Yams Consumption by Country

FAO Food Balances data show that Nigeria had the largest listed food supply of yams in 2023, at 21,000 thousand tonnes, followed by Ivory Coast at 5,736 thousand tonnes and Ghana at 5,321 thousand tonnes. Ivory Coast had the highest per-capita food supply at 184.04 kilograms per person per year. The dataset covers 78 reporters and spans 2019 through 2023, although some reporters have missing values in individual years.

Nigeria had the highest listed yams food supply in 2023 at 21,000 thousand tonnes, while Ivory Coast had the highest per-capita food supply at 184.04 kilograms per person per year. Nigeria's listed food supply was 3.66 times Ivory Coast's (21,000 thousand tonnes against 5,736), and the top three reporters hold 92.8 percent of the listed total.

Yams Food Supply at a Glance

• Nigeria had the largest listed yams food supply in 2023 at 21,000 thousand tonnes.
• Ivory Coast ranked second at 5,736 thousand tonnes, followed by Ghana at 5,321 thousand tonnes.
• Ivory Coast had the highest per-capita food supply at 184.04 kilograms per person per year.
• The 2023 listed total was 34,548 thousand tonnes across 77 reporters with reported values.
• Among 76 reporters with data in both 2019 and 2023, listed yams food supply decreased by 2,662 thousand tonnes, or 7.2 percent.
• The FAO Food element measures food available for human consumption and is not a direct measure of the amount actually eaten.

Key Takeaways

In 2023, Nigeria had the largest listed supply of yams at 21,000 thousand tonnes, followed by Ivory Coast at 5,736 thousand tonnes. Ghana ranked third with 5,321 thousand tonnes. On a per-capita basis, Ivory Coast recorded the highest food supply at 184.04 kilograms per person per year, followed by Ghana at 157.47 kilograms.

Yams supply moved in opposite directions in the two windows. Across the 77 reporters with data in both 2022 and 2023, listed supply increased by 739 thousand tonnes, or 2.2 percent, with Nigeria contributing 500 thousand tonnes. Across the 76 reporters with data in both 2019 and 2023, it fell by 2,662 thousand tonnes, or 7.2 percent, as Nigeria's 3,800-thousand-tonne decline outweighed gains elsewhere. These figures represent food available for human consumption in the FAO Food Balances and should not be interpreted as the amount of yams actually eaten.

Yams Consumption

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#	Country	2023 (thousand tonnes)2023	2023 (kg per person per year)2023
1	Nigeria NG	21K	92.15
2	Ivory Coast CI	5.74K	184.04
3	Ghana GH	5.32K	157.47
4	Cameroon CM	384	13.55
5	Colombia CO	361	6.89
6	Papua New Guinea PG	355	34.18
7	Guinea GN	254	17.66
8	Gabon GA	161	64.68
9	Jamaica JM	143	50.22
10	Brazil BR	127	0.6
11	Senegal SN	113	6.26
12	DR Congo CD	103	0.98
13	Rwanda RW	51	3.67
14	Venezuela VE	47	1.65
15	Burkina Faso BF	46	2
16	Solomon Islands SB	43	54.25
17	Ethiopia ET	41	0.32
18	United States US	41	0.12
19	Dominican Republic DO	32	2.8
20	Comoros KM	25	29.2
21	Liberia LR	19	3.45
22	Congo CG	15	2.41
23	Panama PA	14	3.22
24	United Kingdom GB	14	0.2
25	Canada CA	13	0.34
26	Philippines PH	12	0.1
27	Haiti HT	10	0.84
28	Tanzania TZ	8	0.12
29	Costa Rica CR	6	1.18
30	Kenya KE	6	0.1
31	Malaysia MY	6	0.17
32	Fiji FJ	5	5.92
33	France FR	5	0.08
34	Niger NE	4	0.17
35	Taiwan TW	4	0.18
36	Mauritania MR	3	0.55
37	Pakistan PK	3	0.01
38	Tonga TO	3	27.23
39	United Arab Emirates AE	3	0.28
40	Netherlands NL	2	0.09
41	Sao Tome and Principe ST	2	7.34
42	Guyana GY	1	1.52
43	Italy IT	1	0.02
44	Macau MO	1	0.87
45	New Caledonia NC	1	4.19
46	Nicaragua NI	1	0.1
47	Oman OM	1	0.12
48	Qatar QA	1	0.21
49	Antigua and Barbuda AG	0	2.32
50	Australia AU	0	0.02
51	Bahamas BS	0	0.29
52	Bahrain BH	0	0.27
53	Barbados BB	0	1.42
54	Belgium BE	0	0.02
55	Belize BZ	0	0.09
56	Bhutan BT	0	0.07
57	Cape Verde CV	0	0.01
58	Finland FI	0	0.01
59	Germany DE	0	0
60	Grenada GD	0	0.84
61	Hong Kong HK	0	0.01
62	Iceland IS	0	0.01
63	Ireland IE	0	0.07
64	Laos LA	0	0.02
65	Maldives MV	0	0.15
66	Malta MT	0	0
67	Marshall Islands MH	0	0.07
68	Namibia NA	0	0
69	New Zealand NZ	0	0.06
70	Norway NO	0	0.01
71	Portugal PT	0	0
72	Saint Kitts and Nevis KN	0	0.75
73	Saint Lucia LC	0	1.91
74	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC	0	1.54
75	Samoa WS	0	0.77
76	Switzerland CH	0	0.02
77	Trinidad and Tobago TT	0	0.05

