Ever wondered how many sheep there are in Jordan? The Department of Statistics has released a report stating how many sheep and goats there were in the kingdom in 2017 and 2016.

The stats show that there was a total of 3.8 million (three million eight hundred thirty-six thousand) sheep and goats last year, an eight percent drop from the same period in 2016.

In more detail, there were 3 million sheep in 2017 in comparison with 3.1 million in 2016. While last year, the number of goats dropped by 21% to 773,000.

It is common to see a shepherd herding his sheep and goats in urban areas in Jordan, including in parts of Amman.

Cooking with lamb and mutton is very popular amongst Jordanians, who prefer local meat to imported one.

Beef is often imported from Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, which is also largely consumed by Jordanians, because it is cheaper to buy than local meat.