Mauritania	1.8	2.9	Up
Wales	3.0	2.8	Down
Australia	3.3	2.7	Down
Uruguay	2.9	1.4	Down
Iceland	1.2	Below 1.0	Flipped
Ireland	1.1	Below 1.0	Flipped
Namibia	1.08	Below 1.0	Flipped

A caveat on the 2020 column: this site’s original figures for New Zealand and the Falkland Islands ran higher than other livestock data published around the same time, so part of those two declines reflects more accurate current sourcing rather than pure flock loss. Mongolia, Mauritania, Wales, Australia, and Uruguay are tracking real, verifiable change.

Uruguay

Population of Uruguay: 3.4 million Number of sheep in Uruguay: 4.8 million Ratio: 1.4 sheep per person in Uruguay

Uruguay’s flock has nearly halved since the early 2020s. The country’s Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheriesrecorded a national sheep stock of roughly 4.75 million head in its 2025 declaration, down from over 26 million at the industry’s peak in 1991. Industry groups have called the decline a serious concern for the wool and sheepmeat sector.

Australia

Population of Australia: 27.7 million Number of sheep in Australia: 74.2 million Ratio: 2.7 sheep per person in Australia

The Australian Bureau of Statistics put the national population at 27.7 million as of late 2025, while Meat & Livestock Australia reported the flock contracting to 74.2 million head by mid-2025 after a multi-year recovery peaked at 79.1 million the year before. Drought conditions in several sheep-producing states are largely responsible for the pullback.

Wales

Population of Wales: 3.2 million Number of sheep in Wales: 8.8 million Ratio: 2.8 sheep per person in Wales

The Welsh Government’s 2025 agricultural survey counted 8.8 million sheep and lambs, a slight uptick from 2024 but still well below the nearly 12 million recorded in the 1990s. Wales held a noticeably higher ratio in earlier counts, closer to three sheep per person, before both a population increase and a long-term flock decline narrowed the gap.

Mauritania

Population of Mauritania: 5 million Number of sheep in Mauritania: 14.6 million Ratio: 2.9 sheep per person in Mauritania

Mauritania’s 2023 national census counted 4.93 million people, while the FAO’s most recent livestock figures put the sheep flock at 14.6 million, alongside 9.4 million goats and 2.3 million cattle. Livestock breeding remains a primary income source for more than 60 percent of the country’s population.

New Zealand

Population of New Zealand: 5.3 million Number of sheep in New Zealand: 23.6 million Ratio: 4.5 sheep per person in New Zealand

New Zealand’s reputation as the sheep capital of the world has cooled considerably. Government livestock data cited by the Associated Press in 2025 put the flock at 23.6 million, down from a peak of more than 70 million in 1982, when there were 22 sheep for every New Zealander. Falling wool prices and land converted to dairy and forestry are the main drivers of the decline.

Mongolia

Population of Mongolia: 3.5 million Number of sheep in Mongolia: 23.9 million Ratio: 6.8 sheep per person in Mongolia

Mongolia has quietly overtaken New Zealand as the country with the highest sheep-to-person ratio among sovereign nations. The country’s National Statistics Office recorded 58.1 million total livestock at the end of 2025, of which sheep made up just over 41 percent, against a national population of roughly 3.5 million. Nomadic herding still supports close to 40 percent of the country’s population.

Falkland Islands

Population of Falkland Islands: 3,500 Number of sheep in Falkland Islands: 500,000 Ratio: 143 sheep per person in the Falkland Islands

No populated territory comes close. The Falklands’ roughly 3,500 residents are outnumbered by sheep at a ratio that dwarfs every country on this list combined, a relationship farming publications have pointed to for years as the most extreme example of its kind anywhere in the world.

Countries That No Longer Make the List

Three entries from the original version of this list have flipped since 2020, and not because their sheep multiplied.

Iceland. For the first time in recorded history, humans outnumber sheep. Statistics Iceland put the national flock at roughly 365,000 in 2025 against a population that has climbed past 400,000, a sheep population down from a 1978 peak of nearly 900,000.

Ireland. The country’s Central Statistics Office recorded just over 5.1 million sheep in its June 2025 survey, while Ireland’s population passed 5.46 million the same year. Two consecutive years of flock decline, driven by weak market returns for lamb and wool, closed a gap that once favored sheep.

Namibia. Recent estimates from Namibia’s veterinary services put the national sheep count between roughly 1.3 and 2.3 million, depending on the survey, against a population that has grown past 3 million. Either figure now falls short of the threshold the country cleared in 2020.

Wool and mutton may be the bigger industries in most of these places, but sheep dairying still has a foothold in several of them, flipped ratio or not. Wales, New Zealand, and even Iceland and Ireland are home to working raw sheep milk farms, browsable on the sheep milk listings.