Rice production by region in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Rice production by region was 4.70 million tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
4.70 million tonnes
Change on year
up 4.1%
World rank
19th
of 143 countries
All-time high
5.15 million tonnes
in 2021
All-time low
764,158 tonnes
in 1965
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Rice production by region in Sri Lanka, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 4.70 million tonnes for rice production by region in 2024.
The figure is up 4.1% on the previous year and up 39.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rice production by region in Sri Lanka peaked at 5.15 million tonnes in 2021 and was at its lowest, 764,158 tonnes, in 1965.
That places Sri Lanka 19th out of 143 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.
Rice production by region in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 923,024 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 1.03 million tonnes | +11.5% |
| 1963 | 1.05 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 1.07 million tonnes | +2.7% |
| 1965 | 764,158 tonnes | -28.9% |
| 1966 | 980,746 tonnes | +28.3% |
| 1967 | 1.16 million tonnes | +18.1% |
| 1968 | 1.36 million tonnes | +17.4% |
| 1969 | 1.38 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 1.62 million tonnes | +17.4% |
| 1971 | 1.40 million tonnes | -13.6% |
| 1972 | 1.31 million tonnes | -6.0% |
| 1973 | 1.31 million tonnes | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 1.60 million tonnes | +22.1% |
| 1975 | 1.15 million tonnes | -28.0% |
| 1976 | 1.25 million tonnes | +8.5% |
| 1977 | 1.68 million tonnes | +33.9% |
| 1978 | 1.89 million tonnes | +12.7% |
| 1979 | 1.92 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 2.13 million tonnes | +11.3% |
| 1981 | 2.23 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 1982 | 2.16 million tonnes | -3.3% |
| 1983 | 2.48 million tonnes | +15.2% |
| 1984 | 2.42 million tonnes | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 2.66 million tonnes | +10.0% |
| 1986 | 2.59 million tonnes | -2.7% |
| 1987 | 2.13 million tonnes | -17.8% |
| 1988 | 2.48 million tonnes | +16.4% |
| 1989 | 2.06 million tonnes | -16.7% |
| 1990 | 2.54 million tonnes | +23.0% |
| 1991 | 2.39 million tonnes | -5.9% |
| 1992 | 2.34 million tonnes | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 2.57 million tonnes | +9.8% |
| 1994 | 2.68 million tonnes | +4.4% |
| 1995 | 2.81 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1996 | 2.06 million tonnes | -26.6% |
| 1997 | 2.24 million tonnes | +8.6% |
| 1998 | 2.69 million tonnes | +20.2% |
| 1999 | 2.86 million tonnes | +6.1% |
| 2000 | 2.86 million tonnes | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 2.70 million tonnes | -5.8% |
| 2002 | 2.86 million tonnes | +6.1% |
| 2003 | 3.07 million tonnes | +7.4% |
| 2004 | 2.63 million tonnes | -14.4% |
| 2005 | 3.25 million tonnes | +23.5% |
| 2006 | 3.34 million tonnes | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 3.13 million tonnes | -6.3% |
| 2008 | 3.88 million tonnes | +23.8% |
| 2009 | 3.65 million tonnes | -5.8% |
| 2010 | 4.30 million tonnes | +17.8% |
| 2011 | 3.89 million tonnes | -9.4% |
| 2012 | 3.85 million tonnes | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 4.62 million tonnes | +20.2% |
| 2014 | 3.38 million tonnes | -26.8% |
| 2015 | 4.82 million tonnes | +42.5% |
| 2016 | 4.42 million tonnes | -8.3% |
| 2017 | 2.38 million tonnes | -46.1% |
| 2018 | 3.93 million tonnes | +64.9% |
| 2019 | 4.59 million tonnes | +16.9% |
| 2020 | 5.12 million tonnes | +11.5% |
| 2021 | 5.15 million tonnes | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 3.39 million tonnes | -34.1% |
| 2023 | 4.51 million tonnes | +33.0% |
| 2024 | 4.70 million tonnes | +4.1% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 4.70 million tonnes is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 225,923 tonnes, 20.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 4.70 million tonnes is below the median for South Asia, which is 5.96 million tonnes, 79% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.08 million tonnes | 764,158 tonnes | 1.38 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.51 million tonnes | 1.15 million tonnes | 1.92 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.33 million tonnes | 2.06 million tonnes | 2.66 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.52 million tonnes | 2.06 million tonnes | 2.86 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.14 million tonnes | 2.63 million tonnes | 3.88 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.02 million tonnes | 2.38 million tonnes | 4.82 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.58 million tonnes | 3.39 million tonnes | 5.15 million tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More reference data data for Sri Lanka
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.316 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1784 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.539 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1604 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9713 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rice production by region in Sri Lanka?
- Rice production by region in Sri Lanka was 4.70 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 rice production by region recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 5.15 million tonnes in 2021.
- What is the lowest rice production by region recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 764,158 tonnes in 1965.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for rice production by region?
- Sri Lanka ranks 19th out of 143 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rice production by region rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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 Rice production by region. 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
Rice production is measured in tonnes per year.