Yams Consumption by Country in 2023

Nigeria had the largest listed food supply of yams in the 2023 data with 21,000 thousand tonnes (60.8 percent of the listed total), followed by Ivory Coast with 5,736 thousand tonnes (16.6 percent) and Ghana with 5,321 thousand tonnes (15.4 percent). Cameroon ranked fourth with 384 thousand tonnes and Colombia fifth with 361 thousand tonnes.

The top three reporters hold 92.8 percent of the listed 2023 total, the top five 94.9 percent and the top ten 98.0 percent of the 34,548-thousand-tonne total. The fourth-largest reporter, Cameroon, accounts for just 1.1 percent.

Nigeria Adds 500 Thousand Tonnes as Yams Food Supply Grows 2.2 Percent Between 2022 and 2023

Among the 77 reporters with data in both 2022 and 2023, the listed food supply increased from 33,809 thousand tonnes to 34,548 thousand tonnes, a gain of 739 thousand tonnes (2.2 percent). The annual listed totals across all reporters were 33,809 thousand tonnes in 2022 and 34,548 thousand tonnes in 2023, with no reporter entering or leaving the comparison. Nigeria added 500 thousand tonnes (up 2.4 percent), accounting for 67.7 percent of the increase, followed by Ivory Coast with 128 thousand tonnes (up 2.3 percent), Ghana with 121 thousand tonnes (up 2.3 percent), Guinea with 27 thousand tonnes (up 11.9 percent), Senegal with 15 thousand tonnes (up 15.3 percent) and Ethiopia with 11 thousand tonnes (up 36.7 percent), while Jamaica fell 39 thousand tonnes (down 21.4 percent) and Colombia fell 24 thousand tonnes (down 6.2 percent).

Nigeria Falls 3,800 Thousand Tonnes as Yams Food Supply Declines 7.2 Percent Since 2019

For the 76 reporters with data in both 2019 and 2023, the listed food supply fell from 37,210 thousand tonnes to 34,548 thousand tonnes, a decline of 2,662 thousand tonnes (7.2 percent). The 2019 total includes 77 reporters with reported values, while the 2023 total includes 77; Cuba had 19 thousand tonnes in 2019 but no reported 2023 value, while Bhutan had no 2019 value and a reported zero in 2023. Nigeria fell 3,800 thousand tonnes (down 15.3 percent), equivalent to 142.7 percent of the net decline, while Ghana added 540 thousand tonnes (up 11.3 percent), Ivory Coast added 358 thousand tonnes (up 6.7 percent), Guinea added 142 thousand tonnes (up 126.8 percent), Senegal added 45 thousand tonnes (up 66.2 percent), Jamaica added 27 thousand tonnes (up 23.3 percent) and Comoros added 21 thousand tonnes (up 525.0 percent), and Colombia fell 25 thousand tonnes (down 6.5 percent).

The five-year story is Nigeria's decline partly offset by gains elsewhere: Nigeria subtracted 3,800 thousand tonnes while Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Jamaica and Comoros added 1,133 thousand tonnes between them, with smaller movements elsewhere adding a net 30 thousand tonnes. The per-capita ranking mirrors the totals at the top: Ivory Coast first at 184.04 kilograms, Ghana second at 157.47 and Nigeria third at 92.15, because the same three countries dominate both measures.

What Does Yams Consumption Measure?

