New Zealand's structural change: loss of sheep and inhabitants

New Zealand is not only losing its iconic sheep, but also increasingly its skilled workers. The former “land of wool” is facing profound changes: Declining sheep stocks and a growing emigration of qualified workers are putting economic and social pressure in equal measure.

Sheep at Withers Farm in Kaipara Flats (May 25, 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand). According to local media reports, the ratio of sheep to humans in New Zealand has fallen below five to one for the first time in 170 years, according to Statistics NZ. The agricultural census showed that the national sheep population fell by two percent to 25.3 million animals by June 2022. At the same time, the population was 5.1 million — equivalent to 4.96 sheep per inhabitant. Credit: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

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