Corn: Yield gap in Zambia
Zambia: Corn: Yield gap was 3.01 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Corn: Yield gap in Zambia, 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 Zambia stood at 3.01 tonnes per hectare.
The figure is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn: yield gap in Zambia peaked at 3.84 tonnes per hectare in 2001 and was at its lowest, 2.19 tonnes per hectare, in 2015.
Zambia ranks 36th of 115 countries on this measure, 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.45 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 2001 | 3.84 tonnes per hectare | +11.4% |
| 2002 | 3.55 tonnes per hectare | -7.6% |
| 2003 | 3.49 tonnes per hectare | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 3.3 tonnes per hectare | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 3.36 tonnes per hectare | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 2.92 tonnes per hectare | -13.1% |
| 2007 | 2.89 tonnes per hectare | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 2.98 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 3.15 tonnes per hectare | +5.9% |
| 2010 | 2.63 tonnes per hectare | -16.4% |
| 2011 | 2.48 tonnes per hectare | -5.9% |
| 2012 | 2.57 tonnes per hectare | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 2.68 tonnes per hectare | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 2.44 tonnes per hectare | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 2.19 tonnes per hectare | -10.3% |
| 2016 | 2.74 tonnes per hectare | +25.1% |
| 2017 | 2.7 tonnes per hectare | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 3.01 tonnes per hectare | +11.5% |
| 2019 | 2.84 tonnes per hectare | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 2.68 tonnes per hectare | -5.6% |
| 2021 | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 2.79 tonnes per hectare | +5.3% |
| 2023 | 2.92 tonnes per hectare | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 3.01 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 3.01 tonnes per hectare is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.37 tonnes per hectare, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 3.01 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.47 tonnes per hectare, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.29 tonnes per hectare | 2.89 tonnes per hectare | 3.84 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.63 tonnes per hectare | 2.19 tonnes per hectare | 3.01 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.81 tonnes per hectare | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | 3.01 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 33 South Korea 3.07 tonnes per hectare compare
- 34 Luxembourg 3.03 tonnes per hectare compare
- 35 Tanzania 3.02 tonnes per hectare compare
- 37 Congo 2.89 tonnes per hectare compare
- 38 Kyrgyzstan 2.82 tonnes per hectare compare
- 39 Ukraine 2.8 tonnes per hectare compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 65.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0411 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 54.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5408 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is corn: yield gap in Zambia?
- Corn: yield gap in Zambia was 3.01 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.84 tonnes per hectare in 2001.
- What is the lowest corn: yield gap recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.19 tonnes per hectare in 2015.
- How does Zambia rank for corn: yield gap?
- Zambia ranks 36th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn: yield gap rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.