Corn production in South Africa
South Africa: Corn production was 12.85 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
12.85 million tonnes
Change on year
down 21.8%
World rank
12th
of 176 countries
All-time high
17.55 million tonnes
in 2017
All-time low
3.28 million tonnes
in 1992
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Corn production in South Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 12.85 million tonnes for corn production in 2024.
The figure is down 21.8% on the previous year and down 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, corn production in South Africa peaked at 17.55 million tonnes in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3.28 million tonnes, in 1992.
South Africa ranks 12th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Corn production in South Africa, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5.29 million tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 6.02 million tonnes | +13.8% |
| 1963 | 6.13 million tonnes | +1.7% |
| 1964 | 4.31 million tonnes | -29.7% |
| 1965 | 4.61 million tonnes | +6.9% |
| 1966 | 5.16 million tonnes | +12.0% |
| 1967 | 9.80 million tonnes | +89.9% |
| 1968 | 5.36 million tonnes | -45.3% |
| 1969 | 5.38 million tonnes | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 6.18 million tonnes | +14.9% |
| 1971 | 8.64 million tonnes | +39.9% |
| 1972 | 9.53 million tonnes | +10.2% |
| 1973 | 4.20 million tonnes | -55.9% |
| 1974 | 11.08 million tonnes | +163.8% |
| 1975 | 9.14 million tonnes | -17.5% |
| 1976 | 7.52 million tonnes | -17.7% |
| 1977 | 9.79 million tonnes | +30.3% |
| 1978 | 10.21 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1979 | 8.47 million tonnes | -17.0% |
| 1980 | 11.04 million tonnes | +30.3% |
| 1981 | 14.87 million tonnes | +34.7% |
| 1982 | 8.78 million tonnes | -41.0% |
| 1983 | 4.40 million tonnes | -49.9% |
| 1984 | 4.80 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 1985 | 8.44 million tonnes | +76.0% |
| 1986 | 8.60 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 7.89 million tonnes | -8.3% |
| 1988 | 7.67 million tonnes | -2.8% |
| 1989 | 12.48 million tonnes | +62.7% |
| 1990 | 9.18 million tonnes | -26.4% |
| 1991 | 8.61 million tonnes | -6.2% |
| 1992 | 3.28 million tonnes | -62.0% |
| 1993 | 10.00 million tonnes | +205.1% |
| 1994 | 13.28 million tonnes | +32.8% |
| 1995 | 4.87 million tonnes | -63.3% |
| 1996 | 10.17 million tonnes | +109.0% |
| 1997 | 10.14 million tonnes | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 7.69 million tonnes | -24.1% |
| 1999 | 7.95 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 11.43 million tonnes | +43.9% |
| 2001 | 7.77 million tonnes | -32.0% |
| 2002 | 10.08 million tonnes | +29.6% |
| 2003 | 9.71 million tonnes | -3.7% |
| 2004 | 9.71 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 11.72 million tonnes | +20.7% |
| 2006 | 6.94 million tonnes | -40.8% |
| 2007 | 7.12 million tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 12.70 million tonnes | +78.2% |
| 2009 | 12.05 million tonnes | -5.1% |
| 2010 | 12.81 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2011 | 10.36 million tonnes | -19.2% |
| 2012 | 12.12 million tonnes | +17.0% |
| 2013 | 11.81 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 14.25 million tonnes | +20.7% |
| 2015 | 10.63 million tonnes | -25.4% |
| 2016 | 8.21 million tonnes | -22.7% |
| 2017 | 17.55 million tonnes | +113.7% |
| 2018 | 13.10 million tonnes | -25.3% |
| 2019 | 11.82 million tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2020 | 15.84 million tonnes | +34.0% |
| 2021 | 16.32 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 15.47 million tonnes | -5.2% |
| 2023 | 16.43 million tonnes | +6.2% |
| 2024 | 12.85 million tonnes | -21.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 12.85 million tonnes is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 246,650 tonnes, 52.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 12.85 million tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 590,000 tonnes, 21.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Corn production in South Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +205.1% | 3.28 million tonnes | 10.00 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.78 million tonnes | 4.31 million tonnes | 9.80 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 8.48 million tonnes | 4.20 million tonnes | 11.08 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.90 million tonnes | 4.40 million tonnes | 14.87 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.52 million tonnes | 3.28 million tonnes | 13.28 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.92 million tonnes | 6.94 million tonnes | 12.70 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.27 million tonnes | 8.21 million tonnes | 17.55 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.38 million tonnes | 12.85 million tonnes | 16.43 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is corn production in South Africa?
- Corn production in South Africa was 12.85 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 17.55 million tonnes in 2017.
- What is the lowest corn production recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.28 million tonnes in 1992.
- How does South Africa rank for corn production?
- South Africa ranks 12th out of 176 countries with data for 2024.
- Is corn production rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.