Yams — Area harvested in Western Africa

Western Africa: Yams — Area harvested was 10.45 million ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
10.45 million ha
Change on year
up 3.9%
Rank
3rd
of 20 groups
All-time high
10.45 million ha
in 2024
All-time low
861,860 ha
in 1962
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Yams — Area harvested in Western Africa, 1961–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M10.0M196119922024

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

Analysis

Western Africa recorded 10.45 million ha for yams — area harvested in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.9% on the previous year and up 47.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, yams — area harvested in Western Africa peaked at 10.45 million ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 861,860 ha, in 1962.

Western Africa ranks 3rd of 20 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Yams — Area harvested in Western Africa, year by year

Annual values for Yams — Area harvested in Western Africa, 1961 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1961 867,503 ha
1962 861,860 ha -0.7%
1963 976,896 ha +13.3%
1964 1.03 million ha +5.9%
1965 1.07 million ha +3.3%
1966 1.10 million ha +2.9%
1967 1.14 million ha +4.0%
1968 1.47 million ha +28.6%
1969 1.47 million ha +0.2%
1970 1.71 million ha +16.2%
1971 1.70 million ha -0.8%
1972 1.37 million ha -19.2%
1973 1.40 million ha +2.3%
1974 1.14 million ha -18.6%
1975 1.23 million ha +8.1%
1976 1.15 million ha -6.8%
1977 1.05 million ha -8.8%
1978 968,881 ha -7.5%
1979 1.00 million ha +3.5%
1980 982,864 ha -2.0%
1981 1.42 million ha +44.2%
1982 1.47 million ha +3.5%
1983 1.43 million ha -2.3%
1984 1.43 million ha -0.4%
1985 1.40 million ha -1.6%
1986 1.51 million ha +7.6%
1987 1.40 million ha -7.6%
1988 1.55 million ha +10.9%
1989 1.59 million ha +2.9%
1990 1.87 million ha +17.3%
1991 2.35 million ha +25.8%
1992 2.48 million ha +5.5%
1993 2.64 million ha +6.6%
1994 2.73 million ha +3.3%
1995 2.87 million ha +4.9%
1996 2.95 million ha +3.0%
1997 2.99 million ha +1.3%
1998 3.56 million ha +19.0%
1999 3.58 million ha +0.6%
2000 3.64 million ha +1.7%
2001 3.71 million ha +2.1%
2002 3.87 million ha +4.1%
2003 3.93 million ha +1.7%
2004 3.99 million ha +1.4%
2005 4.17 million ha +4.7%
2006 4.23 million ha +1.4%
2007 4.36 million ha +3.1%
2008 4.44 million ha +1.7%
2009 4.22 million ha -4.8%
2010 4.39 million ha +3.9%
2011 5.99 million ha +36.6%
2012 6.10 million ha +1.7%
2013 6.69 million ha +9.8%
2014 7.08 million ha +5.8%
2015 7.21 million ha +1.9%
2016 7.27 million ha +0.8%
2017 7.31 million ha +0.5%
2018 7.56 million ha +3.5%
2019 9.00 million ha +19.0%
2020 9.40 million ha +4.5%
2021 9.84 million ha +4.7%
2022 9.87 million ha +0.3%
2023 10.06 million ha +1.9%
2024 10.45 million ha +3.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 1.11 million ha 861,860 ha 1.47 million ha 9
1970s 1.27 million ha 968,881 ha 1.71 million ha 10
1980s 1.42 million ha 982,864 ha 1.59 million ha 10
1990s 2.80 million ha 1.87 million ha 3.58 million ha 10
2000s 4.06 million ha 3.64 million ha 4.44 million ha 10
2010s 6.86 million ha 4.39 million ha 9.00 million ha 10
2020s 9.92 million ha 9.40 million ha 10.45 million ha 5

Countries ranked near Western Africa

  1. 1 Nigeria 8.02 million ha compare
  2. 2 Ghana 536,529 ha compare
  3. 3 Benin 209,313 ha compare
  4. 4 Togo 109,444 ha compare
  5. 5 Sudan 83,215 ha compare
  6. 6 Cameroon 80,505 ha compare

See the full ranking of 90 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Western Africa

All data for Western Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is yams — area harvested in Western Africa?
Yams — area harvested in Western Africa was 10.45 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest yams — area harvested recorded in Western Africa?
The highest recorded value was 10.45 million ha in 2024.
What is the lowest yams — area harvested recorded in Western Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 861,860 ha in 1962.
How does Western Africa rank for yams — area harvested?
Western Africa ranks 3rd out of 20 groups with data for 2024.
Is yams — area harvested rising or falling in Western Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 47.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Western Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Yams — Area harvested. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Yams — Area harvested in Western Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/yams-area-harvested/western-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Yams — Area harvested
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
90 places, 4,924 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.