Yields of important staple crops in North Korea
North Korea: Yields of important staple crops was 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.2 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 2.3%
World rank
113th
of 126 countries
All-time high
2.51 tonnes per hectare
in 2005
All-time low
0.506 tonnes per hectare
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yields of important staple crops in North Korea, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
The most recent figure for yields of important staple crops in North Korea is 1.2 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 19.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of important staple crops in North Korea peaked at 2.51 tonnes per hectare in 2005 and was at its lowest, 0.506 tonnes per hectare, in 1961.
That places North Korea 113th out of 126 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Yields of important staple crops in North Korea, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.506 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 0.5273 tonnes per hectare | +4.2% |
| 1963 | 0.5697 tonnes per hectare | +8.0% |
| 1964 | 0.6012 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 1965 | 0.5399 tonnes per hectare | -10.2% |
| 1966 | 0.6 tonnes per hectare | +11.1% |
| 1967 | 0.5688 tonnes per hectare | -5.2% |
| 1968 | 0.5613 tonnes per hectare | -1.3% |
| 1969 | 0.5867 tonnes per hectare | +4.5% |
| 1970 | 0.6069 tonnes per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 0.6741 tonnes per hectare | +11.1% |
| 1972 | 0.696 tonnes per hectare | +3.2% |
| 1973 | 0.8522 tonnes per hectare | +22.4% |
| 1974 | 0.9714 tonnes per hectare | +14.0% |
| 1975 | 1.12 tonnes per hectare | +14.9% |
| 1976 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | +7.5% |
| 1977 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +12.7% |
| 1978 | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | -3.5% |
| 1979 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | -13.9% |
| 1981 | 1.34 tonnes per hectare | +15.2% |
| 1982 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | +6.1% |
| 1983 | 1.46 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 1.55 tonnes per hectare | +6.5% |
| 1985 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | -3.8% |
| 1986 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | +6.3% |
| 1987 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -7.0% |
| 1988 | 1.42 tonnes per hectare | -3.8% |
| 1989 | 1.61 tonnes per hectare | +13.4% |
| 1990 | 1.29 tonnes per hectare | -20.1% |
| 1991 | 1.31 tonnes per hectare | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | +2.6% |
| 1993 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | -10.2% |
| 1997 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2.36 tonnes per hectare | +76.8% |
| 1999 | 2.02 tonnes per hectare | -14.3% |
| 2000 | 0.8475 tonnes per hectare | -58.1% |
| 2001 | 2.16 tonnes per hectare | +155.2% |
| 2002 | 2.3 tonnes per hectare | +6.4% |
| 2003 | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 2.5 tonnes per hectare | +7.1% |
| 2005 | 2.51 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 2.49 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 2.44 tonnes per hectare | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 2.4 tonnes per hectare | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 2.26 tonnes per hectare | -5.6% |
| 2010 | 2.19 tonnes per hectare | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 2.02 tonnes per hectare | -8.0% |
| 2012 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -26.6% |
| 2013 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.38 tonnes per hectare | -8.3% |
| 2016 | 1.24 tonnes per hectare | -10.0% |
| 2017 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | -2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.5623 tonnes per hectare | 0.506 tonnes per hectare | 0.6012 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.01 tonnes per hectare | 0.6069 tonnes per hectare | 1.35 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.45 tonnes per hectare | 1.16 tonnes per hectare | 1.61 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.53 tonnes per hectare | 1.29 tonnes per hectare | 2.36 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.22 tonnes per hectare | 0.8475 tonnes per hectare | 2.51 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | 2.19 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.23 tonnes per hectare | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More agriculture & rural data for North Korea
- Rural population 9.52 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.6% (2025)
- Rural population 35.8% (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3581 units per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6454 % change on previous year (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.35 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal production 4.89 million metric tons (2024)
- Milk per animal 2,342 kilograms per animal (2024)
- Seafood production: wild fish catch vs. aquaculture 685,700 metric tons (2024)
- Aquaculture production 685,700 metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of important staple crops in North Korea?
- Yields of important staple crops in North Korea was 1.2 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest yields of important staple crops recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.51 tonnes per hectare in 2005.
- What is the lowest yields of important staple crops recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.506 tonnes per hectare in 1961.
- How does North Korea rank for yields of important staple crops?
- North Korea ranks 113th out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of important staple crops rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Yields of important 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
Harvested production per unit of harvested area for wheat.