Corn yields in Malawi
Malawi: Corn yields was 2 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
117th
of 171 countries
All-time high
2.65 tonnes per hectare
in 2007
All-time low
0.4802 tonnes per hectare
in 1992
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Corn yields in Malawi, 1961–2024
Source: 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
The most recent figure for corn yields in Malawi is 2 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and down 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn yields in Malawi peaked at 2.65 tonnes per hectare in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0.4802 tonnes per hectare, in 1992.
That places Malawi 117th out of 171 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Corn yields in Malawi, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | +4.3% |
| 1963 | 0.8974 tonnes per hectare | -15.5% |
| 1964 | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | +24.9% |
| 1965 | 0.8725 tonnes per hectare | -22.2% |
| 1966 | 0.9314 tonnes per hectare | +6.8% |
| 1967 | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | +57.8% |
| 1968 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | -30.6% |
| 1969 | 0.9904 tonnes per hectare | -2.9% |
| 1970 | 0.9 tonnes per hectare | -9.1% |
| 1971 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | +31.1% |
| 1972 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | -6.4% |
| 1974 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | +3.5% |
| 1975 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -13.3% |
| 1976 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | +9.8% |
| 1977 | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | +20.3% |
| 1978 | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 1979 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | -7.5% |
| 1982 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | +4.2% |
| 1983 | 1.17 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | +1.7% |
| 1985 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | -8.3% |
| 1987 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 1988 | 1.17 tonnes per hectare | +15.3% |
| 1989 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 0.9993 tonnes per hectare | -15.9% |
| 1991 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | +14.3% |
| 1992 | 0.4802 tonnes per hectare | -57.9% |
| 1993 | 1.53 tonnes per hectare | +219.2% |
| 1994 | 0.9209 tonnes per hectare | -39.9% |
| 1995 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +46.8% |
| 1996 | 1.44 tonnes per hectare | +6.8% |
| 1997 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | -24.1% |
| 1998 | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | +25.1% |
| 1999 | 1.81 tonnes per hectare | +32.1% |
| 2000 | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | -32.0% |
| 2002 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | -11.7% |
| 2003 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | +17.2% |
| 2004 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | -14.7% |
| 2005 | 0.8093 tonnes per hectare | -22.6% |
| 2006 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | +83.0% |
| 2007 | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | +79.2% |
| 2008 | 1.65 tonnes per hectare | -37.9% |
| 2009 | 2.23 tonnes per hectare | +35.0% |
| 2010 | 2.02 tonnes per hectare | -9.5% |
| 2011 | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | +9.5% |
| 2012 | 2.19 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 2.17 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | +7.5% |
| 2015 | 1.66 tonnes per hectare | -29.0% |
| 2016 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -14.5% |
| 2017 | 2.01 tonnes per hectare | +41.9% |
| 2018 | 1.6 tonnes per hectare | -20.3% |
| 2019 | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | +22.3% |
| 2020 | 2.1 tonnes per hectare | +7.0% |
| 2021 | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | +17.5% |
| 2022 | 2.05 tonnes per hectare | -16.9% |
| 2023 | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | -4.2% |
| 2024 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +2.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 2 tonnes per hectare is above the median for low income countries, which is 1.42 tonnes per hectare, 1.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 2 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.27 tonnes per hectare, 1.6× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn yields 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +219.2% | 0.4802 tonnes per hectare | 1.53 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | 0.8725 tonnes per hectare | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | 0.9 tonnes per hectare | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | 0.4802 tonnes per hectare | 1.81 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | 0.8093 tonnes per hectare | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 114 Djibouti 2.04 tonnes per hectare compare
- 115 Nigeria 2.03 tonnes per hectare compare
- 116 Sao Tome and Principe 2 tonnes per hectare compare
- 117 Guadeloupe 2 tonnes per hectare compare
- 119 Antigua and Barbuda 1.96 tonnes per hectare compare
- 120 Afghanistan 1.93 tonnes per hectare compare
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 corn yields in Malawi?
- Corn yields in Malawi was 2 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to 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 yields recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 2.65 tonnes per hectare in 2007.
- What is the lowest corn yields recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4802 tonnes per hectare in 1992.
- How does Malawi rank for corn yields?
- Malawi ranks 117th out of 171 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn yields rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from 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 yields. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average corn yields measured in tonnes per hectare.