Corn: Yield gap in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Corn: Yield gap was 2.33 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Corn: Yield gap in Ethiopia, 2000–2024
Source: Mueller et al. (2012); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); 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, corn: yield gap in Ethiopia stood at 2.33 tonnes per hectare.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 17.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn: yield gap in Ethiopia peaked at 4.24 tonnes per hectare in 2003 and was at its lowest, 2.06 tonnes per hectare, in 2020.
That places Ethiopia 54th out of 115 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Corn: Yield gap in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.15 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 2001 | 4.03 tonnes per hectare | -2.9% |
| 2002 | 3.89 tonnes per hectare | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 4.24 tonnes per hectare | +8.8% |
| 2004 | 4.16 tonnes per hectare | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 3.76 tonnes per hectare | -9.4% |
| 2006 | 3.13 tonnes per hectare | -16.9% |
| 2007 | 3.95 tonnes per hectare | +26.1% |
| 2008 | 3.89 tonnes per hectare | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 3.79 tonnes per hectare | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 3.58 tonnes per hectare | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 3.55 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 3.18 tonnes per hectare | -10.5% |
| 2013 | 3.03 tonnes per hectare | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 2.82 tonnes per hectare | -6.9% |
| 2015 | 2.99 tonnes per hectare | +6.2% |
| 2016 | 2.82 tonnes per hectare | -5.7% |
| 2017 | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | -12.9% |
| 2018 | 2.43 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | -13.1% |
| 2020 | 2.06 tonnes per hectare | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 2.34 tonnes per hectare | +13.5% |
| 2022 | 2.28 tonnes per hectare | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 2.36 tonnes per hectare | +3.5% |
| 2024 | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | -1.5% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 2.33 tonnes per hectare is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.55 tonnes per hectare, 91% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 2.33 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.47 tonnes per hectare, 94% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn: Yield gap in Ethiopia 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 | +26.1% | 3.13 tonnes per hectare | 3.95 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.9 tonnes per hectare | 3.13 tonnes per hectare | 4.24 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.9 tonnes per hectare | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | 3.58 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.27 tonnes per hectare | 2.06 tonnes per hectare | 2.36 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More agriculture & rural data for Ethiopia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -20.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3282 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 306.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.93 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7589 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 32.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 32.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.7% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is corn: yield gap in Ethiopia?
- Corn: yield gap in Ethiopia was 2.33 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Mueller et al. (2012); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest corn: yield gap recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.24 tonnes per hectare in 2003.
- What is the lowest corn: yield gap recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.06 tonnes per hectare in 2020.
- How does Ethiopia rank for corn: yield gap?
- Ethiopia ranks 54th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn: yield gap rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from Mueller et al. (2012); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2026); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Corn: Yield gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Yield gaps are the difference between attainable yields and actual yields, measured in tonnes per hectare. Negative values have been replaced by zero, meaning that the attainable yield has been reached.