Countries by Cereal production (metric tons)

China leads global cereal production with 641,731,705.88 metric tons, nearly 39% more than second-ranked United States at 462,631,789.82 metric tons. At the other end, Malta and Nauru both recorded zero production. The gap between the top and bottom reflects the combined influence of arable land area, population scale, and agricultural infrastructure across 181 ranked countries.

Agriculture category

Ranking 2023

Countries by Cereal production (metric tons)
Rank	Country	Value
1	China	641731705.88
2	United States	462631789.82
3	India	374600068.56
4	Brazil	155877474.39
5	Russia	136708406.91
6	Indonesia	73,966,646
7	Bangladesh	64325662.39
8	France	64,240,810
9	Argentina	62106556.9
10	Ukraine	59307681.94
11	Canada	59240420.77
12	Australia	59,043,989
13	Pakistan	53,188,016
14	Vietnam	47935652.71
15	Germany	42,462,800
16	Türkiye	42,193,311
17	Thailand	38532088.18
18	Mexico	37015878.83
19	Poland	35,183,860
20	Ethiopia	30146269.6
21	Philippines	28465199.05
22	Myanmar	28285634.18
23	Nigeria	28053832.88
24	Egypt	23391009.98
25	United Kingdom	22,047,420
26	Iran	20964153.27
27	Romania	20,784,510
28	South Africa	19009087.33
29	Kazakhstan	17081437.58
30	Italy	15,452,820
31	Hungary	15,039,690
32	Cambodia	14,380,000
33	Tanzania	12789232.32
34	Spain	11,928,280
35	Japan	11498533.52
36	Nepal	11150994.25
37	Serbia	10833519.42
38	Bulgaria	10,345,650
39	Mali	9979190.21
40	Czechia	7,995,530
41	Uzbekistan	7911754.68
42	Belarus	7053123.71
43	Denmark	7,001,960
44	Paraguay	6872271.79
45	Ghana	5765040.5
46	Morocco	5674770.52
47	Lithuania	5,629,750
48	Peru	5504339.39
49	Madagascar	5389921.52
50	Afghanistan	5371824.12
51	Guinea	5292501.76
52	Austria	5,235,050
53	Iraq	5224352.42
54	Niger	5162204.46
55	Burkina Faso	5147923.87
56	Kenya	5146069.64
57	South Korea	5134022.24
58	Colombia	4,987,440
59	Syria	4,878,705
60	Sri Lanka	4,744,648
61	North Korea	4376156.44
62	Sweden	4,328,000
63	Slovakia	4,304,610
64	Laos	4,285,000
65	Senegal	4253209.96
66	DR Congo	4207501.57
67	Sudan	4162153.24
68	Uruguay	3937366.83
69	Cameroon	3859032.66
70	Malawi	3795155.5
71	Zambia	3658965.82
72	Algeria	3589552.61
73	Greece	3,404,050
74	Côte d'Ivoire	3390058.49
75	Uganda	3,380,000
76	Angola	3,335,449
77	Bolivia	3226596.67
78	Croatia	3,191,010
79	Moldova	3177124.1
80	Azerbaijan	3153905.6
81	Finland	3,006,670
82	Belgium	2,754,890
83	Ecuador	2754159.42
84	Benin	2737481.16
85	Latvia	2,715,800
86	Chad	2,643,417
87	Chile	2497164.62
88	Mozambique	2,459,322
89	Guatemala	2184608.77
90	Malaysia	2167306.44
91	Venezuela	2101402.38
92	Ireland	1,879,540
93	Kyrgyzstan	1671536.41
94	Sierra Leone	1536756.31
95	Togo	1514448.12
96	Netherlands	1,499,400
97	Turkmenistan	1468654.8
98	Tajikistan	1369010.55
99	Estonia	1,200,650
100	Saudi Arabia	1192998.83
101	Zimbabwe	1167830.07
102	South Sudan	1,086,000
103	Burundi	1072549.83
104	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,062,500
105	Portugal	1,042,940
106	Dominican Republic	1028927.37
107	Guyana	999,000
108	New Zealand	960177.34
109	Nicaragua	881420.38
110	El Salvador	881,000
111	Rwanda	846384.42
112	Switzerland	809,466
113	Norway	785,000
114	Honduras	773845.23
115	Albania	701314.38
116	Slovenia	666,890
117	Panama	597032.22
118	Mauritania	565667.04
119	Tunisia	541987.78
120	North Macedonia	522971.56
121	Mongolia	470337.11
122	Yemen	435,000
123	Georgia	399752.4
124	Haiti	330,000
125	Eritrea	305240.47
126	Central African Republic	302591.56
127	Guinea-Bissau	299,071
128	Cuba	294460.89
129	Armenia	287928.5
130	Liberia	256,200
131	Israel	232342.59
132	Oman	225,134
133	Libya	207965.31
134	Suriname	203185.3
135	Somalia	178060.22
136	Timor-Leste	168,000
137	Belize	160,169
138	Namibia	153,012
139	Luxembourg	148,070
140	Lesotho	143079.9
141	Lebanon	133417.54
142	Gambia	128972.23
143	Eswatini	87172.99
144	Costa Rica	83,440
145	Botswana	74406.68
146	Jordan	72,666
147	Bhutan	70007.72
148	Palestine	51014.38
149	Cyprus	50,990
150	Gabon	48106.98
151	Kuwait	30954.56
152	Republic of Congo	30358.59
153	United Arab Emirates	22013.6
154	Comoros	19705.44
155	Papua New Guinea	18719.75
156	Fiji	9194.18
157	Iceland	7,679
158	Montenegro	6846.06
159	Trinidad and Tobago	5,326
160	Puerto Rico	3952.42
161	Brunei	3,700
162	New Caledonia	2914.66
163	Solomon Islands	2752.61
164	Jamaica	2,291
165	Qatar	2209.4
166	Mauritius	1,502
167	Vanuatu	983.1
168	Sao Tome and Principe	786.98
169	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	633
170	Bahamas	616.45
171	Cabo Verde	464
172	Grenada	389.98
173	Micronesia	289.36
174	Maldives	205.35
175	Dominica	193.13
176	Antigua and Barbuda	46.25
177	Barbados	41.66
178	Djibouti	17.33
179	Hong Kong	0.06
180	Malta	0
180	Nauru	0

