The total livestock of Mongolia reached a historic 71.1 million according to the 2022 census. This is about a 5.6 percent growth from the previous year. The agricultural sector accounts for 13% of the GDP of Mongolia, of which the livestock sector accounts for about 92%. Khuvsgul, Arkhangai, Tuv, Khentii, and Sukhbaatar provinces led the livestock census last year. These five provinces counted a total of 27 million heads of livestock:
- Khuvsgul 6.3 million
- Arkhangai 5.9 million
- Tuv 5.11 million
- Khentii 5.1 million
- Sukhbaatar 4.6 million
Sheep and goats accounted for 84.8 percent of the total livestock. The number of camels was 470,400, which is 0.7 percent of the total herd. However, the rising number of livestock also has a downside factor of degrading pasture land, one of the biggest environmental issues in Mongolia.
Spanning roughly 110 million hectares, the Mongolian steppe is one of the largest remaining grassland ecosystems in the world, but it has been degrading rapidly in recent years. According to the most recent official assessment, 57% of Mongolian rangeland is degraded. Over a third of the land now has too many animals grazing on it. To overcome the overgrazing issue, the Mongolian government has instituted a livestock tax of up to MNT 2,000 per animal — with at least 80% of the collected revenue to be used for pasture maintenance.