Sorghum yields in Malawi
Malawi: Sorghum yields was 1.05 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.05 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
80th
of 115 countries
All-time high
1.21 tonnes per hectare
in 2020
All-time low
0.143 tonnes per hectare
in 1992
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sorghum yields in Malawi, 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
Malawi recorded 1.05 tonnes per hectare for sorghum yields in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 4.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sorghum yields in Malawi peaked at 1.21 tonnes per hectare in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.143 tonnes per hectare, in 1992.
That places Malawi 80th out of 115 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.
Sorghum yields in Malawi, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.6154 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.6429 tonnes per hectare | +4.5% |
| 1963 | 0.6494 tonnes per hectare | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 0.6548 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 0.6548 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.6522 tonnes per hectare | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 0.6522 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.7368 tonnes per hectare | +13.0% |
| 1969 | 0.7 tonnes per hectare | -5.0% |
| 1970 | 0.717 tonnes per hectare | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 0.7667 tonnes per hectare | +6.9% |
| 1972 | 0.825 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 1973 | 0.8013 tonnes per hectare | -2.9% |
| 1974 | 0.8333 tonnes per hectare | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 0.8333 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.875 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1977 | 0.9231 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 1978 | 0.6667 tonnes per hectare | -27.8% |
| 1979 | 0.6667 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.6667 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.6667 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.6667 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.3016 tonnes per hectare | -54.8% |
| 1984 | 0.6699 tonnes per hectare | +122.1% |
| 1985 | 0.6735 tonnes per hectare | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 0.6476 tonnes per hectare | -3.8% |
| 1987 | 0.4748 tonnes per hectare | -26.7% |
| 1988 | 0.7235 tonnes per hectare | +52.4% |
| 1989 | 0.6722 tonnes per hectare | -7.1% |
| 1990 | 0.5015 tonnes per hectare | -25.4% |
| 1991 | 0.5979 tonnes per hectare | +19.2% |
| 1992 | 0.143 tonnes per hectare | -76.1% |
| 1993 | 0.4921 tonnes per hectare | +244.1% |
| 1994 | 0.3059 tonnes per hectare | -37.8% |
| 1995 | 0.7261 tonnes per hectare | +137.4% |
| 1996 | 0.7196 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 0.4712 tonnes per hectare | -34.5% |
| 1998 | 0.6105 tonnes per hectare | +29.6% |
| 1999 | 0.698 tonnes per hectare | +14.3% |
| 2000 | 0.6687 tonnes per hectare | -4.2% |
| 2001 | 0.6804 tonnes per hectare | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 0.7197 tonnes per hectare | +5.8% |
| 2003 | 0.762 tonnes per hectare | +5.9% |
| 2004 | 0.6446 tonnes per hectare | -15.4% |
| 2005 | 0.2656 tonnes per hectare | -58.8% |
| 2006 | 0.7688 tonnes per hectare | +189.5% |
| 2007 | 0.8593 tonnes per hectare | +11.8% |
| 2008 | 0.8314 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 0.7968 tonnes per hectare | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 0.6094 tonnes per hectare | -23.5% |
| 2011 | 0.8184 tonnes per hectare | +34.3% |
| 2012 | 0.8335 tonnes per hectare | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 0.9647 tonnes per hectare | +15.7% |
| 2014 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 0.8452 tonnes per hectare | -16.5% |
| 2016 | 0.5887 tonnes per hectare | -30.3% |
| 2017 | 0.8696 tonnes per hectare | +47.7% |
| 2018 | 0.7798 tonnes per hectare | -10.3% |
| 2019 | 1.17 tonnes per hectare | +49.7% |
| 2020 | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | -16.1% |
| 2022 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 1.03 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 1.05 tonnes per hectare is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.7162 tonnes per hectare, 1.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 1.05 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9424 tonnes per hectare, 1.1× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Sorghum yields in Malawi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +244.1% | 0.143 tonnes per hectare | 0.4921 tonnes per hectare |
| 2006 | +189.5% | 0.2656 tonnes per hectare | 0.7688 tonnes per hectare |
| 1995 | +137.4% | 0.3059 tonnes per hectare | 0.7261 tonnes per hectare |
| 1984 | +122.1% | 0.3016 tonnes per hectare | 0.6699 tonnes per hectare |
| 1992 | -76.1% | 0.5979 tonnes per hectare | 0.143 tonnes per hectare |
| 2005 | -58.8% | 0.6446 tonnes per hectare | 0.2656 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.6621 tonnes per hectare | 0.6154 tonnes per hectare | 0.7368 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.7908 tonnes per hectare | 0.6667 tonnes per hectare | 0.9231 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6163 tonnes per hectare | 0.3016 tonnes per hectare | 0.7235 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5266 tonnes per hectare | 0.143 tonnes per hectare | 0.7261 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6997 tonnes per hectare | 0.2656 tonnes per hectare | 0.8593 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8488 tonnes per hectare | 0.5887 tonnes per hectare | 1.17 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | 1 tonnes per hectare | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 77 Kazakhstan 1.08 tonnes per hectare compare
- 78 Tanzania 1.07 tonnes per hectare compare
- 79 Nigeria 1.07 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Burkina Faso 1 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Eswatini 1 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Sierra Leone 1 tonnes per hectare compare
- 81 Taiwan 1 tonnes per hectare compare
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sorghum yields in Malawi?
- Sorghum yields in Malawi was 1.05 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 sorghum yields recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 1.21 tonnes per hectare in 2020.
- What is the lowest sorghum yields recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.143 tonnes per hectare in 1992.
- How does Malawi rank for sorghum yields?
- Malawi ranks 80th out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sorghum yields rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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 Sorghum 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.