Yields of key staple crops in Australia
Australia: Yields of key staple crops was 2.61 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.61 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 2.1%
World rank
78th
of 126 countries
All-time high
3.19 tonnes per hectare
in 2022
All-time low
0.7705 tonnes per hectare
in 1982
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yields of key staple crops in Australia, 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
In 2024, yields of key staple crops in Australia stood at 2.61 tonnes per hectare.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and up 36.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of key staple crops in Australia peaked at 3.19 tonnes per hectare in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.7705 tonnes per hectare, in 1982.
That places Australia 78th out of 126 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.
Yields of key staple crops in Australia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | +11.0% |
| 1963 | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | +6.8% |
| 1964 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1965 | 0.997 tonnes per hectare | -28.0% |
| 1966 | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | +51.2% |
| 1967 | 0.831 tonnes per hectare | -44.9% |
| 1968 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | +64.3% |
| 1969 | 1.11 tonnes per hectare | -18.5% |
| 1970 | 1.22 tonnes per hectare | +9.5% |
| 1971 | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 1972 | 0.8666 tonnes per hectare | -28.1% |
| 1973 | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | +54.6% |
| 1974 | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | -5.9% |
| 1977 | 0.9413 tonnes per hectare | -28.6% |
| 1978 | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | +87.5% |
| 1979 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | -17.8% |
| 1980 | 0.9622 tonnes per hectare | -33.7% |
| 1981 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | +43.1% |
| 1982 | 0.7705 tonnes per hectare | -44.0% |
| 1983 | 1.7 tonnes per hectare | +121.0% |
| 1984 | 1.55 tonnes per hectare | -9.2% |
| 1985 | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | -11.4% |
| 1986 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | -5.7% |
| 1988 | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | +15.7% |
| 1989 | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | -10.1% |
| 1992 | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | +21.2% |
| 1993 | 1.97 tonnes per hectare | +10.4% |
| 1994 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | -42.2% |
| 1995 | 1.79 tonnes per hectare | +57.6% |
| 1996 | 2.1 tonnes per hectare | +17.1% |
| 1997 | 1.84 tonnes per hectare | -12.2% |
| 1998 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 2.01 tonnes per hectare | +7.9% |
| 2000 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | -9.3% |
| 2001 | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | +15.7% |
| 2002 | 0.907 tonnes per hectare | -57.0% |
| 2003 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +120.5% |
| 2004 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | -18.3% |
| 2005 | 2.02 tonnes per hectare | +23.6% |
| 2006 | 0.9173 tonnes per hectare | -54.6% |
| 2007 | 1.08 tonnes per hectare | +17.6% |
| 2008 | 1.58 tonnes per hectare | +46.7% |
| 2009 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 2.03 tonnes per hectare | +29.1% |
| 2011 | 2.15 tonnes per hectare | +6.0% |
| 2012 | 1.76 tonnes per hectare | -18.1% |
| 2013 | 2.01 tonnes per hectare | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 1.92 tonnes per hectare | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 1.97 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 2.61 tonnes per hectare | +32.2% |
| 2017 | 1.92 tonnes per hectare | -26.5% |
| 2018 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | -13.2% |
| 2020 | 2.52 tonnes per hectare | +72.0% |
| 2021 | 2.85 tonnes per hectare | +12.8% |
| 2022 | 3.19 tonnes per hectare | +12.0% |
| 2023 | 2.67 tonnes per hectare | -16.3% |
| 2024 | 2.61 tonnes per hectare | -2.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.61 tonnes per hectare is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.69 tonnes per hectare, 56% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.61 tonnes per hectare is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.03 tonnes per hectare, 1.3× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.21 tonnes per hectare | 0.831 tonnes per hectare | 1.51 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.29 tonnes per hectare | 0.8666 tonnes per hectare | 1.77 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | 0.7705 tonnes per hectare | 1.7 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.76 tonnes per hectare | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | 2.1 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.56 tonnes per hectare | 0.907 tonnes per hectare | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | 2.61 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.77 tonnes per hectare | 2.52 tonnes per hectare | 3.19 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of key staple crops in Australia?
- Yields of key staple crops in Australia was 2.61 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 yields of key staple crops recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.19 tonnes per hectare in 2022.
- What is the lowest yields of key staple crops recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7705 tonnes per hectare in 1982.
- How does Australia rank for yields of key staple crops?
- Australia ranks 78th out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of key staple crops rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 Yields of key staple crops. 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.