Statistics: South Sudan has more cows than humans
With a population of 11.1 million people according to a 2019 disputed UN statistic, South Sudan has over 31 million head of cattle, sheep and goats, making it a world-leading nation when the animal wealth is calculated per capita.
The statistics revealed that there are more livestocks than humans living in South Sudan.
Wednesday by the minister of animal resources and fisheries, Martin Elia Lomoro, also indicated the nation’s huge livestock wealth has not been utilised or introduced into the economic development of the country, which would have contributed to generating non-oil revenues.
Despite its enormous livestock wealth, South Sudan continues to import most of its meat from neighbouring countries, losing hundreds of millions of dollars every year without exports in return.
The economic cluster meeting on Wednesday chaired by vice-president Riek Machar discussed some of the main challenges facing the industry, including the traditional mindset of cattle keepers, who consider the value of livestock merely in terms of marriage and prestige.
