Cattle by Numbers

New Zealanders are now outnumbered by 5.8 million dairy cattle according to Statistics New Zealand’s latest agricultural production survey. New Zealand has a human population of 4.3 million. The number of sheep in the country has provided fodder for endless jokes. In the HBO television series Flight of the Conchords, a New Zealand tourism poster can be seen in their manager’s office bearing the slogan: “New Zealand, ewe should come”. In 1982, the national sheep flock peaked at 70 million. The number has since more than halved. “In 2009, New Zealand had fewer than eight sheep per person,” explained agriculture statistics manager Gary Dunnet.