Maldives: Land under cereal production (hectares)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Maldives' land under cereal production (hectares) did not change 0% on 2023 (from 84 to 84).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +27% and a typical year strayed about 142.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2,415.6% in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 92.4% in 1976. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Maldives had the 171st highest value of the 177 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Maldives in the 2024 ranking

• Qatar — 168th of 177: 118
• Dominica — 169th of 177: 115
• Mauritius — 170th of 177: 108
• Bahamas, The — 172nd of 177: 78
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 173rd of 177: 32
• Antigua and Barbuda — 174th of 177: 26

What this measures

Land under cereal production refers to harvested area, although some countries report only sown or cultivated area. Cereals include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. 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.

Limitations: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through annual questionnaires. They are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. Thus, data on agricultural land in different climates may not be comparable.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 64 values

Land under cereal production (hectares) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 12.27 million (2024)
• Bhutan — 20,654 (2024)
• India — 107.67 million (2024)
• Nepal — 3.27 million (2024)
• Sri Lanka — 1.21 million (2024)

More environment data for Maldives

• Rural population — 304,531 (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 57.49% (2025)
• Urban population — 225,145 (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 42.51% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 9 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 107,414 (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 107,423 (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %) — -0.52% (2025)
• Urban population growth (annual %) — 1.56% (2025)
• Agricultural land (sq. km) — 59 (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Maldives's land under cereal production (hectares)?

84 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1961?

It is down 53.07% from 179 in 1961 (1.19% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2,326 in 1975 and the lowest 4 in 1987.

How does Maldives rank?

171st highest of 177 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in land under cereal production (hectares) unusual for Maldives?

In 2024, Maldives' land under cereal production (hectares) did not change 0% on 2023 (from 84 to 84). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +27% and a typical year strayed about 142.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator AG.LND.CREL.HA, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), uri: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL, note: Item code F1717, publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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