Top 100 Sweet Potato Producing Countries in 2025
Agriculture · Crops · Roots & tubers
Updated:
Sweet potato production in 2025: who grows the most, and why it matters
2025 figures are not fully consolidated in global statistical systems yet, so this snapshot uses the latest widely published country totals as a proxy for the 2025 ranking.
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the world’s most adaptable staple crops: it tolerates heat, grows on comparatively marginal soils, and delivers high calories per hectare. It also has a unique nutrition profile—orange-fleshed varieties are rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor), while purple varieties contain anthocyanins.
Production rankings tend to be structurally “sticky” (land, agronomy, and diets change slowly), but year-to-year output still moves with rainfall, pest pressure, input costs, and harvested area decisions.
1
China
47.8M t
Large-scale acreage and industrial uses (starch, noodles, feed) support sustained volume.
·Yield: 21,683 kg/ha
2
Malawi
7.45M t
A major food-security crop with widespread adoption of improved varieties.
·Yield: 23,699 kg/ha
3
Tanzania
4.99M t
High volumes driven by broad smallholder coverage; yields vary by zone and rainfall.
·Yield: 7,337 kg/ha
4
Nigeria
3.94M t
Output is supported by scale and demand, but average yields remain comparatively low.
·Yield: 2,611 kg/ha
5
Angola
1.79M t
A resilient staple alongside cassava and maize, expanding with better pest control.
·Yield: 9,516 kg/ha
6
Ethiopia
1.70M t
Strong productivity signal: high yield relative to harvested area.
·Yield: 24,922 kg/ha
7
Indonesia
1.65M t
Stable domestic demand plus suitable agro-climates across multiple islands.
·Yield: 22,042 kg/ha
8
Rwanda
1.33M t
Very high per-capita production; output is central to rural diets and markets.
·Yield: 6,903 kg/ha
9
United States of America
1.31M t
Commercial specialization with high yields and modern storage/handling.
·Yield: 21,178 kg/ha
10
Uganda
1.27M t
Broad smallholder base; yields depend on variety, virus pressure, and rainfall timing.
·Yield: 4,238 kg/ha
| Rank | Country | Production (t) | Yield (kg/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 47,834,921 | 21,683 |
| 2 | Malawi | 7,449,972 | 23,699 |
| 3 | Tanzania | 4,991,861 | 7,337 |
| 4 | Nigeria | 3,943,046 | 2,611 |
| 5 | Angola | 1,788,342 | 9,516 |
| 6 | Ethiopia | 1,697,583 | 24,922 |
| 7 | Indonesia | 1,649,000 | 22,042 |
| 8 | Rwanda | 1,328,750 | 6,903 |
| 9 | United States of America | 1,308,728 | 21,178 |
| 10 | Uganda | 1,267,697 | 4,238 |
Notes: Values are shown as the latest widely published country totals (proxy for a 2025 ranking). Yield is production per harvested hectare.
Chart: Top 20 producers by production volume
Unit: million tons (t / 1,000,000)
Fallback list (if the chart does not load)
Top 20 producers by production (approx., million tons)
- China — 47.83
- Malawi — 7.45
- Tanzania — 4.99
- Nigeria — 3.94
- Angola — 1.79
- Ethiopia — 1.70
- Indonesia — 1.65
- Rwanda — 1.33
- United States — 1.31
- Uganda — 1.27
- Vietnam — 1.23
- Madagascar — 1.14
- India — 1.12
- Brazil — 0.82
- Kenya — 0.78
- Burundi — 0.72
- Papua New Guinea — 0.70
- Japan — 0.67
- Congo (DRC) — 0.57
- North Korea — 0.56
Methodology
This ranking is built from the latest widely published country totals for sweet potato production. Because global agricultural statistics are released with a time lag, the 2025 “snapshot” uses the most recent consolidated year available as a proxy for current structure.
- Metric: production volume (metric tons). Where available, complementary agronomic signals (harvested area and yield) are used for interpretation.
- Proxy logic: the current hierarchy is generally stable; short-term shocks mainly reshuffle mid-table positions rather than overturning top ranks.
- Formatting: values are rounded for readability; charts use million-ton scaling.
- Limitations: official series can be revised; definitions and reporting coverage differ across countries; informal production and post-harvest losses are not fully captured in production totals.
Key insights from the 2025 proxy ranking
- Extreme concentration at the top: China’s output is on a different scale, supported by both food demand and processing industries.
- Africa’s weight is structural, not marginal: Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda illustrate how sweet potato underpins calorie security in multiple food systems.
- Yield and scale are different stories: some countries rank highly due to acreage (large planted area), while others signal productivity through higher yield per hectare.
