Charted: 776 Million Tonnes of Rice Production by Country

Charted: 776 Million Tonnes of Rice Production by Country

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World rice production hit nearly 780 million tonnes in 2022, making it the fourth-most produced cereal grain after wheat, corn, and sugarcane.

This graphic breaks down the world’s largest producers of rice in 2022, based on data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO).

Rice, Rice, Baby

The world’s most populous countries, China and India, top the list of largest rice producers, each with around 200 million tonnes.

In fact, these two countries together grow more rice than the rest of the world combined. India is also the world’s largest rice exporter, accounting for one-third of rice exports by itself.

Note: Figures rounded.

Noticeably, the majority of the world’s rice production is in Asia. This is due to a combination of climatic, geographic, cultural, and economic factors.

For example, rice requires a warm, humid climate (found throughout Asia), and is also a staple food in the Asian diet.

Brazil, ranked 11th with 11 million tonnes, is the only non-Asian country on this list. The Portuguese brought rice to the region in the 16th century, and since then, it has flourished in the warm, humid climate, becoming a diet staple. The Amazon region of the country also has two native rice species.

Also missing from this list is the U.S., which exports half of its total rice production (5 million tonnes) making it the fifth largest rice-exporter in the world.