Rice yields in Zambia
Zambia: Rice yields was 1.06 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.06 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 16.4%
World rank
115th
of 124 countries
All-time high
1.8 tonnes per hectare
in 2011
All-time low
0.393 tonnes per hectare
in 1968
Years of data
57
1968–2024
Rice yields in Zambia, 1968–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
In 2024, rice yields in Zambia stood at 1.06 tonnes per hectare.
The figure is down 16.4% on the previous year and down 29.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice yields in Zambia peaked at 1.8 tonnes per hectare in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.393 tonnes per hectare, in 1968.
That places Zambia 115th out of 124 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
Rice yields in Zambia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 0.393 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1969 | 0.4121 tonnes per hectare | +4.9% |
| 1970 | 0.4079 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 1971 | 0.5529 tonnes per hectare | +35.5% |
| 1972 | 0.7465 tonnes per hectare | +35.0% |
| 1973 | 0.5622 tonnes per hectare | -24.7% |
| 1974 | 0.7139 tonnes per hectare | +27.0% |
| 1975 | 1.03 tonnes per hectare | +44.4% |
| 1976 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +4.7% |
| 1977 | 0.8455 tonnes per hectare | -21.7% |
| 1978 | 0.7697 tonnes per hectare | -9.0% |
| 1979 | 0.5974 tonnes per hectare | -22.4% |
| 1980 | 0.4339 tonnes per hectare | -27.4% |
| 1981 | 0.4985 tonnes per hectare | +14.9% |
| 1982 | 0.8905 tonnes per hectare | +78.6% |
| 1983 | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | +54.2% |
| 1984 | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | -22.7% |
| 1985 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +2.6% |
| 1987 | 0.9486 tonnes per hectare | -11.9% |
| 1988 | 0.9158 tonnes per hectare | -3.5% |
| 1989 | 0.9159 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.9664 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 1991 | 1.09 tonnes per hectare | +12.3% |
| 1992 | 0.5764 tonnes per hectare | -46.9% |
| 1993 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | +75.9% |
| 1994 | 0.8859 tonnes per hectare | -12.6% |
| 1995 | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | +40.3% |
| 1996 | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | +8.2% |
| 1997 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -25.3% |
| 1998 | 0.7059 tonnes per hectare | -29.8% |
| 1999 | 0.9119 tonnes per hectare | +29.2% |
| 2000 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | +24.3% |
| 2001 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | +10.8% |
| 2002 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.44 tonnes per hectare | +14.8% |
| 2004 | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | +23.1% |
| 2005 | 1.29 tonnes per hectare | -27.5% |
| 2006 | 0.9726 tonnes per hectare | -24.4% |
| 2007 | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | +55.5% |
| 2008 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 1.64 tonnes per hectare | +18.5% |
| 2010 | 1.68 tonnes per hectare | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 1.8 tonnes per hectare | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 1.73 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 2013 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -18.0% |
| 2014 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | -15.2% |
| 2017 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 2018 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | +9.4% |
| 2019 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | -15.3% |
| 2020 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | +16.2% |
| 2021 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | -19.4% |
| 2024 | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | -16.4% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 1.06 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.64 tonnes per hectare, 29% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 1.06 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.08 tonnes per hectare, 51% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4026 tonnes per hectare | 0.393 tonnes per hectare | 0.4121 tonnes per hectare | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.7306 tonnes per hectare | 0.4079 tonnes per hectare | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9164 tonnes per hectare | 0.4339 tonnes per hectare | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9738 tonnes per hectare | 0.5764 tonnes per hectare | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | 0.9726 tonnes per hectare | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | 1.8 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | 1.57 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 rice yields in Zambia?
- Rice yields in Zambia was 1.06 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8 tonnes per hectare in 2011.
- What is the lowest rice yields recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.393 tonnes per hectare in 1968.
- How does Zambia rank for rice yields?
- Zambia ranks 115th out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice yields rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 57 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.