Corn yields in Zambia
Zambia: Corn yields was 2.21 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.21 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 4.0%
World rank
111th
of 171 countries
All-time high
3.03 tonnes per hectare
in 2015
All-time low
0.6333 tonnes per hectare
in 1970
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Corn yields in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 2.21 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 4.0% on the previous year and down 20.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn yields in Zambia peaked at 3.03 tonnes per hectare in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.6333 tonnes per hectare, in 1970.
That places Zambia 111th 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.88 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.8533 tonnes per hectare | -3.0% |
| 1963 | 0.7403 tonnes per hectare | -13.2% |
| 1964 | 0.8354 tonnes per hectare | +12.8% |
| 1965 | 0.875 tonnes per hectare | +4.7% |
| 1966 | 0.939 tonnes per hectare | +7.3% |
| 1967 | 0.9277 tonnes per hectare | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 0.8235 tonnes per hectare | -11.2% |
| 1969 | 0.8046 tonnes per hectare | -2.3% |
| 1970 | 0.6333 tonnes per hectare | -21.3% |
| 1971 | 0.9212 tonnes per hectare | +45.5% |
| 1972 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | +24.1% |
| 1973 | 0.8915 tonnes per hectare | -22.0% |
| 1974 | 1.03 tonnes per hectare | +15.2% |
| 1975 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | +41.6% |
| 1976 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | +13.4% |
| 1978 | 1.7 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | +20.9% |
| 1982 | 1.65 tonnes per hectare | -19.1% |
| 1983 | 1.71 tonnes per hectare | +3.6% |
| 1984 | 1.72 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | +12.1% |
| 1986 | 2.09 tonnes per hectare | +8.4% |
| 1987 | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | -16.6% |
| 1988 | 2.69 tonnes per hectare | +54.0% |
| 1989 | 1.81 tonnes per hectare | -32.7% |
| 1990 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | -20.8% |
| 1991 | 1.71 tonnes per hectare | +19.7% |
| 1992 | 0.7311 tonnes per hectare | -57.3% |
| 1993 | 2.52 tonnes per hectare | +245.1% |
| 1994 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | -40.4% |
| 1995 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -5.6% |
| 1996 | 2.09 tonnes per hectare | +47.1% |
| 1997 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -29.1% |
| 1998 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | -15.5% |
| 1999 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | +10.0% |
| 2000 | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | +28.8% |
| 2001 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | -22.2% |
| 2002 | 1.67 tonnes per hectare | +21.3% |
| 2003 | 1.73 tonnes per hectare | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 1.92 tonnes per hectare | +11.5% |
| 2005 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 2.3 tonnes per hectare | +23.8% |
| 2007 | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 2.24 tonnes per hectare | -3.9% |
| 2009 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | -7.8% |
| 2010 | 2.59 tonnes per hectare | +25.0% |
| 2011 | 2.74 tonnes per hectare | +6.0% |
| 2012 | 2.65 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 2.54 tonnes per hectare | -4.4% |
| 2014 | 2.78 tonnes per hectare | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 3.03 tonnes per hectare | +9.0% |
| 2016 | 2.48 tonnes per hectare | -18.1% |
| 2017 | 2.52 tonnes per hectare | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | -12.3% |
| 2019 | 2.38 tonnes per hectare | +8.0% |
| 2020 | 2.54 tonnes per hectare | +6.7% |
| 2021 | 2.57 tonnes per hectare | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 2.43 tonnes per hectare | -5.5% |
| 2023 | 2.3 tonnes per hectare | -5.2% |
| 2024 | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 2.21 tonnes per hectare is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.04 tonnes per hectare, 1.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 2.21 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.27 tonnes per hectare, 1.7× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn yields in Zambia 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 | +245.1% | 0.7311 tonnes per hectare | 2.52 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8532 tonnes per hectare | 0.7403 tonnes per hectare | 0.939 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | 0.6333 tonnes per hectare | 1.7 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.91 tonnes per hectare | 1.65 tonnes per hectare | 2.69 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.55 tonnes per hectare | 0.7311 tonnes per hectare | 2.52 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.59 tonnes per hectare | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | 3.03 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.41 tonnes per hectare | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | 2.57 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
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 yields in Zambia?
- Corn yields in Zambia was 2.21 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.03 tonnes per hectare in 2015.
- What is the lowest corn yields recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6333 tonnes per hectare in 1970.
- How does Zambia rank for corn yields?
- Zambia ranks 111th out of 171 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn yields rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.