Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Malawi
Malawi: Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population was 1.75 million hectares in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.75 million hectares
Change on year
down 15.3%
World rank
61st
of 186 countries
All-time high
2.11 million hectares
in 2021
All-time low
876,100 hectares
in 1962
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Malawi, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 1.75 million hectares for change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in 2024.
That represents a change of down 15.3% on the previous year and down 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Malawi peaked at 2.11 million hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, 876,100 hectares, in 1962.
Malawi ranks 61st of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Malawi, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 878,200 hectares | — |
| 1962 | 876,100 hectares | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 890,561 hectares | +1.7% |
| 1964 | 898,056 hectares | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 1.11 million hectares | +23.6% |
| 1966 | 1.13 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 1967 | 972,100 hectares | -13.9% |
| 1968 | 1.17 million hectares | +20.8% |
| 1969 | 1.18 million hectares | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 1.12 million hectares | -5.4% |
| 1971 | 1.20 million hectares | +7.3% |
| 1972 | 1.26 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 1973 | 1.31 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 1974 | 1.27 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 1975 | 1.16 million hectares | -8.8% |
| 1976 | 1.17 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 1.18 million hectares | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 1.24 million hectares | +5.3% |
| 1979 | 1.25 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 1.05 million hectares | -15.4% |
| 1981 | 1.17 million hectares | +10.6% |
| 1982 | 1.27 million hectares | +8.8% |
| 1983 | 1.23 million hectares | -3.4% |
| 1984 | 1.23 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 1.22 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 1.27 million hectares | +4.1% |
| 1987 | 1.25 million hectares | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 1.29 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 1.35 million hectares | +4.4% |
| 1990 | 1.43 million hectares | +5.9% |
| 1991 | 1.47 million hectares | +3.3% |
| 1992 | 1.43 million hectares | -2.9% |
| 1993 | 1.44 million hectares | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 1.24 million hectares | -13.9% |
| 1995 | 1.35 million hectares | +9.6% |
| 1996 | 1.40 million hectares | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 1.40 million hectares | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 1.44 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 1.51 million hectares | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 1.57 million hectares | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 1.59 million hectares | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 1.64 million hectares | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 1.77 million hectares | +8.4% |
| 2004 | 1.68 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 1.67 million hectares | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 1.93 million hectares | +15.2% |
| 2007 | 1.39 million hectares | -27.7% |
| 2008 | 1.78 million hectares | +27.7% |
| 2009 | 1.79 million hectares | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 1.89 million hectares | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 1.87 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 1.84 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 1.88 million hectares | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 1.91 million hectares | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 1.89 million hectares | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 1.88 million hectares | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 1.95 million hectares | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 1.91 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 1.98 million hectares | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 2.01 million hectares | +1.7% |
| 2021 | 2.11 million hectares | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 2.07 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 2.06 million hectares | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 1.75 million hectares | -15.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.01 million hectares | 876,100 hectares | 1.18 million hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.22 million hectares | 1.12 million hectares | 1.31 million hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.23 million hectares | 1.05 million hectares | 1.35 million hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.41 million hectares | 1.24 million hectares | 1.51 million hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.68 million hectares | 1.39 million hectares | 1.93 million hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.90 million hectares | 1.84 million hectares | 1.98 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.00 million hectares | 1.75 million hectares | 2.11 million hectares | 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 change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Malawi?
- Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population in Malawi was 1.75 million hectares 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 change in cereal production, yield, land use and population recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 2.11 million hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest change in cereal production, yield, land use and population recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 876,100 hectares in 1962.
- How does Malawi rank for change in cereal production, yield, land use and population?
- Malawi ranks 61st out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is change in cereal production, yield, land use and population rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.8%. 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 Change in cereal production, yield, land use and population. 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
Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains.