Sorghum yields in South Africa
South Africa: Sorghum yields was 2.33 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.33 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 16.1%
World rank
41st
of 115 countries
All-time high
4.37 tonnes per hectare
in 2021
All-time low
0.5429 tonnes per hectare
in 1963
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sorghum yields in South Africa, 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
South Africa recorded 2.33 tonnes per hectare for sorghum yields in 2024.
That represents a change of down 16.1% on the previous year and down 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sorghum yields in South Africa peaked at 4.37 tonnes per hectare in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.5429 tonnes per hectare, in 1963.
That places South Africa 41st 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 South Africa, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.6862 tonnes per hectare | -32.8% |
| 1963 | 0.5429 tonnes per hectare | -20.9% |
| 1964 | 0.7022 tonnes per hectare | +29.3% |
| 1965 | 0.8571 tonnes per hectare | +22.1% |
| 1966 | 0.6886 tonnes per hectare | -19.7% |
| 1967 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | +65.2% |
| 1968 | 0.7481 tonnes per hectare | -34.2% |
| 1969 | 0.7804 tonnes per hectare | +4.3% |
| 1970 | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | +48.1% |
| 1971 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | +25.5% |
| 1972 | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | +9.2% |
| 1973 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | -34.5% |
| 1974 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | +96.5% |
| 1975 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | -21.8% |
| 1976 | 1.46 tonnes per hectare | -8.7% |
| 1977 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 2.18 tonnes per hectare | +47.4% |
| 1979 | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | -30.9% |
| 1980 | 2.69 tonnes per hectare | +78.6% |
| 1981 | 2.53 tonnes per hectare | -6.2% |
| 1982 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | -44.4% |
| 1983 | 0.8947 tonnes per hectare | -36.3% |
| 1984 | 1.54 tonnes per hectare | +72.3% |
| 1985 | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | +15.1% |
| 1986 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | -29.2% |
| 1987 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | +34.5% |
| 1988 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +18.3% |
| 1989 | 2.24 tonnes per hectare | +12.2% |
| 1990 | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | -22.4% |
| 1991 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +4.6% |
| 1992 | 0.6178 tonnes per hectare | -66.0% |
| 1993 | 2.16 tonnes per hectare | +249.0% |
| 1994 | 2.29 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 1995 | 2.03 tonnes per hectare | -11.3% |
| 1996 | 3.08 tonnes per hectare | +51.5% |
| 1997 | 2.69 tonnes per hectare | -12.5% |
| 1998 | 2.73 tonnes per hectare | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 2.26 tonnes per hectare | -17.2% |
| 2000 | 3.32 tonnes per hectare | +47.1% |
| 2001 | 2.34 tonnes per hectare | -29.5% |
| 2002 | 3.43 tonnes per hectare | +46.3% |
| 2003 | 2.72 tonnes per hectare | -20.6% |
| 2004 | 2.87 tonnes per hectare | +5.4% |
| 2005 | 3.01 tonnes per hectare | +4.8% |
| 2006 | 2.58 tonnes per hectare | -14.0% |
| 2007 | 2.55 tonnes per hectare | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 2.94 tonnes per hectare | +15.2% |
| 2009 | 3.23 tonnes per hectare | +10.1% |
| 2010 | 2.27 tonnes per hectare | -29.9% |
| 2011 | 2.24 tonnes per hectare | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 2.78 tonnes per hectare | +24.1% |
| 2013 | 2.35 tonnes per hectare | -15.5% |
| 2014 | 3.37 tonnes per hectare | +43.2% |
| 2015 | 1.71 tonnes per hectare | -49.2% |
| 2016 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | -15.0% |
| 2017 | 3.59 tonnes per hectare | +146.9% |
| 2018 | 3.99 tonnes per hectare | +11.3% |
| 2019 | 2.51 tonnes per hectare | -37.0% |
| 2020 | 3.72 tonnes per hectare | +47.8% |
| 2021 | 4.37 tonnes per hectare | +17.5% |
| 2022 | 2.77 tonnes per hectare | -36.6% |
| 2023 | 2.78 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | -16.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 2.33 tonnes per hectare is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.37 tonnes per hectare, 98% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 2.33 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9424 tonnes per hectare, 2.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Sorghum yields in South Africa 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 | +249.0% | 0.6178 tonnes per hectare | 2.16 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.796 tonnes per hectare | 0.5429 tonnes per hectare | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.55 tonnes per hectare | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | 2.18 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.8 tonnes per hectare | 0.8947 tonnes per hectare | 2.69 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.14 tonnes per hectare | 0.6178 tonnes per hectare | 3.08 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.9 tonnes per hectare | 2.34 tonnes per hectare | 3.43 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.63 tonnes per hectare | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | 3.99 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.19 tonnes per hectare | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | 4.37 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sorghum yields in South Africa?
- Sorghum yields in South Africa was 2.33 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.37 tonnes per hectare in 2021.
- What is the lowest sorghum yields recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5429 tonnes per hectare in 1963.
- How does South Africa rank for sorghum yields?
- South Africa ranks 41st out of 115 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sorghum yields rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.