Cotton yields in Australia
Australia: Cotton yields was 5.06 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
5.06 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 33.7%
World rank
2nd
of 101 countries
All-time high
6.47 tonnes per hectare
in 2015
All-time low
0.3203 tonnes per hectare
in 1963
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cotton yields in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
The most recent figure for cotton yields in Australia is 5.06 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 33.7% on the previous year and down 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cotton yields in Australia peaked at 6.47 tonnes per hectare in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.3203 tonnes per hectare, in 1963.
Australia ranks 2nd of 101 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cotton yields in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.4733 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.5128 tonnes per hectare | +8.3% |
| 1963 | 0.3203 tonnes per hectare | -37.5% |
| 1964 | 0.4423 tonnes per hectare | +38.1% |
| 1965 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | +282.7% |
| 1966 | 2.38 tonnes per hectare | +40.8% |
| 1967 | 2.16 tonnes per hectare | -9.2% |
| 1968 | 2.77 tonnes per hectare | +28.3% |
| 1969 | 2.74 tonnes per hectare | -1.4% |
| 1970 | 2.3 tonnes per hectare | -15.8% |
| 1971 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | -40.9% |
| 1972 | 2.72 tonnes per hectare | +99.4% |
| 1973 | 1.81 tonnes per hectare | -33.2% |
| 1974 | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1975 | 2.25 tonnes per hectare | +20.1% |
| 1976 | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | -2.4% |
| 1977 | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | -3.9% |
| 1978 | 2.8 tonnes per hectare | +32.3% |
| 1979 | 2.64 tonnes per hectare | -5.5% |
| 1980 | 2.92 tonnes per hectare | +10.5% |
| 1981 | 3.11 tonnes per hectare | +6.6% |
| 1982 | 3.42 tonnes per hectare | +9.8% |
| 1983 | 2.64 tonnes per hectare | -22.6% |
| 1984 | 2.41 tonnes per hectare | -8.8% |
| 1985 | 3.6 tonnes per hectare | +49.2% |
| 1986 | 3.67 tonnes per hectare | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 3.54 tonnes per hectare | -3.6% |
| 1988 | 2.88 tonnes per hectare | -18.6% |
| 1989 | 3.67 tonnes per hectare | +27.5% |
| 1990 | 3.33 tonnes per hectare | -9.3% |
| 1991 | 4.06 tonnes per hectare | +22.0% |
| 1992 | 4.18 tonnes per hectare | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 3.28 tonnes per hectare | -21.6% |
| 1994 | 2.83 tonnes per hectare | -13.5% |
| 1995 | 3.45 tonnes per hectare | +21.8% |
| 1996 | 3.34 tonnes per hectare | -3.1% |
| 1997 | 3.71 tonnes per hectare | +11.0% |
| 1998 | 3.67 tonnes per hectare | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 3.08 tonnes per hectare | -16.0% |
| 2000 | 3.85 tonnes per hectare | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 3.72 tonnes per hectare | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 4.3 tonnes per hectare | +15.6% |
| 2003 | 4.16 tonnes per hectare | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 4.25 tonnes per hectare | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 4.85 tonnes per hectare | +14.1% |
| 2006 | 4.3 tonnes per hectare | -11.5% |
| 2007 | 4.8 tonnes per hectare | +11.7% |
| 2008 | 5.11 tonnes per hectare | +6.5% |
| 2009 | 4.85 tonnes per hectare | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 4.51 tonnes per hectare | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 3.73 tonnes per hectare | -17.2% |
| 2012 | 4.96 tonnes per hectare | +32.8% |
| 2013 | 5.53 tonnes per hectare | +11.6% |
| 2014 | 5.48 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 6.47 tonnes per hectare | +18.1% |
| 2016 | 5.42 tonnes per hectare | -16.3% |
| 2017 | 4.15 tonnes per hectare | -23.4% |
| 2018 | 5.05 tonnes per hectare | +21.8% |
| 2019 | 3.79 tonnes per hectare | -25.0% |
| 2020 | 4.15 tonnes per hectare | +9.5% |
| 2021 | 5.27 tonnes per hectare | +27.0% |
| 2022 | 5.1 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 3.79 tonnes per hectare | -25.8% |
| 2024 | 5.06 tonnes per hectare | +33.7% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 5.06 tonnes per hectare is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.23 tonnes per hectare, 4.1× the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Australia's 5.06 tonnes per hectare is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.54 tonnes per hectare, 3.3× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cotton yields in Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | +282.7% | 0.4423 tonnes per hectare | 1.69 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 0.3203 tonnes per hectare | 2.77 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | 2.8 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.19 tonnes per hectare | 2.41 tonnes per hectare | 3.67 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.49 tonnes per hectare | 2.83 tonnes per hectare | 4.18 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.42 tonnes per hectare | 3.72 tonnes per hectare | 5.11 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.91 tonnes per hectare | 3.73 tonnes per hectare | 6.47 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.68 tonnes per hectare | 3.79 tonnes per hectare | 5.27 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cotton yields in Australia?
- Cotton yields in Australia was 5.06 tonnes per hectare 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 cotton yields recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.47 tonnes per hectare in 2015.
- What is the lowest cotton yields recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3203 tonnes per hectare in 1963.
- How does Australia rank for cotton yields?
- Australia ranks 2nd out of 101 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cotton yields rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 Cotton yields. 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
Yield is the amount produced per unit of land used, measured in tonnes per hectare.