Rice yields in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Rice yields was 1.41 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.41 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 6.6%
World rank
109th
of 124 countries
All-time high
2.11 tonnes per hectare
in 2022
All-time low
0.7856 tonnes per hectare
in 2018
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Rice yields in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone is 1.41 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 6.6% on the previous year and down 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice yields in Sierra Leone peaked at 2.11 tonnes per hectare in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.7856 tonnes per hectare, in 2018.
Sierra Leone ranks 109th of 124 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Rice yields in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.9329 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | +32.4% |
| 1963 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 1.41 tonnes per hectare | +12.7% |
| 1965 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | -6.2% |
| 1966 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 1.64 tonnes per hectare | +22.8% |
| 1970 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | -15.8% |
| 1971 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | -5.3% |
| 1972 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | +5.6% |
| 1973 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | +2.7% |
| 1975 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +7.1% |
| 1976 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 1.46 tonnes per hectare | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 1.46 tonnes per hectare | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | -14.3% |
| 1980 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | +4.7% |
| 1983 | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | -5.0% |
| 1984 | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | +27.1% |
| 1985 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | -20.0% |
| 1986 | 1.54 tonnes per hectare | +22.1% |
| 1987 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | -15.6% |
| 1988 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | -2.4% |
| 1989 | 1.28 tonnes per hectare | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 1.28 tonnes per hectare | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | -5.7% |
| 1994 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | -3.0% |
| 1995 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +4.6% |
| 1997 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 1998 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | -11.3% |
| 1999 | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 1.09 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 2001 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -8.0% |
| 2002 | 1 tonnes per hectare | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | +13.1% |
| 2006 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | +26.1% |
| 2007 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | -5.0% |
| 2008 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | +24.5% |
| 2010 | 1.87 tonnes per hectare | +5.1% |
| 2011 | 1.87 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | -15.0% |
| 2013 | 1.87 tonnes per hectare | +17.6% |
| 2014 | 1.62 tonnes per hectare | -13.2% |
| 2015 | 1.44 tonnes per hectare | -11.2% |
| 2016 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | -20.6% |
| 2017 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.7856 tonnes per hectare | -31.6% |
| 2019 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | +100.4% |
| 2020 | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 2.1 tonnes per hectare | +20.6% |
| 2022 | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | -28.5% |
| 2024 | 1.41 tonnes per hectare | -6.6% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 1.41 tonnes per hectare is below the median for low income countries, which is 1.59 tonnes per hectare, 89% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 1.41 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.08 tonnes per hectare, 68% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rice yields in Sierra Leone 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +100.4% | 0.7856 tonnes per hectare | 1.57 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | 0.9329 tonnes per hectare | 1.64 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.39 tonnes per hectare | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.28 tonnes per hectare | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | 1 tonnes per hectare | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | 0.7856 tonnes per hectare | 1.87 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | 1.41 tonnes per hectare | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More agriculture & rural data for Sierra Leone
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2954 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 250 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5407 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 29.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 29.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.4% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rice yields in Sierra Leone?
- Rice yields in Sierra Leone was 1.41 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 2.11 tonnes per hectare in 2022.
- What is the lowest rice yields recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7856 tonnes per hectare in 2018.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for rice yields?
- Sierra Leone ranks 109th out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice yields rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.