The cattle industry is facing a worrying squeeze, with the national cattle herd shrinking by more than 100,000 animals over a decade while cattle deaths have surged, according to the newly released 2025 Agricultural Census by Statistics Botswana.
The census, conducted by Statistics Botswana in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, shows that Botswana had 1,638,543 cattle in 2025, down from 1,744,166 recorded in 2015. That represents a 6.1 percent decline in the national cattle herd over ten years — a contraction of 105,623 cattle. The figures raise fresh questions about the resilience of Botswana’s livestock sector at a time when Government has identified agriculture as one of the priority sectors under the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP).
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