In 2025, a total of 58.1 million livestock were counted nationwide

The preliminary results of the Livestock Census for 2025 show that there were 58.1 million heads of livestock counted, of which 5.1 million were horses, 5.4 million were cattle, 501.3 thousand were camels, 23.9 million were sheep and 23.2 million were goats according to National Statistic office of Mongolia.

Compared to the previous year, the total number of livestock increased by 454.6 thousand (0.8%), of which number of horses increased by 445.4 (9.5%), cattle by 367.0 thousand (7.2%), goats by 250.1 thousand (1.1%), and camels by 20.7 (4.3%), whereas decreased sheep by 628.7 thousand (2.6%).

In 2025, the share of sheep to the total number of livestock was 41.1%, goats accounted for 39.9%, cattle for 9.4%, horses for 8.8%, and camels for 0.9%. Compared with 1990, when livestock began to be privatized, the share of goats increased by 20.8 percentage points, while the share of sheep decreased by 15.1 percentage points, horses by 0.4 percentage points; meanwhile, the share of cattle increased by 1.2 percentage points and camels by percentage points, respectively.

In Mongolia, the sheep-to-goat ratio was maintained at 75:25, or one goat per three sheep, until 1990. However, this balance has gradually changed over the past 30 years. Specifically, a significant increase in the goat population began in 1993. Driven by rising cashmere prices, the number of goats reached a level comparable to that of sheep during the period from 1994 to 2003. Between 2003 and 2009, the goat population exceeded that of sheep, and during 2009–2015, the numbers of sheep and goats became nearly equal, resulting in a 50:50 ratio. By 2025, the sheep-to-goat ratio among small livestock reached 51:49, indicating that goats slightly outnumbered sheep.

Arkhangai aimag leads the country with its number of horses and cattle, while Umnugovi aimag leads with camels, Uvurkhangai aimag leads with sheep and Bayankhongor aimag leads with goats. In 2025, the highest number of livestock was counted in Khuvsgul (5.3 million) and Uvurkhangai (5.1 million), Arkhangai (4.4 million), Bayankhongor (4.2 million) followed by and Tuv (4.1 million) aimag.