Corn: Yield gap in South Africa
South Africa: Corn: Yield gap was 2.75 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Corn: Yield gap in South Africa, 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
South Africa recorded 2.75 tonnes per hectare for corn: yield gap in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 116.7% on the previous year and up 18.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn: yield gap in South Africa peaked at 5.18 tonnes per hectare in 2001 and was at its lowest, 1.27 tonnes per hectare, in 2023.
That places South Africa 40th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.3 tonnes per hectare | 2.66 tonnes per hectare | 5.18 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.05 tonnes per hectare | 1.76 tonnes per hectare | 4.13 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.92 tonnes per hectare | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | 2.75 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 12.08 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.8% (2025)
- Rural population 23.43 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.8% (2025)
- Rural population 36.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 3.36 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is corn: yield gap in South Africa?
- Corn: yield gap in South Africa was 2.75 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.18 tonnes per hectare in 2001.
- What is the lowest corn: yield gap recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.27 tonnes per hectare in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for corn: yield gap?
- South Africa ranks 40th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn: yield gap rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa 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.