Cotton yields in Malawi
Malawi: Cotton yields was 0.5824 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Cotton yields in Malawi, 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
In 2024, cotton yields in Malawi stood at 0.5824 tonnes per hectare.
That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 34.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cotton yields in Malawi peaked at 1.1 tonnes per hectare in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.2125 tonnes per hectare, in 1967.
That places Malawi 83rd out of 100 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.3502 tonnes per hectare | 0.2125 tonnes per hectare | 0.5028 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.5671 tonnes per hectare | 0.305 tonnes per hectare | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6846 tonnes per hectare | 0.4029 tonnes per hectare | 0.8769 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.729 tonnes per hectare | 0.2339 tonnes per hectare | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8843 tonnes per hectare | 0.5688 tonnes per hectare | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7075 tonnes per hectare | 0.4006 tonnes per hectare | 0.9684 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6154 tonnes per hectare | 0.5824 tonnes per hectare | 0.6466 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 30.0% (2025)
- Rural population 18.31 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 2.2% (2025)
- Rural population 82.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.04 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cotton yields in Malawi?
- Cotton yields in Malawi was 0.5824 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 1.1 tonnes per hectare in 2008.
- What is the lowest cotton yields recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2125 tonnes per hectare in 1967.
- How does Malawi rank for cotton yields?
- Malawi ranks 83rd out of 100 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cotton yields rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.3%. 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) – 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.