Cereal production in World
World: Cereal production was 1.64 billion metric tons in 2024. ▲ Rising
Cereal production in World, 1961–2024
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in metric tons.
Analysis
World recorded 1.64 billion metric tons for cereal production in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 47.4% on the previous year and down 41.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal production in World peaked at 3.12 billion metric tons in 2023 and was at its lowest, 741.46 million metric tons, in 1961.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 884.41 million metric tons | 741.46 million metric tons | 1.00 billion metric tons | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.18 billion metric tons | 1.00 billion metric tons | 1.35 billion metric tons | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.53 billion metric tons | 1.35 billion metric tons | 1.65 billion metric tons | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.94 billion metric tons | 1.70 billion metric tons | 2.08 billion metric tons | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.24 billion metric tons | 2.03 billion metric tons | 2.52 billion metric tons | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.78 billion metric tons | 2.47 billion metric tons | 2.96 billion metric tons | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.79 billion metric tons | 1.64 billion metric tons | 3.12 billion metric tons | 5 |
More agriculture & rural data for World
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.2% (2024)
- Rural population 42.2% (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 3.46 billion (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.75 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 415.70 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 3,955 kg per hectare (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 137.65 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cereal production in World?
- Cereal production in World was 1.64 billion metric tons in 2024, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest cereal production recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 3.12 billion metric tons in 2023.
- What is the lowest cereal production recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 741.46 million metric tons in 1961.
- Is cereal production rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Cereal production (metric tons). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.