Rice yields in Kenya
Kenya: Rice yields was 6.55 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
6.55 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 11.4%
World rank
21st
of 124 countries
All-time high
6.55 tonnes per hectare
in 2024
All-time low
1.31 tonnes per hectare
in 2008
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Rice yields in Kenya, 1961–2024
Source: 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 rice yields in Kenya is 6.55 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.4% on the previous year and up 65.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice yields in Kenya peaked at 6.55 tonnes per hectare in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.31 tonnes per hectare, in 2008.
Kenya ranks 21st of 124 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Rice yields in Kenya, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.27 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 2.62 tonnes per hectare | +15.4% |
| 1963 | 2.44 tonnes per hectare | -6.9% |
| 1964 | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 5.68 tonnes per hectare | +130.6% |
| 1966 | 5.87 tonnes per hectare | +3.3% |
| 1967 | 5.63 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 1968 | 5.45 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 1969 | 4.61 tonnes per hectare | -15.4% |
| 1970 | 4.88 tonnes per hectare | +5.8% |
| 1971 | 4.74 tonnes per hectare | -2.8% |
| 1972 | 5.08 tonnes per hectare | +7.2% |
| 1973 | 4.88 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 1974 | 5.06 tonnes per hectare | +3.8% |
| 1975 | 5.09 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 5.78 tonnes per hectare | +13.4% |
| 1977 | 6.18 tonnes per hectare | +7.0% |
| 1978 | 5.67 tonnes per hectare | -8.3% |
| 1979 | 4.31 tonnes per hectare | -24.1% |
| 1980 | 3.94 tonnes per hectare | -8.5% |
| 1981 | 3.94 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 3.94 tonnes per hectare | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 3.94 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 4.05 tonnes per hectare | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 2.67 tonnes per hectare | -34.1% |
| 1986 | 3.15 tonnes per hectare | +17.9% |
| 1987 | 3.1 tonnes per hectare | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 3.57 tonnes per hectare | +15.1% |
| 1989 | 3.99 tonnes per hectare | +11.6% |
| 1990 | 3.1 tonnes per hectare | -22.3% |
| 1991 | 3.88 tonnes per hectare | +25.4% |
| 1992 | 3.54 tonnes per hectare | -9.0% |
| 1993 | 4.15 tonnes per hectare | +17.3% |
| 1994 | 4.36 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 4 tonnes per hectare | -8.2% |
| 1996 | 4 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 3.97 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 4.84 tonnes per hectare | +21.9% |
| 1999 | 3.98 tonnes per hectare | -17.7% |
| 2000 | 3.77 tonnes per hectare | -5.4% |
| 2001 | 3.41 tonnes per hectare | -9.6% |
| 2002 | 3.46 tonnes per hectare | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 3.76 tonnes per hectare | +8.5% |
| 2004 | 3.73 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 3.93 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 2.81 tonnes per hectare | -28.6% |
| 2007 | 2.87 tonnes per hectare | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | -54.5% |
| 2009 | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | +47.9% |
| 2010 | 4.24 tonnes per hectare | +119.2% |
| 2011 | 3.97 tonnes per hectare | -6.4% |
| 2012 | 4.66 tonnes per hectare | +17.6% |
| 2013 | 4 tonnes per hectare | -14.3% |
| 2014 | 3.95 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 3.96 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 3.46 tonnes per hectare | -12.5% |
| 2017 | 2.67 tonnes per hectare | -22.8% |
| 2018 | 4.34 tonnes per hectare | +62.3% |
| 2019 | 6.43 tonnes per hectare | +48.2% |
| 2020 | 6.4 tonnes per hectare | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 5.81 tonnes per hectare | -9.2% |
| 2022 | 4.35 tonnes per hectare | -25.2% |
| 2023 | 5.88 tonnes per hectare | +35.4% |
| 2024 | 6.55 tonnes per hectare | +11.4% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 6.55 tonnes per hectare is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.64 tonnes per hectare, 1.8× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 6.55 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.08 tonnes per hectare, 3.2× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rice yields in Kenya 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | +130.6% | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | 5.68 tonnes per hectare |
| 2010 | +119.2% | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | 4.24 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.11 tonnes per hectare | 2.27 tonnes per hectare | 5.87 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.17 tonnes per hectare | 4.31 tonnes per hectare | 6.18 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.63 tonnes per hectare | 2.67 tonnes per hectare | 4.05 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.98 tonnes per hectare | 3.1 tonnes per hectare | 4.84 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.1 tonnes per hectare | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | 3.93 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.17 tonnes per hectare | 2.67 tonnes per hectare | 6.43 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.8 tonnes per hectare | 4.35 tonnes per hectare | 6.55 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More agriculture & rural data for Kenya
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 16.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 547.24 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6779 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 12.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rice yields in Kenya?
- Rice yields in Kenya was 6.55 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest rice yields recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 6.55 tonnes per hectare in 2024.
- What is the lowest rice yields recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.31 tonnes per hectare in 2008.
- How does Kenya rank for rice yields?
- Kenya ranks 21st out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice yields rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 65.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Rice 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
Yield is the amount produced per unit of land used, measured in tonnes per hectare.