Share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in Malawi
Malawi: Share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel was 3.06 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.06 million tonnes
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
64th
of 192 countries
All-time high
3.15 million tonnes
in 2021
All-time low
557,000 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in Malawi, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 3.06 million tonnes for share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in Malawi peaked at 3.15 million tonnes in 2021 and was at its lowest, 557,000 tonnes, in 1961.
Malawi ranks 64th of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in Malawi, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 557,000 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 578,000 tonnes | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 639,000 tonnes | +10.6% |
| 1964 | 701,000 tonnes | +9.7% |
| 1965 | 725,000 tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1966 | 730,000 tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 760,000 tonnes | +4.1% |
| 1968 | 780,000 tonnes | +2.6% |
| 1969 | 797,000 tonnes | +2.2% |
| 1970 | 866,000 tonnes | +8.7% |
| 1971 | 877,000 tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 902,000 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 921,000 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 1974 | 931,000 tonnes | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 947,000 tonnes | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 974,000 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1977 | 991,000 tonnes | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 1.02 million tonnes | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 1.03 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 1980 | 1.05 million tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1981 | 1.07 million tonnes | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 1.11 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 1983 | 1.16 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1984 | 1.14 million tonnes | -1.7% |
| 1985 | 1.21 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 1986 | 1.21 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 1.28 million tonnes | +6.0% |
| 1988 | 1.39 million tonnes | +8.1% |
| 1989 | 1.45 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1990 | 1.44 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 1.46 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 1.38 million tonnes | -6.0% |
| 1993 | 1.47 million tonnes | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 1.52 million tonnes | +3.5% |
| 1995 | 1.53 million tonnes | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 1.54 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 1.55 million tonnes | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 1.60 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 1.66 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 1.73 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 1.73 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 1.75 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 1.79 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 1.86 million tonnes | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 1.93 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 2.02 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 2.04 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 2.10 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 2.16 million tonnes | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 2.54 million tonnes | +17.9% |
| 2011 | 2.64 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 2.77 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 2.71 million tonnes | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 2.56 million tonnes | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 2.76 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 2016 | 2.73 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 2.73 million tonnes | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 2.77 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 3.04 million tonnes | +9.5% |
| 2020 | 3.05 million tonnes | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 3.15 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 2.99 million tonnes | -5.2% |
| 2023 | 3.06 million tonnes | +2.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 3.06 million tonnes is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.26 million tonnes, 72% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 3.06 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.08 million tonnes, 1.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 696,333 tonnes | 557,000 tonnes | 797,000 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 945,800 tonnes | 866,000 tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.21 million tonnes | 1.05 million tonnes | 1.45 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.52 million tonnes | 1.38 million tonnes | 1.66 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.91 million tonnes | 1.73 million tonnes | 2.16 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.73 million tonnes | 2.54 million tonnes | 3.04 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.06 million tonnes | 2.99 million tonnes | 3.15 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in Malawi?
- Share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel in Malawi was 3.06 million tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.15 million tonnes in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 557,000 tonnes in 1961.
- How does Malawi rank for share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel?
- Malawi ranks 64th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to food, animal feed or fuel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Quantity that is allocated for direct consumption as human food, rather than allocation to animal feed or industrial uses.