National Sheep and Goat Census 2023
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) conducts an annual census of sheep and goats. The most recent report captures the number of sheep and goats in Ireland as of December 31, 2023.
The 2023 census reported a total of 3.72 million sheep across 34,519 active registered herds, marking a 7% decrease from December 2022’s total of 4.01 million sheep. The breeding population also saw a drop, with 2.56 million breeding ewes over 12 months, down by 3.7% from the previous year. Similarly, breeding rams decreased by over 3,000 to a total of 82,756.
Total sheep numbers 2013 - 2023
Donegal led with the highest sheep population at 526,658, while Limerick had the fewest at 18,437. Mountain and mountain cross breeds constituted 47.8% of the total sheep population, with the remaining 52.2% being lowland and lowland cross breeds.
Responses were received from 41,592 herds, an 85% response rate from the 49,009 registered sheep keepers. Of these, 34,519 herds kept sheep, while 7,082 did not have sheep at the time of the census. Nearly 900 respondents indicated they would not return to sheep farming. The average flock size in 2023 was 108, slightly down from 113 in 2022. A substantial 69% of flocks were smaller than the national average.
The 2023 goat census reported a total of 7,303 goats across 704 active herds, a 21% decrease from 2022.
An higher number of responses were submitted online via the Department’s agfood.ie service and AIM Services App, with online submissions rising by approximately 1,700 from 2022 to 18,124. This trend aligns with DAFM’s preference for online reporting, offering immediate confirmation of data receipt.
The 2023 National Sheep and Goat Census highlights a decline in both sheep and goat populations in Ireland. While Donegal remains a stronghold for sheep farming, other regions are experiencing greater reductions.