Sorghum — Area harvested in Southern Africa

Southern Africa: Sorghum — Area harvested was 109,981 ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
109,981 ha
Change on year
up 8.0%
Rank
22nd
of 28 groups
All-time high
909,186 ha
in 1967
All-time low
101,856 ha
in 2023
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Sorghum — Area harvested in Southern Africa, 1961–2024

200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.

Analysis

Southern Africa recorded 109,981 ha for sorghum — area harvested in 2024.

The figure is up 8.0% on the previous year and down 41.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sorghum — area harvested in Southern Africa peaked at 909,186 ha in 1967 and was at its lowest, 101,856 ha, in 2023.

Southern Africa ranks 22nd of 28 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Sorghum — Area harvested in Southern Africa, year by year

Annual values for Sorghum — Area harvested in Southern Africa, 1961 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1961 618,000 ha
1962 399,000 ha -35.4%
1963 626,000 ha +56.9%
1964 494,000 ha -21.1%
1965 592,507 ha +19.9%
1966 596,194 ha +0.6%
1967 909,186 ha +52.5%
1968 420,895 ha -53.7%
1969 460,076 ha +9.3%
1970 573,271 ha +24.6%
1971 649,723 ha +13.3%
1972 471,116 ha -27.5%
1973 369,554 ha -21.6%
1974 526,027 ha +42.3%
1975 437,228 ha -16.9%
1976 386,065 ha -11.7%
1977 453,492 ha +17.5%
1978 442,287 ha -2.5%
1979 373,842 ha -15.5%
1980 487,021 ha +30.3%
1981 432,984 ha -11.1%
1982 333,512 ha -23.0%
1983 360,461 ha +8.1%
1984 461,140 ha +27.9%
1985 545,887 ha +18.4%
1986 570,929 ha +4.6%
1987 619,809 ha +8.6%
1988 680,902 ha +9.9%
1989 504,663 ha -25.9%
1990 419,363 ha -16.9%
1991 309,491 ha -26.2%
1992 301,197 ha -2.7%
1993 383,018 ha +27.2%
1994 516,150 ha +34.8%
1995 290,288 ha -43.8%
1996 418,782 ha +44.3%
1997 291,989 ha -30.3%
1998 194,530 ha -33.4%
1999 197,412 ha +1.5%
2000 222,596 ha +12.8%
2001 202,233 ha -9.1%
2002 163,618 ha -19.1%
2003 222,259 ha +35.8%
2004 234,549 ha +5.5%
2005 181,369 ha -22.7%
2006 147,287 ha -18.8%
2007 175,644 ha +19.3%
2008 176,726 ha +0.6%
2009 181,868 ha +2.9%
2010 198,739 ha +9.3%
2011 158,782 ha -20.1%
2012 125,690 ha -20.8%
2013 141,921 ha +12.9%
2014 188,547 ha +32.9%
2015 195,060 ha +3.5%
2016 139,797 ha -28.3%
2017 127,589 ha -8.7%
2018 249,683 ha +95.7%
2019 153,777 ha -38.4%
2020 173,809 ha +13.0%
2021 109,071 ha -37.2%
2022 112,847 ha +3.5%
2023 101,856 ha -9.7%
2024 109,981 ha +8.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 568,429 ha 399,000 ha 909,186 ha 9
1970s 468,260 ha 369,554 ha 649,723 ha 10
1980s 499,731 ha 333,512 ha 680,902 ha 10
1990s 332,222 ha 194,530 ha 516,150 ha 10
2000s 190,815 ha 147,287 ha 234,549 ha 10
2010s 167,958 ha 125,690 ha 249,683 ha 10
2020s 121,513 ha 101,856 ha 173,809 ha 5

Countries ranked near Southern Africa

  1. 19 Ethiopia PDR 461,270 ha compare
  2. 20 Ghana 380,192 ha compare
  3. 21 Yemen 333,017 ha compare
  4. 22 Togo 320,000 ha compare
  5. 22 Uganda 320,000 ha compare
  6. 24 Eritrea 270,000 ha compare
  7. 25 Senegal 260,000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Southern Africa

All data for Southern Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is sorghum — area harvested in Southern Africa?
Sorghum — area harvested in Southern Africa was 109,981 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest sorghum — area harvested recorded in Southern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 909,186 ha in 1967.
What is the lowest sorghum — area harvested recorded in Southern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 101,856 ha in 2023.
How does Southern Africa rank for sorghum — area harvested?
Southern Africa ranks 22nd out of 28 groups with data for 2024.
Is sorghum — area harvested rising or falling in Southern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Southern Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sorghum — Area harvested. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Sorghum — Area harvested in Southern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/sorghum-area-harvested/southern-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/sorghum-area-harvested/southern-africa/">Sorghum — Area harvested in Southern Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Sorghum — Area harvested
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
163 places, 8,610 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

Crop and livestock statistics are recorded for 278 products, covering the following categories: 1) CROPS PRIMARY: Cereals, Citrus Fruit, Fibre Crops, Fruit, Oil Crops, Oil Crops and Cakes in Oil Equivalent, Pulses, Roots and Tubers, Sugar Crops, Treenuts and Vegetables. Data are expressed in terms of area harvested, production quantity and yield. Cereals: Area and production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed or silage or used for grazing are therefore excluded. 2) CROPS PROCESSED: Beer of barley; Cotton lint; Cottonseed; Margarine, short; Molasses; Oil, coconut (copra); Oil, cottonseed; Oil, groundnut; Oil, linseed; Oil, maize; Oil, olive, virgin; Oil, palm; Oil, palm kernel; Oil, rapeseed; Oil, safflower; Oil, sesame; Oil, soybean; Oil, sunflower; Palm kernels; Sugar Raw Centrifugal; Wine. 3) LIVE ANIMALS: Animals live n.e.s.; Asses; Beehives; Buffaloes; Camelids, other; Camels; Cattle; Chickens; Ducks; Geese and guinea fowls; Goats; Horses; Mules; Pigeons, other birds; Pigs; Rabbits and hares; Rodents, other; Sheep; Turkeys. 4) LIVESTOCK PRIMARY: Beeswax; Eggs (various types); Hides buffalo, fresh; Hides, cattle, fresh; Honey, natural; Meat (ass, bird nes, buffalo, camel, cattle, chicken, duck, game, goat, goose and guinea fowl, horse, mule, Meat nes, meat other camelids, Meat other rodents, pig, rabbit, sheep, turkey); Milk (buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep); Offals, nes; Silk-worm cocoons, reelable; Skins (goat, sheep); Snails, not sea; Wool, greasy. 5) LIVESTOCK PROCESSED: Butter (of milk from sheep, goat, buffalo, cow); Cheese (of milk from goat, buffalo, sheep, cow milk); Cheese of skimmed cow milk; Cream fresh; Ghee (cow and buffalo milk); Lard; Milk (dry buttermilk, skimmed condensed, skimmed cow, skimmed dried, skimmed evaporated, whole condensed, whole dried, whole evaporated); Silk raw; Tallow; Whey (condensed and dry); Yoghurt.