Yields of key staple crops in Zambia
Zambia: Yields of key staple crops was 7.09 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
7.09 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 6.6%
World rank
4th
of 126 countries
All-time high
9.94 tonnes per hectare
in 2008
All-time low
0.99 tonnes per hectare
in 1972
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yields of key staple crops in Zambia, 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
Zambia recorded 7.09 tonnes per hectare for yields of key staple crops in 2024.
The figure is down 6.6% on the previous year and down 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of key staple crops in Zambia peaked at 9.94 tonnes per hectare in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.99 tonnes per hectare, in 1972.
Zambia ranks 4th of 126 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Yields of key staple crops in Zambia, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.6 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | +5.4% |
| 1963 | 2.01 tonnes per hectare | +19.5% |
| 1964 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -26.7% |
| 1965 | 2.28 tonnes per hectare | +54.3% |
| 1966 | 1.98 tonnes per hectare | -13.2% |
| 1967 | 1.66 tonnes per hectare | -16.1% |
| 1968 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | -19.6% |
| 1969 | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | +65.0% |
| 1970 | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | -54.1% |
| 1971 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 1972 | 0.99 tonnes per hectare | -1.0% |
| 1973 | 1 tonnes per hectare | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 2.95 tonnes per hectare | +195.2% |
| 1975 | 3.05 tonnes per hectare | +3.3% |
| 1976 | 4.93 tonnes per hectare | +61.9% |
| 1977 | 3.36 tonnes per hectare | -31.9% |
| 1978 | 3.34 tonnes per hectare | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 3.11 tonnes per hectare | -6.9% |
| 1980 | 4.07 tonnes per hectare | +30.9% |
| 1981 | 3.29 tonnes per hectare | -19.2% |
| 1982 | 3.82 tonnes per hectare | +16.2% |
| 1983 | 3.59 tonnes per hectare | -5.9% |
| 1984 | 3.79 tonnes per hectare | +5.4% |
| 1985 | 3.43 tonnes per hectare | -9.4% |
| 1986 | 5 tonnes per hectare | +45.7% |
| 1987 | 3.74 tonnes per hectare | -25.2% |
| 1988 | 4.25 tonnes per hectare | +13.5% |
| 1989 | 4.72 tonnes per hectare | +11.2% |
| 1990 | 4.39 tonnes per hectare | -6.9% |
| 1991 | 4.38 tonnes per hectare | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 4.1 tonnes per hectare | -6.5% |
| 1993 | 5.07 tonnes per hectare | +23.7% |
| 1994 | 5.27 tonnes per hectare | +3.9% |
| 1995 | 4.87 tonnes per hectare | -7.6% |
| 1996 | 5.58 tonnes per hectare | +14.5% |
| 1997 | 6.62 tonnes per hectare | +18.7% |
| 1998 | 5.67 tonnes per hectare | -14.4% |
| 1999 | 6.98 tonnes per hectare | +23.1% |
| 2000 | 6.21 tonnes per hectare | -11.0% |
| 2001 | 6.67 tonnes per hectare | +7.4% |
| 2002 | 6.25 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 2003 | 6.43 tonnes per hectare | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 6.12 tonnes per hectare | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 6.21 tonnes per hectare | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 5.49 tonnes per hectare | -11.5% |
| 2007 | 6.15 tonnes per hectare | +11.9% |
| 2008 | 9.94 tonnes per hectare | +61.6% |
| 2009 | 5.7 tonnes per hectare | -42.7% |
| 2010 | 6.31 tonnes per hectare | +10.8% |
| 2011 | 6.31 tonnes per hectare | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 6.81 tonnes per hectare | +8.0% |
| 2013 | 6.54 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 7.16 tonnes per hectare | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 6.88 tonnes per hectare | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 6.6 tonnes per hectare | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 7.24 tonnes per hectare | +9.7% |
| 2018 | 5.28 tonnes per hectare | -27.1% |
| 2019 | 6.69 tonnes per hectare | +26.6% |
| 2020 | 7.37 tonnes per hectare | +10.2% |
| 2021 | 6.79 tonnes per hectare | -7.8% |
| 2022 | 7 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
| 2023 | 7.59 tonnes per hectare | +8.5% |
| 2024 | 7.09 tonnes per hectare | -6.6% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 7.09 tonnes per hectare is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.67 tonnes per hectare, 2.7× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 7.09 tonnes per hectare is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.67 tonnes per hectare, 4.3× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Yields of key staple crops in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +195.2% | 1 tonnes per hectare | 2.95 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.8 tonnes per hectare | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | 2.28 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.47 tonnes per hectare | 0.99 tonnes per hectare | 4.93 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.97 tonnes per hectare | 3.29 tonnes per hectare | 5 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.29 tonnes per hectare | 4.1 tonnes per hectare | 6.98 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.52 tonnes per hectare | 5.49 tonnes per hectare | 9.94 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.58 tonnes per hectare | 5.28 tonnes per hectare | 7.24 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.17 tonnes per hectare | 6.79 tonnes per hectare | 7.59 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 65.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0411 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 54.11 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5408 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of key staple crops in Zambia?
- Yields of key staple crops in Zambia was 7.09 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 9.94 tonnes per hectare in 2008.
- What is the lowest yields of key staple crops recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.99 tonnes per hectare in 1972.
- How does Zambia rank for yields of key staple crops?
- Zambia ranks 4th out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of key staple crops rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.