Yields of key staple crops in Zambia
Zambia: Yields of key staple crops was 7.09 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
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 125 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
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
- 1 New Zealand 10.01 tonnes per hectare compare
- 3 United Kingdom 7.28 tonnes per hectare compare
- 5 Germany 7.08 tonnes per hectare compare
- 6 Namibia 7.07 tonnes per hectare compare
- 7 Denmark 7.04 tonnes per hectare compare
More agriculture & rural data for Zambia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.19 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.1% (2025)
- Rural population 11.85 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.9% (2025)
- Rural population 54.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.1% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.1% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.56 million hectares (2023)
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 125 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.