Yields of key staple crops in Eswatini
Eswatini: Yields of key staple crops was 1.85 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.85 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
92nd
of 126 countries
All-time high
4.53 tonnes per hectare
in 1971
All-time low
1.43 tonnes per hectare
in 1994
Years of data
55
1970–2024
Yields of key staple crops in Eswatini, 1970–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
The most recent figure for yields of key staple crops in Eswatini is 1.85 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of key staple crops in Eswatini peaked at 4.53 tonnes per hectare in 1971 and was at its lowest, 1.43 tonnes per hectare, in 1994.
That places Eswatini 92nd out of 126 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 55 years of available data.
Yields of key staple crops in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.79 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1971 | 4.53 tonnes per hectare | +62.6% |
| 1972 | 3.08 tonnes per hectare | -32.0% |
| 1973 | 2.94 tonnes per hectare | -4.7% |
| 1974 | 2.94 tonnes per hectare | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | -50.0% |
| 1976 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | +39.1% |
| 1977 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +59.1% |
| 1978 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 3.96 tonnes per hectare | +22.0% |
| 1991 | 2 tonnes per hectare | -49.5% |
| 1992 | 1.68 tonnes per hectare | -16.1% |
| 1993 | 1.61 tonnes per hectare | -4.4% |
| 1994 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | -11.0% |
| 1995 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.56 tonnes per hectare | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | -5.7% |
| 2000 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.54 tonnes per hectare | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 1.54 tonnes per hectare | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.54 tonnes per hectare | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 1.54 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.55 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 1.55 tonnes per hectare | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.68 tonnes per hectare | +12.3% |
| 2012 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +18.7% |
| 2013 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 1.75 tonnes per hectare | -9.8% |
| 2016 | 1.83 tonnes per hectare | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 1.85 tonnes per hectare | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 1.87 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 1.87 tonnes per hectare | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 1.85 tonnes per hectare | -0.2% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 1.85 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.67 tonnes per hectare, 69% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 1.85 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.67 tonnes per hectare, 1.1× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Yields of key staple crops in Eswatini 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | +62.6% | 2.79 tonnes per hectare | 4.53 tonnes per hectare |
| 1977 | +59.1% | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | 3.25 tonnes per hectare |
| 1975 | -50.0% | 2.94 tonnes per hectare | 1.47 tonnes per hectare |
| 1991 | -49.5% | 3.96 tonnes per hectare | 2 tonnes per hectare |
| 1976 | +39.1% | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | 2.04 tonnes per hectare |
| 1972 | -32.0% | 4.53 tonnes per hectare | 3.08 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.95 tonnes per hectare | 1.47 tonnes per hectare | 4.53 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | 3.25 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.83 tonnes per hectare | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | 3.96 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.53 tonnes per hectare | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.83 tonnes per hectare | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 2 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | 1.85 tonnes per hectare | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
More agriculture & rural data for Eswatini
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 5.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0641 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 263.26 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4281 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.7328 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 6.2% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.9% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of key staple crops in Eswatini?
- Yields of key staple crops in Eswatini was 1.85 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 Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 4.53 tonnes per hectare in 1971.
- What is the lowest yields of key staple crops recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.43 tonnes per hectare in 1994.
- How does Eswatini rank for yields of key staple crops?
- Eswatini ranks 92nd out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of key staple crops rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eswatini 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.