Cotton yields in Kenya
Kenya: Cotton yields was 0.3785 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
0.3785 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 19.0%
World rank
95th
of 101 countries
All-time high
1 tonnes per hectare
in 1996
All-time low
0.1012 tonnes per hectare
in 1962
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cotton yields in Kenya, 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 Kenya is 0.3785 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 19.0% on the previous year and down 31.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cotton yields in Kenya peaked at 1 tonnes per hectare in 1996 and was at its lowest, 0.1012 tonnes per hectare, in 1962.
Kenya ranks 95th of 101 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cotton yields in Kenya, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.2334 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.1012 tonnes per hectare | -56.6% |
| 1963 | 0.1874 tonnes per hectare | +85.2% |
| 1964 | 0.1694 tonnes per hectare | -9.6% |
| 1965 | 0.2375 tonnes per hectare | +40.2% |
| 1966 | 0.2393 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 0.2216 tonnes per hectare | -7.4% |
| 1968 | 0.2245 tonnes per hectare | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 0.2643 tonnes per hectare | +17.7% |
| 1970 | 0.1732 tonnes per hectare | -34.5% |
| 1971 | 0.3163 tonnes per hectare | +82.6% |
| 1972 | 0.3204 tonnes per hectare | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 0.3052 tonnes per hectare | -4.7% |
| 1974 | 0.2835 tonnes per hectare | -7.1% |
| 1975 | 0.2015 tonnes per hectare | -28.9% |
| 1976 | 0.2 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 0.2599 tonnes per hectare | +30.0% |
| 1978 | 0.2158 tonnes per hectare | -17.0% |
| 1979 | 0.3068 tonnes per hectare | +42.2% |
| 1980 | 0.2383 tonnes per hectare | -22.3% |
| 1981 | 0.2106 tonnes per hectare | -11.6% |
| 1982 | 0.2298 tonnes per hectare | +9.1% |
| 1983 | 0.2304 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 0.1562 tonnes per hectare | -32.2% |
| 1985 | 0.2 tonnes per hectare | +28.0% |
| 1986 | 0.1829 tonnes per hectare | -8.6% |
| 1987 | 0.238 tonnes per hectare | +30.1% |
| 1988 | 0.413 tonnes per hectare | +73.5% |
| 1989 | 0.4403 tonnes per hectare | +6.6% |
| 1990 | 0.4136 tonnes per hectare | -6.1% |
| 1991 | 0.5072 tonnes per hectare | +22.6% |
| 1992 | 0.3 tonnes per hectare | -40.9% |
| 1993 | 0.2629 tonnes per hectare | -12.4% |
| 1994 | 0.364 tonnes per hectare | +38.5% |
| 1995 | 0.488 tonnes per hectare | +34.1% |
| 1996 | 1 tonnes per hectare | +105.3% |
| 1997 | 0.5843 tonnes per hectare | -41.7% |
| 1998 | 0.6016 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 0.6 tonnes per hectare | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 0.5 tonnes per hectare | -16.7% |
| 2001 | 0.49 tonnes per hectare | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 0.4762 tonnes per hectare | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 0.4444 tonnes per hectare | -6.7% |
| 2004 | 0.4 tonnes per hectare | -10.0% |
| 2005 | 0.4444 tonnes per hectare | +11.1% |
| 2006 | 0.2869 tonnes per hectare | -35.4% |
| 2007 | 0.2873 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 0.3507 tonnes per hectare | +22.1% |
| 2009 | 0.3725 tonnes per hectare | +6.2% |
| 2010 | 0.4815 tonnes per hectare | +29.3% |
| 2011 | 0.6865 tonnes per hectare | +42.6% |
| 2012 | 0.2928 tonnes per hectare | -57.3% |
| 2013 | 0.5264 tonnes per hectare | +79.8% |
| 2014 | 0.5539 tonnes per hectare | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 0.5493 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.5505 tonnes per hectare | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.6999 tonnes per hectare | +27.1% |
| 2018 | 0.441 tonnes per hectare | -37.0% |
| 2019 | 0.441 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.441 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.1222 tonnes per hectare | -72.3% |
| 2022 | 0.4382 tonnes per hectare | +258.6% |
| 2023 | 0.318 tonnes per hectare | -27.4% |
| 2024 | 0.3785 tonnes per hectare | +19.0% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 0.3785 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.31 tonnes per hectare, 29% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 0.3785 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.8911 tonnes per hectare, 42% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cotton yields in Kenya 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +258.6% | 0.1222 tonnes per hectare | 0.4382 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2087 tonnes per hectare | 0.1012 tonnes per hectare | 0.2643 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.2583 tonnes per hectare | 0.1732 tonnes per hectare | 0.3204 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.254 tonnes per hectare | 0.1562 tonnes per hectare | 0.4403 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5123 tonnes per hectare | 0.2629 tonnes per hectare | 1 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4052 tonnes per hectare | 0.2869 tonnes per hectare | 0.5 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5223 tonnes per hectare | 0.2928 tonnes per hectare | 0.6999 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3396 tonnes per hectare | 0.1222 tonnes per hectare | 0.441 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 547.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6779 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cotton yields in Kenya?
- Cotton yields in Kenya was 0.3785 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 1 tonnes per hectare in 1996.
- What is the lowest cotton yields recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1012 tonnes per hectare in 1962.
- How does Kenya rank for cotton yields?
- Kenya ranks 95th out of 101 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cotton yields rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.