NUMBER OF LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY
Situation as on 1 November 2023

Decrease in the total number of livestock and poultry

The total number of cattle decreased by 1.7% in 2023 compared to 2022. The total number of dairy cows continued to decrease, by 10.1% compared to the previous year, while the number of other cows increased by 1.7%.

As regards the production of sheep in 2023, a decrease of 14.2% was recorded in the total number of head compared to 2022, with a simultaneous decrease of 11.2% in the number of milk sheep.

The number of goats decreased by 11.0%, while the total number of pigs decreased by 9.7%.

Compared to 2022, the total number of poultry decreased by 1.6%, while the number of hens increased by 2.8%.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Sources and methods of data collection

Data on the number of livestock and poultry were collected separately for business entities and parts thereof and for private family farms. These surveys serve for collecting data on the number and weight of livestock and poultry, balance of pigs, sheep, and poultry, balance of eggs, balance of milk produced on private family farms, production of cows’, sheep’s and goats’ milk, wool and eggs.

Data for business entities are collected in two ways: on reports which are submitted to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics by postal service and via a web application through which the reporting units themselves fill in data.

Data for private family farms are collected by using the CATI method applied to the selected stratified sample. The sample for the Annual Survey on Crop and Animal Production (PO-71 form) has been selected on the basis of the Statistical Register of Agricultural Holdings and numbers approximately 17 000 units.

The expanded data have been compared to the data from previous years and to available administrative sources (the Single Register of Domestic Animals of the Ministry of Agriculture). On the basis of all available data, corrections were implemented as needed.

Data on the number of cattle, sheep and goats for 2023 have been taken over from the Single Register of Domestic Animals as an administrative data source and refer to the reporting units entered in the Register of Farmers.

For the purpose of methodological harmonisation, and based on historical data of the survey on livestock and other available sources, an estimation of the number of certain categories of cattle, sheep and goats has been performed.

The methodology for carrying out the livestock survey is based on Regulation (EC) No. 1165/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 concerning livestock and meat statistics, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 of 27 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 as regards marketing standards for eggs for hatching and farmyard poultry chicks and the Methodological Basis for Gathering Data on Milk and Dairy Products Statistics (NN, No. 42/13).

Coverage and comparability

Reporting units are business entities and parts thereof, which are defined by section A Agriculture, forestry and fishing according to the National Classification of Activities, 2007 version (NN, Nos 58/07 and 72/07), as well as other business entities and parts thereof engaged in agricultural production that are classified elsewhere.

Reporting units are also private family farms engaged in the production of livestock and poultry.

Confidentiality

Aggregate data for which there are reasons for confidentiality (small number of units, the dominance rule or the secondary confidentiality rule), in accordance with the Official Statistics Act (NN, No. 25/20) and the Ordinance on the Statistical Data Protection Method, are treated as confidential and therefore are not published.

Definitions

Cows are female bovine animals, which have already calved.

Heifers are selected female bovine animals that have not calved yet.

Sows are female breeding animals that have farrowed for at least once.

Mated sows are female breeding animals that have already farrowed and are expected to farrow again.

Gilts are selected young female breeding animals that have not farrowed yet.

Mated gilts are young female breeding animals that are expected to farrow for the first time.

Boars are male breeding animals.

Ewes for breeding are female breeding animals that have already lambed as well as those that are expected to lamb for the first time.

Other poultry includes domestic guineafowls, quails and other poultry bred primarily for the production of meat and eggs. Feathered game raised for hunting is excluded.

Abbreviations

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
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Persons responsible:
Edita Omerzo, Director of Spatial Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Director General

Prepared by:
Mario Valentić and Ana Pavetić

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