Yields of key staple crops in Botswana
Botswana: Yields of key staple crops was 1.14 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.14 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 13.6%
World rank
114th
of 126 countries
All-time high
2.62 tonnes per hectare
in 1990
All-time low
0.6081 tonnes per hectare
in 2019
Years of data
55
1961–2024
Yields of key staple crops in Botswana, 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 Botswana stood at 1.14 tonnes per hectare.
The figure is up 13.6% on the previous year and down 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of key staple crops in Botswana peaked at 2.62 tonnes per hectare in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.6081 tonnes per hectare, in 2019.
Botswana ranks 114th of 126 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 55 years of available data.
Yields of key staple crops in Botswana, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 2.37 tonnes per hectare | -5.3% |
| 1967 | 2.37 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 2.38 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 2.24 tonnes per hectare | -6.2% |
| 1970 | 1.89 tonnes per hectare | -15.3% |
| 1971 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +31.9% |
| 1972 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | -17.3% |
| 1974 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | -1.5% |
| 1975 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | +3.6% |
| 1977 | 2 tonnes per hectare | -5.3% |
| 1978 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 2.62 tonnes per hectare | +30.9% |
| 1991 | 2.23 tonnes per hectare | -14.9% |
| 1992 | 2.15 tonnes per hectare | -3.6% |
| 1993 | 2.07 tonnes per hectare | -3.7% |
| 1994 | 1.99 tonnes per hectare | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 1.91 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 1996 | 1.89 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 1.72 tonnes per hectare | -9.0% |
| 1998 | 1.67 tonnes per hectare | -3.2% |
| 1999 | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | -6.1% |
| 2004 | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | -7.2% |
| 2005 | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | -8.5% |
| 2006 | 1.05 tonnes per hectare | -10.0% |
| 2007 | 0.9 tonnes per hectare | -13.9% |
| 2008 | 0.8 tonnes per hectare | -11.1% |
| 2018 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | +66.5% |
| 2019 | 0.6081 tonnes per hectare | -54.3% |
| 2020 | 1.36 tonnes per hectare | +123.9% |
| 2021 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +10.3% |
| 2022 | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | +46.4% |
| 2023 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | -54.2% |
| 2024 | 1.14 tonnes per hectare | +13.6% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 1.14 tonnes per hectare is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.8 tonnes per hectare, 41% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 1.14 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.67 tonnes per hectare, 69% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Yields of key staple crops in Botswana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +123.9% | 0.6081 tonnes per hectare | 1.36 tonnes per hectare |
| 2018 | +66.5% | 0.8 tonnes per hectare | 1.33 tonnes per hectare |
| 2019 | -54.3% | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | 0.6081 tonnes per hectare |
| 2023 | -54.2% | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | 1.01 tonnes per hectare |
| 2022 | +46.4% | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 2.2 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.43 tonnes per hectare | 2.24 tonnes per hectare | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | 1.89 tonnes per hectare | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 2 tonnes per hectare | 2 tonnes per hectare | 2 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.99 tonnes per hectare | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | 2.62 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | 0.8 tonnes per hectare | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.97 tonnes per hectare | 0.6081 tonnes per hectare | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | 2 |
| 2020s | 1.44 tonnes per hectare | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More agriculture & rural data for Botswana
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.45 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0178 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 138.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.0839 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3204 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.8% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of key staple crops in Botswana?
- Yields of key staple crops in Botswana was 1.14 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 2.62 tonnes per hectare in 1990.
- What is the lowest yields of key staple crops recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6081 tonnes per hectare in 2019.
- How does Botswana rank for yields of key staple crops?
- Botswana ranks 114th out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of key staple crops rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Botswana 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 — 55 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.