About this chart race
The United States ranks first in every observed year from 1961 to 2024 in this FAO series. By 2024, it produces 377.63 million tonnes of dry-grain corn, followed by China at 294.92 million and Brazil at 114.95 million. Argentina and India complete the final top five. These are annual production totals, not exports, yields, food consumption or cumulative output.
The race includes 17 countries and historical states that appear in at least one annual top ten, including ties, across the full source dataset. All available observations for those entities are retained: 960 points over 64 years. Ten bars are shown at a time. Continental, income-group and world totals are excluded. The selection represents past leaders and challengers, rather than every producer.
Historical borders matter. The USSR and Yugoslavia retain their own names and source observations through 1991. Russia and Ukraine begin in 1992; neither inherits the USSR total. Missing observations remain missing and are not filled with zero or invented values. Changes in geography, statistical methods and reporting can affect comparisons over time.
FAO defines this crop as maize harvested for dry grain. Green maize and crops harvested for silage, hay or grazing are excluded. Values are stored in tonnes and displayed to the nearest tonne; source estimates and revisions may be present. Smooth movement between annual observations is animation, not extra measured data.
Source: FAOSTAT Crops and livestock products (2025 release), processed by Our World in Data, updated February 25, 2026 and downloaded November 4, 2026. This is a historical series ending in 2024, not a forecast for 2026. China's January 2025 NBS release also reports 294.92 million tonnes for 2024. The US value is consistent at about 14.9 billion bushels with USDA's January 2025 summary; USDA later revised its 2024 estimate. This race consistently uses the downloaded FAO/OWID series rather than mixing releases.
Primary data: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL
China cross-check: https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202501/t20250117_1958330.html
US cross-check: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/archive/2025/01-10-2025.php
This animated ranking shows how annual dry-grain corn production changed across 17 series between 1961 and 2024. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2024, United States leads with 377,632,700 tonnes.
Included in this race
United States, China, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, India, Mexico, Indonesia, Romania, France, South Africa, USSR, Russia, Canada, Yugoslavia, Italy, Hungary.
Source
Data from FAO (2025), processed by Our World in Data. Check the stated period and methodology. Animated transitions between source observations are visual interpolation, not additional measurements.
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