- Commercial vs subsistence dynamics: the U.S. profile is export-capable and logistics-intensive; many African leaders are primarily domestic-market and food-security driven.
What this means for readers
- For buyers and processors: concentration means that weather, policy, and logistics in a few producers can move regional availability and prices.
- For nutrition programs: orange-fleshed varieties are a practical lever against vitamin A deficiency, especially where diets rely on starchy staples.
- For farmers: yield gaps point to high returns from better planting material, virus management, storage, and irrigation where feasible.
- For policymakers: sweet potato is a “resilience crop” that can support food security while diversifying rural incomes—if post-harvest handling and market access improve.
FAQ
Why does China dominate the sweet potato ranking?
China combines very large harvested area with strong downstream demand (food products, starch processing, and feed uses). Even modest yield advantages at that scale translate into massive volumes.
Are sweet potatoes the same as yams?
No. “Yam” usually refers to Dioscorea species, while sweet potato is Ipomoea batatas. They differ in botany, taste, cultivation, and market channels.
Does high production mean a country is a major exporter?
Not necessarily. Many large producers consume most output domestically. Export capacity depends on quality grading, storage, cold chain, and trade logistics—not just volume.
What is the difference between production and yield?
Production is total output (tons). Yield is output per harvested hectare (kg/ha). A country can rank high by planting a lot of area even with low yield, or rank high with less area but strong productivity.
Why do yields vary so widely across countries?
Variety choice, planting material quality (virus pressure), irrigation access, fertilizer use, pest management, soil conditions, and harvest timing all matter. Post-harvest losses can also distort how much “production” is effectively available.
What can change the 2025–2027 ranking the most?
Major droughts or floods, pest outbreaks, shifts in planted area, and policy or price incentives that redirect land into competing crops are the biggest drivers of re-ordering—especially outside the top tier.
Next section
Next: Top 100 table & scatter chart →
Top 100 sweet potato producers: searchable table and a productivity map
The table below is fully written in HTML (all rows visible in page source). With JavaScript enabled, you can search, sort, and switch between production units and share of the Top-100 total.
Approx. Top-100 total: —
Yield and harvested area are shown in each row’s details and used in the scatter chart.
| Rank | Country (yield · area) | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
China
|
47,834,921 |
| 2 |
Malawi
|
7,449,972 |
| 3 |
Tanzania
|
4,991,861 |
| 4 |
Nigeria
|
3,943,046 |
| 5 |
Angola
|
1,788,342 |
| 6 |
Ethiopia
|
1,697,583 |
| 7 |
Indonesia
|
1,649,000 |
| 8 |
Rwanda
|
1,328,750 |
| 9 |
United States of America
|
1,308,728 |
| 10 |
Uganda
|
1,267,697 |
| 11 |
Vietnam
|
1,231,469 |
| 12 |
Madagascar
|
1,143,320 |
| 13 |
India
|
1,121,000 |
| 14 |
Brazil
|
824,680 |
| 15 |
Kenya
|
777,141 |
| 16 |
Burundi
|
718,351 |
| 17 |
Papua New Guinea
|
699,075 |
| 18 |
Japan
|
671,900 |
| 19 |
Congo-Kinshasa
|
574,501 |
| 20 |
North Korea
|
556,934 |
| 21 |
Philippines
|
545,519 |
| 22 |
Mali
|
519,788 |
| 23 |
Egypt
|
511,683 |
| 24 |
Mozambique
|
478,171 |
| 25 |
Cameroon
|
411,489 |
| 26 |
Guinea
|
351,696 |
| 27 |
South Korea
|
348,912 |
| 28 |
Cuba
|
318,485 |
| 29 |
Peru
|
305,729 |
| 30 |
Bangladesh
|
279,801 |
| 31 |
Sudan
|
270,294 |
| 32 |
Sierra Leone
|
264,836 |
| 33 |
Niger
|
224,017 |
| 34 |
Taiwan
|
213,712 |
| 35 |
Zambia
|
213,567 |
| 36 |
Chad
|
195,842 |
| 37 |
Ghana
|
142,502 |
| 38 |
Argentina
|
122,762 |
| 39 |
Laos
|
110,860 |
| 40 |
Senegal
|
107,670 |
| 41 |
Burkina Faso
|
107,413 |
| 42 |
Solomon Islands
|
106,718 |
| 43 |
Equatorial Guinea
|
100,132 |
| 44 |
South Africa
|
81,613 |
| 45 |
Uruguay
|
79,818 |
| 46 |
Mexico
|
79,006 |
| 47 |
Australia
|
77,201 |
| 48 |
Zimbabwe
|
70,344 |
| 49 |
Myanmar
|
63,235 |
| 50 |
Spain
|
62,302 |
| 51 |
Côte d'Ivoire
|
58,520 |
