Statistical data on African livestock, compiled by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), are presented in an updated version of a handbook published by ILRI's forbear, the International Livestock Centre for Africa, in 1993. This version of the handbook aims to provide access to data to researchers, planners, analysts and policy-makers. The data have already been published, principally by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) or by national organizations. The objective of publishing the handbook in this form is 2-fold: (1) to distribute the handbook to people in the developing world who may not have direct access to FAO data; and (2) to allow easy comparisons over time and/or between countries. Data for any country at a point in time offer planners or policy-makers meaning only when the changes in status quo occurring in that country can be easily summarized, and in particular when progress can be compared with that in similar countries. The tables in this handbook have been designed to help facilitate such comparisons.