Corn production in North Korea
North Korea: Corn production was 2.30 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
2.30 million tonnes
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
42nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
4.20 million tonnes
in 1991
All-time low
825,000 tonnes
in 1996
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Corn production in North Korea, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for corn production in North Korea is 2.30 million tonnes, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn production in North Korea peaked at 4.20 million tonnes in 1991 and was at its lowest, 825,000 tonnes, in 1996.
That places North Korea 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Corn production in North Korea, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.25 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 1.30 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 1963 | 1.43 million tonnes | +9.6% |
| 1964 | 1.50 million tonnes | +5.2% |
| 1965 | 1.31 million tonnes | -12.6% |
| 1966 | 1.47 million tonnes | +11.4% |
| 1967 | 1.36 million tonnes | -6.8% |
| 1968 | 1.32 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 1969 | 1.62 million tonnes | +22.7% |
| 1970 | 1.61 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 1971 | 1.67 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 1972 | 1.59 million tonnes | -4.5% |
| 1973 | 1.79 million tonnes | +12.2% |
| 1974 | 1.92 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 1975 | 2.00 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 1976 | 2.20 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 1977 | 2.30 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1978 | 2.40 million tonnes | +4.3% |
| 1979 | 2.50 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 2.70 million tonnes | +8.0% |
| 1981 | 2.80 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 1982 | 2.90 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 1983 | 3.00 million tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1984 | 3.20 million tonnes | +6.7% |
| 1985 | 3.30 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 1986 | 3.40 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 3.50 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1988 | 3.60 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 1989 | 3.80 million tonnes | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 4.00 million tonnes | +5.3% |
| 1991 | 4.20 million tonnes | +5.0% |
| 1992 | 3.72 million tonnes | -11.5% |
| 1993 | 3.94 million tonnes | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 3.55 million tonnes | -9.9% |
| 1995 | 1.37 million tonnes | -61.5% |
| 1996 | 825,000 tonnes | -39.6% |
| 1997 | 1.01 million tonnes | +22.9% |
| 1998 | 1.76 million tonnes | +74.1% |
| 1999 | 1.24 million tonnes | -30.0% |
| 2000 | 1.04 million tonnes | -15.7% |
| 2001 | 1.48 million tonnes | +42.5% |
| 2002 | 1.65 million tonnes | +11.3% |
| 2003 | 1.73 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2004 | 1.73 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.63 million tonnes | -5.6% |
| 2006 | 1.75 million tonnes | +7.4% |
| 2007 | 1.59 million tonnes | -9.3% |
| 2008 | 1.41 million tonnes | -11.1% |
| 2009 | 1.71 million tonnes | +20.8% |
| 2010 | 1.68 million tonnes | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 1.86 million tonnes | +10.3% |
| 2012 | 2.04 million tonnes | +9.9% |
| 2013 | 2.00 million tonnes | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 2.35 million tonnes | +17.3% |
| 2015 | 2.29 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 2.20 million tonnes | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 2.20 million tonnes | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 1.88 million tonnes | -14.7% |
| 2019 | 2.57 million tonnes | +36.8% |
| 2020 | 2.21 million tonnes | -13.7% |
| 2021 | 2.30 million tonnes | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 2.30 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.30 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2.30 million tonnes | +0.0% |
North Korea compared with similar countries
- North Korea's 2.30 million tonnes is above the median for low income countries, which is 292,556 tonnes, 7.9× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- North Korea's 2.30 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 345,736 tonnes, 6.7× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn production in North Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +74.1% | 1.01 million tonnes | 1.76 million tonnes |
| 1995 | -61.5% | 3.55 million tonnes | 1.37 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.40 million tonnes | 1.25 million tonnes | 1.62 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.00 million tonnes | 1.59 million tonnes | 2.50 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.22 million tonnes | 2.70 million tonnes | 3.80 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.56 million tonnes | 825,000 tonnes | 4.20 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.57 million tonnes | 1.04 million tonnes | 1.75 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.11 million tonnes | 1.68 million tonnes | 2.57 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.28 million tonnes | 2.21 million tonnes | 2.30 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More reference data data for North Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Burning - Crop residues 3.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Agricultural Soils 1,939 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.838 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 325.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 11.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 1,939 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Burning - Crop 24.3 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is corn production in North Korea?
- Corn production in North Korea was 2.30 million tonnes 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 corn production recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.20 million tonnes in 1991.
- What is the lowest corn production recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 825,000 tonnes in 1996.
- How does North Korea rank for corn production?
- North Korea ranks 42nd out of 176 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn production rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.1%. 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) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Corn production. 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
Corn (maize) production is measured in tonnes.