Land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi
Malawi: Land use vs. yield change in cereal production was 215 in 2014. ▲ Rising
Land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi, 1961–2014
Source: World Bank (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi is 215, measured in 2014.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi peaked at 220 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 100, in 1961.
That places Malawi 33rd out of 147 countries with data for 2014, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 100 | — |
| 1962 | 100 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 101 | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 102 | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 126 | +23.5% |
| 1966 | 129 | +2.4% |
| 1967 | 111 | -14.0% |
| 1968 | 134 | +20.7% |
| 1969 | 135 | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 128 | -5.2% |
| 1971 | 137 | +7.0% |
| 1972 | 144 | +5.1% |
| 1973 | 149 | +3.5% |
| 1974 | 145 | -2.7% |
| 1975 | 132 | -9.0% |
| 1976 | 133 | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 134 | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 141 | +5.2% |
| 1979 | 142 | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 120 | -15.5% |
| 1981 | 133 | +10.8% |
| 1982 | 144 | +8.3% |
| 1983 | 140 | -2.8% |
| 1984 | 141 | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 139 | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 144 | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 143 | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 147 | +2.8% |
| 1989 | 153 | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 162 | +5.9% |
| 1991 | 168 | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 163 | -3.0% |
| 1993 | 163 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 141 | -13.5% |
| 1995 | 154 | +9.2% |
| 1996 | 159 | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 159 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 164 | +3.1% |
| 1999 | 172 | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 179 | +4.1% |
| 2001 | 181 | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 186 | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 202 | +8.6% |
| 2004 | 192 | -5.0% |
| 2005 | 191 | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 220 | +15.2% |
| 2007 | 159 | -27.7% |
| 2008 | 203 | +27.7% |
| 2009 | 204 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 216 | +5.9% |
| 2011 | 213 | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 209 | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 214 | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 215 | +0.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 215 is above the median for low income countries, which is 178, 1.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 215 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 222, 97% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Land use vs. yield change in cereal production 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | -27.7% | 220 | 159 |
| 2008 | +27.7% | 159 | 203 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 115.33 | 100 | 135 | 9 |
| 1970s | 138.5 | 128 | 149 | 10 |
| 1980s | 140.4 | 120 | 153 | 10 |
| 1990s | 160.5 | 141 | 172 | 10 |
| 2000s | 191.7 | 159 | 220 | 10 |
| 2010s | 213.4 | 209 | 216 | 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 land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi?
- Land use vs. yield change in cereal production in Malawi was 215 in 2014, according to World Bank (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use vs. yield change in cereal production recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 220 in 2006.
- What is the lowest land use vs. yield change in cereal production recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 100 in 1961.
- How does Malawi rank for land use vs. yield change in cereal production?
- Malawi ranks 33rd out of 147 countries with data for 2014.
- Is land use vs. yield change in cereal production rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use vs. yield change in cereal production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Indexed change in land used for cereal production versus cereal yields, from 1961 to 2014. Both indexes are measured relative to values in 1961 (i.e. 1961 = 100).