Rice yields in North Korea
North Korea: Rice yields was 4.64 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.64 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 4.7%
World rank
43rd
of 124 countries
All-time high
8.13 tonnes per hectare
in 1993
All-time low
2.46 tonnes per hectare
in 1996
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Rice yields in North Korea, 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
North Korea recorded 4.64 tonnes per hectare for rice yields in 2024.
That represents a change of up 4.7% on the previous year and down 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice yields in North Korea peaked at 8.13 tonnes per hectare in 1993 and was at its lowest, 2.46 tonnes per hectare, in 1996.
That places North Korea 43rd out of 124 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.
Rice yields in North Korea, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.31 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 4.31 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 4.61 tonnes per hectare | +6.8% |
| 1964 | 4.53 tonnes per hectare | -1.6% |
| 1965 | 3.97 tonnes per hectare | -12.5% |
| 1966 | 4.26 tonnes per hectare | +7.3% |
| 1967 | 3.95 tonnes per hectare | -7.1% |
| 1968 | 3.83 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 1969 | 4.42 tonnes per hectare | +15.6% |
| 1970 | 4.39 tonnes per hectare | -0.7% |
| 1971 | 4.54 tonnes per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 4.36 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 1973 | 4.56 tonnes per hectare | +4.5% |
| 1974 | 4.52 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 4.5 tonnes per hectare | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 4.53 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 4.71 tonnes per hectare | +4.0% |
| 1978 | 4.5 tonnes per hectare | -4.4% |
| 1979 | 4.64 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 1980 | 4.07 tonnes per hectare | -12.2% |
| 1981 | 4.54 tonnes per hectare | +11.6% |
| 1982 | 3.14 tonnes per hectare | -30.9% |
| 1983 | 3.2 tonnes per hectare | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 3.4 tonnes per hectare | +6.2% |
| 1985 | 3.28 tonnes per hectare | -3.6% |
| 1986 | 3.7 tonnes per hectare | +13.0% |
| 1987 | 3.44 tonnes per hectare | -7.0% |
| 1988 | 3.3 tonnes per hectare | -4.1% |
| 1989 | 3.4 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 3 tonnes per hectare | -11.8% |
| 1991 | 7.01 tonnes per hectare | +133.6% |
| 1992 | 7.6 tonnes per hectare | +8.5% |
| 1993 | 8.13 tonnes per hectare | +6.9% |
| 1994 | 5.45 tonnes per hectare | -32.9% |
| 1995 | 3.46 tonnes per hectare | -36.4% |
| 1996 | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | -29.0% |
| 1997 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 3.98 tonnes per hectare | +59.2% |
| 1999 | 4.04 tonnes per hectare | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 3.16 tonnes per hectare | -21.8% |
| 2001 | 3.6 tonnes per hectare | +14.0% |
| 2002 | 3.75 tonnes per hectare | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 3.84 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 4.07 tonnes per hectare | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 4.43 tonnes per hectare | +8.9% |
| 2006 | 4.25 tonnes per hectare | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 3.2 tonnes per hectare | -24.6% |
| 2008 | 5.02 tonnes per hectare | +56.6% |
| 2009 | 4.11 tonnes per hectare | -18.2% |
| 2010 | 4.26 tonnes per hectare | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 4.34 tonnes per hectare | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 5.08 tonnes per hectare | +17.0% |
| 2013 | 5.3 tonnes per hectare | +4.4% |
| 2014 | 5 tonnes per hectare | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 4.18 tonnes per hectare | -16.4% |
| 2016 | 5.41 tonnes per hectare | +29.4% |
| 2017 | 5.02 tonnes per hectare | -7.3% |
| 2018 | 4.43 tonnes per hectare | -11.7% |
| 2019 | 6.02 tonnes per hectare | +35.9% |
| 2020 | 4.49 tonnes per hectare | -25.3% |
| 2021 | 4.46 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 4.51 tonnes per hectare | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 4.43 tonnes per hectare | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 4.64 tonnes per hectare | +4.7% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 4.64 tonnes per hectare is above the median for low income countries, which is 1.59 tonnes per hectare, 2.9× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 4.64 tonnes per hectare is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.79 tonnes per hectare, 1.2× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rice yields in North Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +133.6% | 3 tonnes per hectare | 7.01 tonnes per hectare |
| 1998 | +59.2% | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | 3.98 tonnes per hectare |
| 2008 | +56.6% | 3.2 tonnes per hectare | 5.02 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.24 tonnes per hectare | 3.83 tonnes per hectare | 4.61 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.52 tonnes per hectare | 4.36 tonnes per hectare | 4.71 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.55 tonnes per hectare | 3.14 tonnes per hectare | 4.54 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.76 tonnes per hectare | 2.46 tonnes per hectare | 8.13 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.94 tonnes per hectare | 3.16 tonnes per hectare | 5.02 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.9 tonnes per hectare | 4.18 tonnes per hectare | 6.02 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.51 tonnes per hectare | 4.43 tonnes per hectare | 4.64 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 41 Mauritania 4.88 tonnes per hectare compare
- 42 Belize 4.85 tonnes per hectare compare
- 44 Bhutan 4.56 tonnes per hectare compare
- 45 Turkmenistan 4.54 tonnes per hectare compare
- 46 Iran 4.52 tonnes per hectare compare
More agriculture & rural data for North Korea
- Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 35.8% (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6454 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3581 units per person (2025)
- Rural population 9.52 million (2025)
- Cereal yield vs. GDP per capita 3.61 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 4.89 million metric tons (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,610 kg per hectare (2024)
- Aquaculture production 685,700 metric tons (2024)
- Land under cereal production 1.35 million hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rice yields in North Korea?
- Rice yields in North Korea was 4.64 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 North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 8.13 tonnes per hectare in 1993.
- What is the lowest rice yields recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.46 tonnes per hectare in 1996.
- How does North Korea rank for rice yields?
- North Korea ranks 43rd out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice yields rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea 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.