Pakistan Economic Survey (PES) 2021-22 revealed that the number of horses in Pakistan climbed by 0.4 million, while donkey population increased to 5.7 million in the preceding fiscal year.
The number of donkeys has been rapidly expanding in recent years, with 5.5 million in 2019-2020 and 5.6 million in 2020-21, Geo reported.
Pakistan’s cow population remained at the top as it surged to 53.4 million, with buffalo at 43.7 million, sheep at 31.9 million, and goats at 31.9 million, as per the estimated figures provided by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
Pakistan had 1.1 million camels, 0.4 million horses, and 0.2 million mules. It should be noted that these figures have remained unchanged since 2017-18.
From 2021 to 2022, livestock provided around 61.9 per cent of agriculture value addition and 14.0 per cent of national GDP.
Animal farming is the most important source of income for Pakistanis living in rural areas. More than 8 million rural families are involved in livestock farming, and this industry accounts for 35-40 per cent of their income.
The gross value addition of livestock has increased by 3.26 per cent from Rs5,269 billion in 2020-21 to Rs5,441 billion in 2021-22.
The government has refocused on livestock in order to boost economic growth, food security, and poverty alleviation in the country.
