Beef plus dairy plus shoats plus camel adds up to a substantial slice of agricultural income, much of it generated on rangelands the formal economy barely measures. Three GCC export corridors are now active.
Pastoralist herd composition
Animals held in Kenya's ASAL counties · M head
Roughly 80% of Kenya's land area is classified as arid or semi-arid — the ASAL counties — and although these lands are too dry for reliable cropping, they support a substantial livestock economy that is easy to overlook from a highland-centric viewpoint.
The species composition in the ASALs is shaped entirely by drought survival. Goats and sheep dominate because of their tolerance of sparse, variable forage and their short reproductive cycles; camels and hardy cattle breeds fill specific niches.
The chart counts the animals held in Kenya's ASAL counties in millions of head. Read the dominance of small stock as the rational core of the pastoralist economy.
Key insight
Goats are the dominant ASAL species — by a long way.
Around 22M goats live in Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands, alongside 16M sheep, 7M cattle and the country's entire camel herd. Resilience to drought and short reproductive cycles make them the workhorse of the pastoralist economy.
Source: MoALD · KNBS Livestock CensusView sources →
About this story
Topic: Livestock
Author: Mira Hassan
Read time: 15 minutes
Published: 18 April 2026