For FAO Food Balances, the yams figure used here is the amount recorded under the Food element. It represents food available for human consumption during the reference year, rather than a direct estimate of how much yams people actually ate. Yams are recorded as a separate item from other roots and tubers such as cassava, sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The per-capita figure expresses the same food supply on a population basis, in kilograms per person per year. A country's total quantity and per-capita value therefore answer different questions: total quantity shows the size of the listed food supply, while the per-capita measure adjusts it for population.

Yams Consumption by Country

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#	Country	2019 (1000 t)	2019 (kg/cap/yr)	2020 (1000 t)	2020 (kg/cap/yr)	2021 (1000 t)	2021 (kg/cap/yr)	2022 (1000 t)	2022 (kg/cap/yr)	2023 (1000 t)	2023 (kg/cap/yr)
1	Nigeria	24.8K	118.39	18.5K	86.45	20K	91.52	20.5K	91.87	21K	92.15
2	Ivory Coast	5.38K	190.76	5.04K	174.13	5.47K	184.46	5.61K	184.5	5.74K	184.04
3	Ghana	4.78K	152.95	4.84K	151.89	5K	153.76	5.2K	156.87	5.32K	157.47
4	Cameroon	392	15.35	400	15.26	410	15.23	386	13.98	384	13.55
5	Colombia	386	7.74	403	7.96	388	7.59	385	7.45	361	6.89
6	Papua New Guinea	337	35.1	350	35.66	358	35.73	356	34.91	355	34.18
7	Guinea	112	8.56	184	13.77	189	13.79	227	16.12	254	17.66
8	Gabon	162	71.56	158	68.07	159	66.73	158	65	161	64.68
9	Jamaica	116	40.92	128	45.14	158	55.61	182	63.94	143	50.22
10	Brazil	123	0.59	126	0.61	126	0.6	126	0.6	127	0.6
11	Senegal	68	4.14	87	5.21	91	5.29	98	5.54	113	6.26
12	DR Congo	99	1.06	96	1	98	0.99	101	0.98	103	0.98
13	Rwanda	56	4.42	57	4.37	52	3.89	51	3.75	51	3.67
14	Venezuela	41	1.41	41	1.45	44	1.54	45	1.58	47	1.65
15	Burkina Faso	36	1.72	45	2.08	53	2.42	45	2	46	2
16	Solomon Islands	47	63.98	44	58.64	44	57.6	43	55.46	43	54.25
17	Ethiopia	40	0.34	37	0.31	26	0.21	30	0.24	41	0.32
18	United States	31	0.09	33	0.1	37	0.11	37	0.11	41	0.12
19	Dominican Republic	25	2.3	25	2.23	25	2.27	29	2.59	32	2.8
20	Comoros	4	4.73	24	30.01	25	29.99	25	29.64	25	29.2
21	Liberia	19	3.85	19	3.72	19	3.59	19	3.52	19	3.45
22	Congo	15	2.59	14	2.5	14	2.45	15	2.46	15	2.41
23	Panama	8	1.91	19	4.44	19	4.47	19	4.42	14	3.22
24	United Kingdom	10	0.16	16	0.23	12	0.18	12	0.18	14	0.2
25	Canada	15	0.39	15	0.39	14	0.38	14	0.35	13	0.34
26	Philippines	13	0.12	13	0.12	13	0.11	12	0.11	12	0.1
27	Haiti	23	2.05	27	2.44	22	1.94	11	0.97	10	0.84
28	Tanzania	8	0.14	8	0.13	8	0.13	8	0.12	8	0.12
29	Costa Rica	9	1.7	7	1.32	3	0.68	3	0.58	6	1.18
30	Kenya	10	0.2	10	0.19	6	0.12	6	0.1	6	0.1
31	Malaysia	4	0.13	4	0.12	10	0.3	9	0.27	6	0.17
32	Fiji	3	3.64	3	3.7	6	6.83	5	5.04	5	5.92
33	France	4	0.06	5	0.08	6	0.09	6	0.1	5	0.08
34	Niger	8	0.35	7	0.29	4	0.17	7	0.27	4	0.17
35	Taiwan	3	0.13	3	0.13	4	0.15	4	0.18	4	0.18
36	Mauritania	3	0.61	3	0.6	3	0.58	3	0.57	3	0.55
37	Pakistan	1	0	3	0.01	5	0.02	4	0.02	3	0.01
38	Tonga	2	20.25	2	22.17	2	21.88	4	33.33	3	27.23
39	United Arab Emirates	3	0.31	3	0.32	3	0.31	3	0.27	3	0.28
40	Netherlands	1	0.06	2	0.09	2	0.11	3	0.19	2	0.09
41	Sao Tome and Principe	2	7.53	2	7.4	2	8.15	2	7.52	2	7.34
42	Guyana	1	1.24	1	1.24	1	1.47	1	1.49	1	1.52
43	Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0.01	0	0.01	1	0.02
44	Macau	1	0.96	1	0.82	1	0.83	1	0.94	1	0.87
45	New Caledonia	1	3.77	1	4.89	1	4.5	1	4.3	1	4.19
46	Nicaragua	1	0.13	1	0.11	1	0.09	0	0.06	1	0.1
47	Oman	1	0.17	1	0.2	1	0.12	1	0.13	1	0.12
48	Qatar	1	0.32	1	0.39	1	0.32	1	0.3	1	0.21
49	Antigua and Barbuda	0	2.7	0	1.48	0	1.93	0	1.87	0	2.32
50	Australia	1	0.02	1	0.02	1	0.02	0	0.01	0	0.02
51	Bahamas	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0	0	0.23	0	0.29
52	Bahrain	1	0.34	1	0.36	0	0.27	1	0.34	0	0.27
53	Barbados	0	0.76	0	0.7	0	1.12	1	3.5	0	1.42
54	Belgium	1	0.07	0	0.02	1	0.07	1	0.04	0	0.02
55	Belize	0	0.11	0	0.23	0	0.22	0	0.09	0	0.09
56	Bhutan	-	-	-	-	0	0.07	0	0.07	0	0.07
57	Cape Verde	0	0.01	-	-	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.01
58	Finland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.01
59	Germany	0	0	1	0.01	0	0	0	0	0	0
60	Grenada	0	0	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.67	0	0.84
61	Hong Kong	0	0	0	0	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.01
62	Iceland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.01	0	0.01
63	Ireland	0	0.03	0	0.02	0	0.05	0	0.06	0	0.07
64	Laos	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.02
65	Maldives	0	0.2	0	0.05	0	0.25	0	0.1	0	0.15
66	Malta	0	0	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0	0	0
67	Marshall Islands	0	0.01	0	0.03	0	0.04	0	0.01	0	0.07
68	Namibia	0	0.01	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
69	New Zealand	1	0.15	1	0.1	1	0.12	0	0.05	0	0.06
70	Norway	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.01
71	Portugal	1	0.06	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
72	Saint Kitts and Nevis	0	0	0	0.28	0	0.5	0	1.04	0	0.75
73	Saint Lucia	0	2.15	0	2.12	0	2.06	0	2.33	0	1.91
74	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1	6.27	0	4.53	1	6.08	0	1.79	0	1.54
75	Samoa	0	0.56	0	0.06	0	0.48	0	0.42	0	0.77
76	Switzerland	0	0.02	0	0.03	0	0.02	0	0.02	0	0.02
77	Trinidad and Tobago	0	0.03	0	0.11	0	0.07	0	0.06	0	0.05
78	Cuba	19	1.71	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Quick Answer

