Cotton yields in Zambia
Zambia: Cotton yields was 0.8751 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
0.8751 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 5.7%
World rank
75th
of 101 countries
All-time high
1.95 tonnes per hectare
in 1966
All-time low
0.4344 tonnes per hectare
in 1992
Years of data
62
1963–2024
Cotton yields in Zambia, 1963–2024
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 Zambia stood at 0.8751 tonnes per hectare.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.7% on the previous year and down 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cotton yields in Zambia peaked at 1.95 tonnes per hectare in 1966 and was at its lowest, 0.4344 tonnes per hectare, in 1992.
That places Zambia 75th out of 101 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Cotton yields in Zambia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1964 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | +12.9% |
| 1965 | 0.8497 tonnes per hectare | -33.2% |
| 1966 | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | +130.0% |
| 1967 | 0.7446 tonnes per hectare | -61.9% |
| 1968 | 0.7017 tonnes per hectare | -5.8% |
| 1969 | 0.8119 tonnes per hectare | +15.7% |
| 1970 | 0.778 tonnes per hectare | -4.2% |
| 1971 | 0.975 tonnes per hectare | +25.3% |
| 1972 | 0.6958 tonnes per hectare | -28.6% |
| 1973 | 0.6531 tonnes per hectare | -6.1% |
| 1974 | 0.5486 tonnes per hectare | -16.0% |
| 1975 | 0.6346 tonnes per hectare | +15.7% |
| 1976 | 0.6462 tonnes per hectare | +1.8% |
| 1977 | 0.8497 tonnes per hectare | +31.5% |
| 1978 | 0.4757 tonnes per hectare | -44.0% |
| 1979 | 0.6177 tonnes per hectare | +29.9% |
| 1980 | 0.495 tonnes per hectare | -19.9% |
| 1981 | 0.4664 tonnes per hectare | -5.8% |
| 1982 | 0.5357 tonnes per hectare | +14.9% |
| 1983 | 0.6189 tonnes per hectare | +15.5% |
| 1984 | 0.8361 tonnes per hectare | +35.1% |
| 1985 | 0.66 tonnes per hectare | -21.1% |
| 1986 | 0.6415 tonnes per hectare | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 0.5282 tonnes per hectare | -17.7% |
| 1988 | 0.751 tonnes per hectare | +42.2% |
| 1989 | 0.5903 tonnes per hectare | -21.4% |
| 1990 | 0.4789 tonnes per hectare | -18.9% |
| 1991 | 0.6582 tonnes per hectare | +37.4% |
| 1992 | 0.4344 tonnes per hectare | -34.0% |
| 1993 | 0.6256 tonnes per hectare | +44.0% |
| 1994 | 0.6532 tonnes per hectare | +4.4% |
| 1995 | 0.471 tonnes per hectare | -27.9% |
| 1996 | 0.5599 tonnes per hectare | +18.9% |
| 1997 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | +155.5% |
| 1998 | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | -7.4% |
| 1999 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | -14.9% |
| 2001 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | +4.3% |
| 2003 | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | +8.0% |
| 2007 | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | +59.0% |
| 2008 | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | -20.0% |
| 2009 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | -7.0% |
| 2010 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | -10.2% |
| 2011 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | -14.3% |
| 2012 | 0.8569 tonnes per hectare | -20.5% |
| 2013 | 0.8108 tonnes per hectare | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 0.9634 tonnes per hectare | +18.8% |
| 2015 | 0.8193 tonnes per hectare | -15.0% |
| 2016 | 0.8634 tonnes per hectare | +5.4% |
| 2017 | 0.8476 tonnes per hectare | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 0.8254 tonnes per hectare | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 0.817 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 0.6078 tonnes per hectare | -25.6% |
| 2021 | 0.7906 tonnes per hectare | +30.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9099 tonnes per hectare | +15.1% |
| 2023 | 0.8279 tonnes per hectare | -9.0% |
| 2024 | 0.8751 tonnes per hectare | +5.7% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 0.8751 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.31 tonnes per hectare, 67% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 0.8751 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.8911 tonnes per hectare, 98% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Cotton yields in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +155.5% | 0.5599 tonnes per hectare | 1.43 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.07 tonnes per hectare | 0.7017 tonnes per hectare | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | 7 |
| 1970s | 0.6874 tonnes per hectare | 0.4757 tonnes per hectare | 0.975 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6123 tonnes per hectare | 0.4664 tonnes per hectare | 0.8361 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7962 tonnes per hectare | 0.4344 tonnes per hectare | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.29 tonnes per hectare | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9139 tonnes per hectare | 0.8108 tonnes per hectare | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8023 tonnes per hectare | 0.6078 tonnes per hectare | 0.9099 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 72 Romania 0.9 tonnes per hectare compare
- 73 Senegal 0.8961 tonnes per hectare compare
- 74 Cote d'Ivoire 0.886 tonnes per hectare compare
- 76 Cuba 0.8629 tonnes per hectare compare
- 77 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.8333 tonnes per hectare compare
- 78 Costa Rica 0.7851 tonnes per hectare compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 65.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0411 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 54.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5408 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cotton yields in Zambia?
- Cotton yields in Zambia was 0.8751 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.95 tonnes per hectare in 1966.
- What is the lowest cotton yields recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4344 tonnes per hectare in 1992.
- How does Zambia rank for cotton yields?
- Zambia ranks 75th out of 101 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cotton yields rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 62 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.