| 52 |
Dominican Republic
|
58,207 |
| 53 |
Jamaica
|
57,485 |
| 54 |
Haiti
|
56,282 |
| 55 |
Benin
|
53,894 |
| 56 |
Malaysia
|
52,539 |
| 57 |
Paraguay
|
52,388 |
| 58 |
Guinea-Bissau
|
45,095 |
| 59 |
Cambodia
|
43,584 |
| 60 |
Sri Lanka
|
43,415 |
| 61 |
Israel
|
39,980 |
| 62 |
Liberia
|
24,076 |
| 63 |
Honduras
|
23,348 |
| 64 |
Portugal
|
23,206 |
| 65 |
Guyana
|
19,852 |
| 66 |
Venezuela
|
19,823 |
| 67 |
Pakistan
|
15,212 |
| 68 |
Chile
|
15,031 |
| 69 |
New Zealand
|
11,282 |
| 70 |
Fiji
|
9,501 |
| 71 |
Morocco
|
9,260 |
| 72 |
Congo-Brazzaville
|
9,002 |
| 73 |
Somalia
|
8,534 |
| 74 |
Italy
|
8,494 |
| 75 |
Comoros
|
7,298 |
| 76 |
Togo
|
6,592 |
| 77 |
Tonga
|
6,569 |
| 78 |
Mauritania
|
5,420 |
| 79 |
East Timor
|
4,980 |
| 80 |
Bolivia
|
4,631 |
| 81 |
Ecuador
|
4,013 |
| 82 |
Gabon
|
3,759 |
| 83 |
Cape Verde
|
3,710 |
| 84 |
Federated States of Micronesia
|
3,116 |
| 85 |
Palestinian Territories
|
2,962 |
| 86 |
Swaziland
|
2,492 |
| 87 |
Dominica
|
2,357 |
| 88 |
Greece
|
2,153 |
| 89 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
2,021 |
| 90 |
Trinidad and Tobago
|
1,832 |
| 91 |
The Bahamas
|
1,774 |
| 92 |
Mauritius
|
1,595 |
| 93 |
Barbados
|
1,396 |
| 94 |
Botswana
|
1,135 |
| 95 |
Costa Rica
|
959 |
| 96 |
Grenada
|
951 |
| 97 |
El Salvador
|
752 |
| 98 |
Saint Lucia
|
684 |
| 99 |
Yemen
|
331 |
| 100 |
Cook Islands
|
299 |
Tip: switch to “Share of Top-100 (%)” to see how concentrated production is even within the Top-100 list.
Chart: Production vs yield (Top 30 by production)
X = yield (kg/ha) · Y = production (tons, log scale)
Fallback note (if the chart does not load)
The scatter chart plots yield (kg/ha) against production (tons) for the Top 30 producers. With JavaScript blocked, the chart cannot render, but the table above still contains all values.
How to interpret the ranking — and what to watch next
Production totals explain “scale,” but they do not automatically explain trade power, profitability, or nutrition outcomes. This section connects the numbers to real-world decisions.
Interpretation
The Top 10 list reflects two different production models. In several African leaders, sweet potato functions as a resilience staple—important for calories, seasonality buffers, and household food security. In large industrial or commercial systems, the crop can also serve processing demand (starch, flour, snacks) with modern storage and grading that support more predictable market supply.
A country can rank high with relatively low yield if harvested area is very large. Conversely, high yield with small harvested area can indicate productivity potential without translating into top-tier volumes.
Policy takeaways
- Productivity first: closing yield gaps often offers faster gains than expanding area, especially where land pressure is high.
- Planting material quality: virus-free vines and improved varieties can lift yields and reduce volatility in smallholder systems.
- Post-harvest infrastructure: storage, curing, and transport reduce losses and convert “production” into reliably available food.
- Nutrition integration: scaling orange-fleshed varieties can improve vitamin A intake without requiring major diet changes.
- Climate resilience: drought- and pest-resilient varieties matter as rainfall patterns become less predictable.
Common pitfalls
- Production ≠ exports: high-output countries may consume most of the crop domestically.
- Year-to-year noise: weather shocks can move mid-table ranks; long-run structure changes more slowly.
- Comparability limits: reporting coverage and revisions can affect totals, especially in informal and subsistence-heavy systems.
What to watch in 2026–2028
- Yield convergence: if improved planting material scales in more countries, the yield distribution should tighten.
- Processing demand: growth in starch/flour/snack use can change incentives and push more commercial acreage.
- Climate stress: more frequent drought/flood cycles may increase volatility and shift regional supply patterns.
Sources
The ranking uses the latest widely published country totals as a proxy for the 2025 production structure. For verification and deeper exploration, these sources are the most commonly used official references.
