Cotton yields in Malawi
Malawi: Cotton yields was 0.5824 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
0.5824 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 2.3%
World rank
84th
of 101 countries
All-time high
1.1 tonnes per hectare
in 2008
All-time low
0.2125 tonnes per hectare
in 1967
Years of data
64
1961–2024
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 84th out of 101 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.
Cotton yields in Malawi, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.3478 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.4807 tonnes per hectare | +38.2% |
| 1963 | 0.2656 tonnes per hectare | -44.7% |
| 1964 | 0.3547 tonnes per hectare | +33.5% |
| 1965 | 0.5028 tonnes per hectare | +41.8% |
| 1966 | 0.2461 tonnes per hectare | -51.1% |
| 1967 | 0.2125 tonnes per hectare | -13.7% |
| 1968 | 0.2563 tonnes per hectare | +20.6% |
| 1969 | 0.4854 tonnes per hectare | +89.4% |
| 1970 | 0.4471 tonnes per hectare | -7.9% |
| 1971 | 0.4198 tonnes per hectare | -6.1% |
| 1972 | 0.4423 tonnes per hectare | +5.4% |
| 1973 | 0.305 tonnes per hectare | -31.0% |
| 1974 | 0.3951 tonnes per hectare | +29.5% |
| 1975 | 0.5662 tonnes per hectare | +43.3% |
| 1976 | 0.5391 tonnes per hectare | -4.8% |
| 1977 | 0.6839 tonnes per hectare | +26.9% |
| 1978 | 0.8547 tonnes per hectare | +25.0% |
| 1979 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | +19.1% |
| 1980 | 0.7213 tonnes per hectare | -29.2% |
| 1981 | 0.8769 tonnes per hectare | +21.6% |
| 1982 | 0.7363 tonnes per hectare | -16.0% |
| 1983 | 0.4029 tonnes per hectare | -45.3% |
| 1984 | 0.6385 tonnes per hectare | +58.5% |
| 1985 | 0.758 tonnes per hectare | +18.7% |
| 1986 | 0.698 tonnes per hectare | -7.9% |
| 1987 | 0.6074 tonnes per hectare | -13.0% |
| 1988 | 0.6711 tonnes per hectare | +10.5% |
| 1989 | 0.7353 tonnes per hectare | +9.6% |
| 1990 | 0.6807 tonnes per hectare | -7.4% |
| 1991 | 0.7289 tonnes per hectare | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 0.2339 tonnes per hectare | -67.9% |
| 1993 | 0.8444 tonnes per hectare | +261.0% |
| 1994 | 0.4505 tonnes per hectare | -46.6% |
| 1995 | 0.8974 tonnes per hectare | +99.2% |
| 1996 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | +16.4% |
| 1997 | 0.6379 tonnes per hectare | -38.9% |
| 1998 | 0.8071 tonnes per hectare | +26.5% |
| 1999 | 0.9648 tonnes per hectare | +19.5% |
| 2000 | 0.9048 tonnes per hectare | -6.2% |
| 2001 | 0.7949 tonnes per hectare | -12.1% |
| 2002 | 0.855 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 0.9254 tonnes per hectare | +8.2% |
| 2004 | 0.8445 tonnes per hectare | -8.7% |
| 2005 | 0.5688 tonnes per hectare | -32.6% |
| 2006 | 0.9411 tonnes per hectare | +65.5% |
| 2007 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | +10.8% |
| 2008 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 0.8657 tonnes per hectare | -21.2% |
| 2010 | 0.6178 tonnes per hectare | -28.6% |
| 2011 | 0.8798 tonnes per hectare | +42.4% |
| 2012 | 0.9684 tonnes per hectare | +10.1% |
| 2013 | 0.8608 tonnes per hectare | -11.1% |
| 2014 | 0.8866 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 0.6445 tonnes per hectare | -27.3% |
| 2016 | 0.4006 tonnes per hectare | -37.8% |
| 2017 | 0.7189 tonnes per hectare | +79.5% |
| 2018 | 0.5434 tonnes per hectare | -24.4% |
| 2019 | 0.5538 tonnes per hectare | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 0.6466 tonnes per hectare | +16.8% |
| 2021 | 0.6413 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 0.6103 tonnes per hectare | -4.8% |
| 2023 | 0.5963 tonnes per hectare | -2.3% |
| 2024 | 0.5824 tonnes per hectare | -2.3% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.5824 tonnes per hectare is below the median for low income countries, which is 1.03 tonnes per hectare, 57% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.5824 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.8911 tonnes per hectare, 65% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cotton yields in Malawi 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 | +261.0% | 0.2339 tonnes per hectare | 0.8444 tonnes per hectare |
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 (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
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 84th out of 101 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.