Cereal production in South Korea
South Korea: Cereal production was 4.98 million tonnes in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
4.98 million tonnes
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
58th
of 186 countries
All-time high
10.54 million tonnes
in 1978
All-time low
4.95 million tonnes
in 2020
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cereal production in South Korea, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cereal production in South Korea is 4.98 million tonnes, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal production in South Korea peaked at 10.54 million tonnes in 1978 and was at its lowest, 4.95 million tonnes, in 2020.
That places South Korea 58th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Cereal production in South Korea, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.63 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 5.90 million tonnes | -11.0% |
| 1963 | 6.38 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 1964 | 7.38 million tonnes | +15.7% |
| 1965 | 7.21 million tonnes | -2.3% |
| 1966 | 8.04 million tonnes | +11.5% |
| 1967 | 7.45 million tonnes | -7.3% |
| 1968 | 7.16 million tonnes | -4.0% |
| 1969 | 8.38 million tonnes | +17.0% |
| 1970 | 8.03 million tonnes | -4.1% |
| 1971 | 7.97 million tonnes | -0.8% |
| 1972 | 7.98 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 8.06 million tonnes | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 8.28 million tonnes | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 9.04 million tonnes | +9.2% |
| 1976 | 9.88 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 1977 | 9.64 million tonnes | -2.4% |
| 1978 | 10.54 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 1979 | 10.15 million tonnes | -3.7% |
| 1980 | 6.68 million tonnes | -34.2% |
| 1981 | 8.53 million tonnes | +27.8% |
| 1982 | 8.58 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 9.00 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 1984 | 9.27 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 8.81 million tonnes | -5.0% |
| 1986 | 8.64 million tonnes | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 8.47 million tonnes | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 9.16 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 1989 | 8.95 million tonnes | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 8.43 million tonnes | -5.8% |
| 1991 | 7.72 million tonnes | -8.5% |
| 1992 | 7.68 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 6.81 million tonnes | -11.2% |
| 1994 | 7.16 million tonnes | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 6.77 million tonnes | -5.5% |
| 1996 | 7.51 million tonnes | +10.9% |
| 1997 | 7.61 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 7.07 million tonnes | -7.1% |
| 1999 | 7.40 million tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 7.44 million tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 7.75 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 6.99 million tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2003 | 6.40 million tonnes | -8.4% |
| 2004 | 7.01 million tonnes | +9.6% |
| 2005 | 6.72 million tonnes | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 6.54 million tonnes | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 6.24 million tonnes | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 6.75 million tonnes | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 6.76 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 6.02 million tonnes | -10.9% |
| 2011 | 5.83 million tonnes | -3.2% |
| 2012 | 5.60 million tonnes | -3.8% |
| 2013 | 5.81 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 5.85 million tonnes | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 5.98 million tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 5.83 million tonnes | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 5.49 million tonnes | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 5.42 million tonnes | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 5.27 million tonnes | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 4.95 million tonnes | -6.2% |
| 2021 | 5.44 million tonnes | +10.1% |
| 2022 | 5.22 million tonnes | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 5.13 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 4.98 million tonnes | -2.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 4.98 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.90 million tonnes, 2.6× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 4.98 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.19 million tonnes, 1.6× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.17 million tonnes | 5.90 million tonnes | 8.38 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.96 million tonnes | 7.97 million tonnes | 10.54 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.61 million tonnes | 6.68 million tonnes | 9.27 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.42 million tonnes | 6.77 million tonnes | 8.43 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.86 million tonnes | 6.24 million tonnes | 7.75 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.71 million tonnes | 5.27 million tonnes | 6.02 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.15 million tonnes | 4.95 million tonnes | 5.44 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 55 Madagascar 5.24 million tonnes compare
- 56 Burkina Faso 5.21 million tonnes compare
- 57 Sweden 5.15 million tonnes compare
- 59 Kenya 4.98 million tonnes compare
- 60 Sri Lanka 4.93 million tonnes compare
- 61 North Korea 4.89 million tonnes compare
More agriculture & rural data for South Korea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.2516 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0146 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 530.46 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1591 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1883 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cereal production in South Korea?
- Cereal production in South Korea was 4.98 million tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cereal production recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 10.54 million tonnes in 1978.
- What is the lowest cereal production recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.95 million tonnes in 2020.
- How does South Korea rank for cereal production?
- South Korea ranks 58th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereal production rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Cereal production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains.