Maize production (metric tons) by country

Production data on maize relate to crop harvested for dry grain only. Crop harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.

Countries reporting

Highest

10.36 million metric tons

South Africa

Lowest

14 metric tons

Djibouti

Median

195,000 metric tons

Years covered

1961–2011

Data points

2,720

What the numbers show

Maize production (metric tons) is currently reported for 49 countries. The highest value is 10.36 million metric tons in South Africa; the lowest is 14 metric tons in Djibouti.

The median across all reporting countries is 195,000 metric tons, and the mean is 1.33 million metric tons.

Over the past decade 38 countries rose and 11 fell. The largest increase was in Rwanda (up 549.2%), and the largest decrease in Cape Verde (down 71.5%).

Maize production: full country ranking

#	Country	Latest	Year	10-year change	Trend
1	South Africa	10.36 million metric tons	2011	up 33.3%	rising
2	Nigeria	9.18 million metric tons	2011	up 99.7%	volatile
3	Egypt	6.88 million metric tons	2011	up 12.8%	rising
4	Ethiopia	4.99 million metric tons	2011	up 51.2%	rising
5	Tanzania	4.34 million metric tons	2011	up 63.6%	volatile
6	Malawi	3.70 million metric tons	2011	up 115.9%	rising
7	Kenya	3.38 million metric tons	2011	up 21.0%	rising
8	Uganda	2.55 million metric tons	2011	up 117.3%	volatile
9	Zambia	2.50 million metric tons	2011	up 211.3%	rising
10	Mozambique	2.09 million metric tons	2011	up 82.9%	volatile
11	Cameroon	1.75 million metric tons	2011	up 136.9%	volatile
12	Ghana	1.68 million metric tons	2011	up 79.5%	volatile
13	Democratic Republic of Congo	1.35 million metric tons	2011	up 15.0%	rising
14	Zimbabwe	1.33 million metric tons	2011	down 9.5%	flat
15	Mali	1.30 million metric tons	2011	up 330.0%	volatile
16	Angola	1.26 million metric tons	2011	up 194.4%	rising
17	Benin	1.15 million metric tons	2011	up 67.7%	volatile
18	Burkina Faso	1.08 million metric tons	2011	up 77.6%	volatile
19	Togo	650,831 metric tons	2011	up 21.0%	volatile
20	Cote d'Ivoire	621,790 metric tons	2011	up 6.4%	rising
21	Guinea	590,000 metric tons	2011	up 65.3%	volatile
22	Rwanda	525,679 metric tons	2011	up 549.2%	volatile
23	Madagascar	458,587 metric tons	2011	up 155.4%	volatile
24	Morocco	200,000 metric tons	2011	up 273.4%	falling
25	Chad	195,000 metric tons	2011	up 85.2%	volatile
26	Central African Republic	160,000 metric tons	2011	up 49.5%	volatile
27	Somalia	133,597 metric tons	2011	down 53.5%	rising
28	Burundi	128,483 metric tons	2011	up 3.3%	rising
29	Senegal	124,092 metric tons	2011	up 14.3%	volatile
30	Lesotho	73,390 metric tons	2011	down 53.6%	flat
31	Namibia	60,000 metric tons	2011	up 116.6%	rising
32	Eswatini	54,857 metric tons	2011	down 33.5%	rising
33	Gabon	43,500 metric tons	2011	up 73.0%	volatile
34	Sierra Leone	41,553 metric tons	2011	up 315.5%	volatile
35	Sudan	35,000 metric tons	2010	down 34.0%	volatile
36	Gambia	23,613 metric tons	2011	down 18.5%	volatile
37	Eritrea	20,040 metric tons	2011	up 121.4%	volatile
38	Botswana	16,644 metric tons	2011	up 234.5%	volatile
39	Guinea-Bissau	13,227 metric tons	2011	down 52.9%	volatile
40	Congo	12,000 metric tons	2011	up 83.3%	volatile
41	Mauritania	11,609 metric tons	2011	up 88.2%	volatile
42	Comoros	6,800 metric tons	2011	up 78.4%	rising
43	Niger	6,366 metric tons	2011	down 0.2%	volatile
44	Cape Verde	5,569 metric tons	2011	down 71.5%	volatile
45	Sao Tome and Principe	3,900 metric tons	2011	up 56.0%	volatile
46	Libya	2,864 metric tons	2011	up 43.2%	volatile
47	Algeria	1,000 metric tons	2011	down 8.0%	volatile
48	Mauritius	320 metric tons	2011	down 17.7%	volatile
49	Djibouti	14 metric tons	2011	up 16.7%	rising

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

Africa 65.04 million metric tons
Sub-Saharan Africa 57.96 million metric tons
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 57.96 million metric tons
Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa 47.60 million metric tons
Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa and Nigeria 38.42 million metric tons
North Africa 7.08 million metric tons

About this data

Indicator: Maize production (metric tons)
Unit: metric tons
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 55 places, 2,720 data points, 1961–2011
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Production data on maize relate to crop harvested for dry grain only. Crop harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.