Share of cereals allocated to human food in Iran
Iran: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 67.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Iran, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iran recorded 67.5% for share of cereals allocated to human food in 2023.
The figure is up 23.8% on the previous year and up 16.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Iran peaked at 83.4% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 50.4%, in 2019.
Iran ranks 73rd of 192 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 79.4% | — |
| 1962 | 80.0% | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 81.6% | +2.0% |
| 1964 | 83.4% | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 75.4% | -9.6% |
| 1966 | 75.9% | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 76.5% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 76.0% | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 75.8% | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 77.0% | +1.6% |
| 1971 | 75.7% | -1.7% |
| 1972 | 78.5% | +3.6% |
| 1973 | 79.1% | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 75.3% | -4.8% |
| 1975 | 68.0% | -9.6% |
| 1976 | 67.4% | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 66.9% | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 70.3% | +5.0% |
| 1979 | 73.4% | +4.4% |
| 1980 | 73.6% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 69.6% | -5.5% |
| 1982 | 69.2% | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 69.1% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 67.3% | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 67.8% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 69.8% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 69.3% | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 72.5% | +4.6% |
| 1989 | 67.2% | -7.4% |
| 1990 | 66.5% | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 68.2% | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 69.8% | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 70.5% | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 68.0% | -3.5% |
| 1995 | 61.8% | -9.2% |
| 1996 | 63.7% | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 62.9% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 62.9% | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 67.5% | +7.3% |
| 2000 | 68.3% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 63.9% | -6.4% |
| 2002 | 62.1% | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 60.4% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 60.3% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 57.8% | -4.3% |
| 2006 | 56.9% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 56.5% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 62.1% | +9.8% |
| 2009 | 55.6% | -10.5% |
| 2010 | 52.7% | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 57.8% | +9.6% |
| 2012 | 54.8% | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 58.2% | +6.2% |
| 2014 | 53.8% | -7.5% |
| 2015 | 57.4% | +6.7% |
| 2016 | 54.5% | -5.1% |
| 2017 | 54.3% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 52.1% | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 50.4% | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 53.1% | +5.5% |
| 2021 | 59.9% | +12.7% |
| 2022 | 54.5% | -9.0% |
| 2023 | 67.5% | +23.8% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 67.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 55.5%, 1.2× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Iran's 67.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 61.8%, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 78.2% | 75.4% | 83.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 73.2% | 66.9% | 79.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 69.5% | 67.2% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.2% | 61.8% | 70.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.4% | 55.6% | 68.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.6% | 50.4% | 58.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.7% | 53.1% | 67.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
- 70 Cuba 70.7% compare
- 71 Angola 70.5% compare
- 72 Mali 69.9% compare
- 74 Tajikistan 67.2% compare
- 75 Turkmenistan 66.7% compare
- 76 Dominica 66.7% compare
- 76 Trinidad and Tobago 66.7% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Iran
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -25.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1059 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 415.77 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6359 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2262 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 10.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 10.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 3.0% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Iran?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Iran was 67.5% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 83.4% in 1964.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.4% in 2019.
- How does Iran rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Iran ranks 73rd out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran 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 Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.