Analysis

This metric measures cereal production in metric tons across 181 countries, drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code AG.PRD.CREL.MT) for the 2023 data year. 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. All values are absolute totals, and higher values indicate greater production. The dataset meets all viability thresholds: 181 countries have data (well above the 80-country minimum), 100% of data points come from the most recent seven-year window, and 100% of values are classified as official data. The dataset contains 30 extreme outliers identified at the three-sigma threshold, and the value range spans 0.00 to 641,731,705.88, a spread of 999%.

The top of the ranking is dominated by large countries with extensive arable land. China (rank 1) produced 641,731,705.88 metric tons, more than the combined totals of ranks 3 through 6. The United States (rank 2) produced 462,631,789.82 metric tons, and India (rank 3) produced 374,600,068.56 metric tons. Brazil (rank 4) at 155,877,474.39 metric tons and Russia (rank 5) at 136,708,406.91 metric tons round out the top five. The next tier includes Indonesia (rank 6, 73,966,646), Bangladesh (rank 7, 64,325,662.39), France (rank 8, 64,240,810), Argentina (rank 9, 62,106,556.90), and Ukraine (rank 10, 59,307,681.94). France and the United Kingdom (rank 25, 22,047,420) are notable as high-producing European nations relative to their land area.

The middle of the ranking shows considerable diversity. Ethiopia (rank 20, 30,146,269.60) is the top-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa, ahead of Nigeria (rank 23, 28,053,832.88) and Tanzania (rank 33, 12,789,232.32). Bangladesh (rank 7, 64,325,662.39) places higher than much larger countries by land area such as Canada (rank 11, 59,240,420.77) and Australia (rank 12, 59,043,989), indicating that intensive rice cultivation drives high output in a small geographic footprint. At the lower end, countries such as Fiji (rank 156, 9,194.18), Montenegro (rank 158, 6,846.06), and Trinidad and Tobago (rank 159, 5,326) produce negligible quantities. Several small island and Gulf states cluster near zero, including Qatar (rank 165, 2,209.40), Mauritius (rank 166, 1,502), and Djibouti (rank 178, 17.33).

Several data limitations apply to this metric. The indicator excludes cereals grown for silage, hay, or grazing, which means countries with large livestock sectors may appear lower than their total cereal cultivation would suggest. Reporting methods and definitions of 'harvested for dry grain' can vary across national statistical agencies, which may introduce inconsistencies between countries. The 30 extreme outliers identified at the three-sigma threshold — most likely the top global producers — can make cross-rank comparisons within lower tiers more meaningful than comparisons between the top producers and the rest. Self-reported national data, even when classified as official, may reflect differences in survey methodology, crop coverage, or timing of estimates.

Methodology

Data are sourced from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code AG.PRD.CREL.MT, for the 2023 data year. The metric measures cereal production in metric tons. Per the source definition: 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. The ranking covers 181 countries, all of which have data within the last seven years (100% recency). All 181 data points are classified as official quality (100%), exceeding the 70% threshold. The dataset exhibits high variance, with values ranging from 0.00 to 641,731,705.88 metric tons (a 999% spread). Thirty extreme outliers were identified using a three-sigma threshold. Average year-over-year change is 29.0%, below the 50% volatility threshold, and 180 of 181 countries (99.4%) have data for the latest year.

Sources

World Bank