Soybean yields in South Africa
South Africa: Soybean yields was 1.61 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.61 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 33.4%
World rank
64th
of 106 countries
All-time high
2.41 tonnes per hectare
in 2023
All-time low
0.25 tonnes per hectare
in 1972
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Soybean 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 1.61 tonnes per hectare for soybean yields in 2024.
That represents a change of down 33.4% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, soybean yields in South Africa peaked at 2.41 tonnes per hectare in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.25 tonnes per hectare, in 1972.
South Africa ranks 64th of 106 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Soybean yields in South Africa, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.5262 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.5262 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.4718 tonnes per hectare | -10.3% |
| 1964 | 0.4286 tonnes per hectare | -9.2% |
| 1965 | 0.4286 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.4 tonnes per hectare | -6.7% |
| 1967 | 0.3982 tonnes per hectare | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 0.3268 tonnes per hectare | -17.9% |
| 1969 | 0.5467 tonnes per hectare | +67.3% |
| 1970 | 0.5436 tonnes per hectare | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 0.4143 tonnes per hectare | -23.8% |
| 1972 | 0.25 tonnes per hectare | -39.7% |
| 1973 | 0.5111 tonnes per hectare | +104.4% |
| 1974 | 1.65 tonnes per hectare | +222.1% |
| 1975 | 0.9458 tonnes per hectare | -42.5% |
| 1976 | 0.8136 tonnes per hectare | -14.0% |
| 1977 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | +46.0% |
| 1978 | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | +32.9% |
| 1979 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | -35.7% |
| 1980 | 1.41 tonnes per hectare | +38.9% |
| 1981 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | -11.0% |
| 1982 | 0.9749 tonnes per hectare | -22.3% |
| 1983 | 0.9567 tonnes per hectare | -1.9% |
| 1984 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | +16.2% |
| 1985 | 1.73 tonnes per hectare | +56.1% |
| 1986 | 1.26 tonnes per hectare | -27.2% |
| 1987 | 1.06 tonnes per hectare | -16.3% |
| 1988 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | +54.4% |
| 1989 | 1.79 tonnes per hectare | +9.4% |
| 1990 | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | +8.5% |
| 1991 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | -25.3% |
| 1992 | 0.7578 tonnes per hectare | -47.7% |
| 1993 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | +96.8% |
| 1994 | 1.15 tonnes per hectare | -23.1% |
| 1995 | 0.8954 tonnes per hectare | -22.0% |
| 1996 | 1.18 tonnes per hectare | +31.4% |
| 1997 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | +17.3% |
| 1998 | 1.72 tonnes per hectare | +24.6% |
| 1999 | 1.52 tonnes per hectare | -11.3% |
| 2000 | 1.64 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 2001 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 1.8 tonnes per hectare | +6.5% |
| 2003 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | -24.1% |
| 2004 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | +19.5% |
| 2005 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +11.5% |
| 2006 | 1.76 tonnes per hectare | -3.0% |
| 2007 | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | -36.4% |
| 2008 | 1.71 tonnes per hectare | +52.2% |
| 2009 | 2.17 tonnes per hectare | +27.3% |
| 2010 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | -16.3% |
| 2011 | 1.7 tonnes per hectare | -6.5% |
| 2012 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | -18.9% |
| 2013 | 1.52 tonnes per hectare | +10.3% |
| 2014 | 1.89 tonnes per hectare | +24.1% |
| 2015 | 1.56 tonnes per hectare | -17.4% |
| 2016 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -5.2% |
| 2017 | 2.29 tonnes per hectare | +55.4% |
| 2018 | 1.96 tonnes per hectare | -14.7% |
| 2019 | 1.6 tonnes per hectare | -18.1% |
| 2020 | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 2.29 tonnes per hectare | +29.8% |
| 2022 | 2.41 tonnes per hectare | +5.1% |
| 2023 | 2.41 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 1.61 tonnes per hectare | -33.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.61 tonnes per hectare is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.93 tonnes per hectare, 83% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.61 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.05 tonnes per hectare, 1.5× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Soybean 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +222.1% | 0.5111 tonnes per hectare | 1.65 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4503 tonnes per hectare | 0.3268 tonnes per hectare | 0.5467 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.8907 tonnes per hectare | 0.25 tonnes per hectare | 1.65 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | 0.9567 tonnes per hectare | 1.79 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | 0.7578 tonnes per hectare | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.67 tonnes per hectare | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | 2.17 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.72 tonnes per hectare | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | 2.29 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1 tonnes per hectare | 1.61 tonnes per hectare | 2.41 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 soybean yields in South Africa?
- Soybean yields in South Africa was 1.61 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 soybean yields recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.41 tonnes per hectare in 2023.
- What is the lowest soybean yields recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.25 tonnes per hectare in 1972.
- How does South Africa rank for soybean yields?
- South Africa ranks 64th out of 106 countries with data for 2024.
- Is soybean yields rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. 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 Soybean 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.