In 2023, Nigeria had the largest listed food supply of yams at 21,000 thousand tonnes, followed by Ivory Coast at 5,736 thousand tonnes and Ghana at 5,321 thousand tonnes. Ivory Coast had the highest per-capita food supply at 184.04 kilograms per person per year. The dataset contains 78 reporters in the five-year series, with 77 reporting a value for 2023. The figures represent food available for human consumption in FAO Food Balances and are not a direct measure of the amount actually eaten.

Methodology

Percentage changes use the corresponding value in the earlier year as the base. Yearly totals use FAO Food Balances food quantity (Element 5142, thousand tonnes), while the per-capita figures use food supply quantity (Element 645, kg/capita/year) for Yams from 2019 through 2023. The Food element represents the quantity available for human consumption during the reference period. It is not a direct measure of the quantity actually eaten, as additional losses or waste may occur after food reaches the consumer.

The reporter universe contains 78 reporters. The tables list reporters only; aggregate rows such as World, regions and China (aggregate) are excluded, while China figures refer to the China reporter. For year-to-year comparisons, only reporters with values in both endpoint years are included in the arithmetic. A zero indicates a displayed value of zero, while an empty cell indicates that no value is available for that reporter and year.

Quantities of 1,000 thousand tonnes and above are shown as whole numbers; smaller quantities retain up to two decimals. FAO Food Balances primarily use official national statistics, with some data also estimated or imputed where applicable. The FAO dataset reports the Food element in thousand tonnes and food supply quantity in kilograms per capita per year. The 2023 listed total of 34,548 thousand tonnes is the sum of the 77 reporters with a reported 2023 value; it excludes aggregate rows and reporters without a 2023 value.