Cereal production in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Cereal production was 1.34 million tonnes in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.34 million tonnes
Change on year
down 20.0%
World rank
101st
of 186 countries
All-time high
3.42 million tonnes
in 1985
All-time low
482,169 tonnes
in 1992
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cereal production in Zimbabwe, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2024, cereal production in Zimbabwe stood at 1.34 million tonnes.
That represents a change of down 20.0% on the previous year and up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal production in Zimbabwe peaked at 3.42 million tonnes in 1985 and was at its lowest, 482,169 tonnes, in 1992.
That places Zimbabwe 101st 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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.27 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 1.23 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 1963 | 1.03 million tonnes | -15.9% |
| 1964 | 1.03 million tonnes | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 1.13 million tonnes | +10.3% |
| 1966 | 1.21 million tonnes | +6.9% |
| 1967 | 1.90 million tonnes | +56.8% |
| 1968 | 1.25 million tonnes | -34.5% |
| 1969 | 1.93 million tonnes | +55.4% |
| 1970 | 1.44 million tonnes | -25.6% |
| 1971 | 2.27 million tonnes | +58.0% |
| 1972 | 2.70 million tonnes | +18.9% |
| 1973 | 1.29 million tonnes | -52.1% |
| 1974 | 2.53 million tonnes | +95.5% |
| 1975 | 2.20 million tonnes | -13.2% |
| 1976 | 2.33 million tonnes | +5.9% |
| 1977 | 2.05 million tonnes | -11.9% |
| 1978 | 2.12 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 1.52 million tonnes | -28.6% |
| 1980 | 1.99 million tonnes | +31.3% |
| 1981 | 3.32 million tonnes | +66.5% |
| 1982 | 2.21 million tonnes | -33.4% |
| 1983 | 1.20 million tonnes | -45.6% |
| 1984 | 1.42 million tonnes | +18.2% |
| 1985 | 3.42 million tonnes | +140.9% |
| 1986 | 3.10 million tonnes | -9.4% |
| 1987 | 1.51 million tonnes | -51.3% |
| 1988 | 3.08 million tonnes | +104.5% |
| 1989 | 2.56 million tonnes | -17.1% |
| 1990 | 2.56 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 2.07 million tonnes | -19.2% |
| 1992 | 482,169 tonnes | -76.7% |
| 1993 | 2.57 million tonnes | +432.4% |
| 1994 | 2.56 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 1.03 million tonnes | -59.8% |
| 1996 | 2.52 million tonnes | +144.9% |
| 1997 | 1.97 million tonnes | -21.9% |
| 1998 | 1.56 million tonnes | -20.8% |
| 1999 | 1.99 million tonnes | +27.5% |
| 2000 | 1.96 million tonnes | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 1.85 million tonnes | -5.6% |
| 2002 | 855,208 tonnes | -53.8% |
| 2003 | 1.36 million tonnes | +58.7% |
| 2004 | 2.87 million tonnes | +111.7% |
| 2005 | 1.61 million tonnes | -44.0% |
| 2006 | 2.49 million tonnes | +54.4% |
| 2007 | 1.86 million tonnes | -25.4% |
| 2008 | 692,820 tonnes | -62.7% |
| 2009 | 874,058 tonnes | +26.2% |
| 2010 | 1.39 million tonnes | +58.9% |
| 2011 | 1.17 million tonnes | -15.5% |
| 2012 | 1.28 million tonnes | +9.5% |
| 2013 | 1.15 million tonnes | -10.3% |
| 2014 | 1.23 million tonnes | +6.8% |
| 2015 | 800,284 tonnes | -35.0% |
| 2016 | 676,747 tonnes | -15.4% |
| 2017 | 1.75 million tonnes | +158.3% |
| 2018 | 1.78 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 1.03 million tonnes | -42.4% |
| 2020 | 1.66 million tonnes | +62.1% |
| 2021 | 2.04 million tonnes | +22.9% |
| 2022 | 1.29 million tonnes | -36.9% |
| 2023 | 1.68 million tonnes | +30.1% |
| 2024 | 1.34 million tonnes | -20.0% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 1.34 million tonnes is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.95 million tonnes, 69% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 1.34 million tonnes is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.65 million tonnes, 82% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cereal production in Zimbabwe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +432.4% | 482,169 tonnes | 2.57 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.33 million tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes | 1.93 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.05 million tonnes | 1.29 million tonnes | 2.70 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.38 million tonnes | 1.20 million tonnes | 3.42 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.93 million tonnes | 482,169 tonnes | 2.57 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.64 million tonnes | 692,820 tonnes | 2.87 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.23 million tonnes | 676,747 tonnes | 1.78 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.60 million tonnes | 1.29 million tonnes | 2.04 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 98 Tunisia 1.50 million tonnes compare
- 99 Sierra Leone 1.50 million tonnes compare
- 100 Turkmenistan 1.49 million tonnes compare
- 102 Estonia 1.30 million tonnes compare
- 103 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.20 million tonnes compare
- 104 South Sudan 1.20 million tonnes compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 34.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0947 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 286.19 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.8815 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.595 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 9.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 9.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cereal production in Zimbabwe?
- Cereal production in Zimbabwe was 1.34 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 3.42 million tonnes in 1985.
- What is the lowest cereal production recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 482,169 tonnes in 1992.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for cereal production?
- Zimbabwe ranks 101st out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereal production rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.