Sweet potatoes — Area harvested in Eastern Africa

Eastern Africa: Sweet potatoes — Area harvested was 1.56 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.56 million ha
Change on year
down 0.7%
Rank
7th
of 26 groups
All-time high
2.13 million ha
in 2017
All-time low
358,500 ha
in 1967
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Sweet potatoes — Area harvested in Eastern Africa, 1961–2024

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M196119922024

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

Analysis

In 2024, sweet potatoes — area harvested in Eastern Africa stood at 1.56 million ha.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 22.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sweet potatoes — area harvested in Eastern Africa peaked at 2.13 million ha in 2017 and was at its lowest, 358,500 ha, in 1967.

That places Eastern Africa 7th out of 26 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Sweet potatoes — Area harvested in Eastern Africa, year by year

Annual values for Sweet potatoes — Area harvested in Eastern Africa, 1961 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1961 396,899 ha
1962 436,337 ha +9.9%
1963 442,096 ha +1.3%
1964 435,532 ha -1.5%
1965 427,367 ha -1.9%
1966 388,194 ha -9.2%
1967 358,500 ha -7.6%
1968 380,555 ha +6.2%
1969 540,278 ha +42.0%
1970 725,197 ha +34.2%
1971 799,986 ha +10.3%
1972 841,820 ha +5.2%
1973 779,239 ha -7.4%
1974 899,948 ha +15.5%
1975 980,838 ha +9.0%
1976 1.03 million ha +5.5%
1977 942,154 ha -8.9%
1978 983,064 ha +4.3%
1979 772,776 ha -21.4%
1980 758,215 ha -1.9%
1981 832,358 ha +9.8%
1982 860,671 ha +3.4%
1983 932,745 ha +8.4%
1984 851,169 ha -8.7%
1985 1.04 million ha +22.8%
1986 1.04 million ha -0.7%
1987 1.07 million ha +3.4%
1988 1.02 million ha -4.8%
1989 1.02 million ha +0.1%
1990 1.16 million ha +13.0%
1991 1.15 million ha -0.6%
1992 1.13 million ha -1.8%
1993 1.16 million ha +3.1%
1994 1.12 million ha -3.2%
1995 1.17 million ha +4.0%
1996 1.22 million ha +4.5%
1997 1.24 million ha +1.6%
1998 1.38 million ha +11.0%
1999 1.38 million ha +0.3%
2000 1.54 million ha +11.2%
2001 1.74 million ha +13.0%
2002 1.66 million ha -4.4%
2003 1.44 million ha -13.2%
2004 1.79 million ha +24.1%
2005 1.68 million ha -5.9%
2006 1.73 million ha +2.9%
2007 1.61 million ha -7.1%
2008 1.26 million ha -22.0%
2009 1.81 million ha +43.6%
2010 1.68 million ha -6.9%
2011 1.79 million ha +6.6%
2012 1.72 million ha -4.3%
2013 1.93 million ha +12.3%
2014 2.03 million ha +5.1%
2015 1.99 million ha -1.6%
2016 1.95 million ha -2.3%
2017 2.13 million ha +9.4%
2018 1.84 million ha -13.6%
2019 1.74 million ha -5.3%
2020 1.71 million ha -2.1%
2021 1.76 million ha +3.2%
2022 1.57 million ha -10.7%
2023 1.58 million ha +0.2%
2024 1.56 million ha -0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 422,862 ha 358,500 ha 540,278 ha 9
1970s 875,956 ha 725,197 ha 1.03 million ha 10
1980s 943,362 ha 758,215 ha 1.07 million ha 10
1990s 1.21 million ha 1.12 million ha 1.38 million ha 10
2000s 1.63 million ha 1.26 million ha 1.81 million ha 10
2010s 1.88 million ha 1.68 million ha 2.13 million ha 10
2020s 1.64 million ha 1.56 million ha 1.76 million ha 5

Countries ranked near Eastern Africa

  1. 4 Malawi 314,753 ha compare
  2. 5 Uganda 221,783 ha compare
  3. 6 Angola 200,311 ha compare
  4. 7 Rwanda 179,717 ha compare
  5. 8 Madagascar 150,429 ha compare
  6. 9 Papua New Guinea 142,854 ha compare
  7. 10 India 111,866 ha compare

See the full ranking of 155 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Eastern Africa

All data for Eastern Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is sweet potatoes — area harvested in Eastern Africa?
Sweet potatoes — area harvested in Eastern Africa was 1.56 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest sweet potatoes — area harvested recorded in Eastern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 2.13 million ha in 2017.
What is the lowest sweet potatoes — area harvested recorded in Eastern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 358,500 ha in 1967.
How does Eastern Africa rank for sweet potatoes — area harvested?
Eastern Africa ranks 7th out of 26 groups with data for 2024.
Is sweet potatoes — area harvested rising or falling in Eastern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Eastern Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Sweet potatoes — Area harvested. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Sweet potatoes — Area harvested in Eastern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/sweet-potatoes-area-harvested/eastern-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Sweet potatoes — Area harvested
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
155 places, 8,909 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.