Agriculture
The World’s Top Coffee Producing Countries
The World’s Top Coffee Producing Countries
In many cities around the world, there’s a café on every corner, so it comes as no surprise that coffee is one of the globes’ top commodities. As the third most consumed beverage globally, after water and tea, coffee beans are in high demand almost everywhere.
The top producing nations each produce billions of kilograms of coffee beans that find their way into the hands of eager consumers. According to the International Coffee Organization, a total of 169.6 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee were produced worldwide in 2020.
So, why does the world universally love coffee so much?
For The Love of Coffee
As most coffee lovers would tell you, drinking coffee is a complex and nuanced experience—there’s the rich aroma, the comforting warmth, and the loveliness of the ritual of sitting down with a fresh cup.
With the variety of ways it can be served and the jolt of caffeine it provides us, it’s not hard to see why the world loves its coffee. In fact, we love the beverage so much that humans have conditioned themselves to associate the bitter taste of coffee with a bout of energy and positive reinforcement.
So, where does the journey of each cup of joe originate? Let’s get to know the world’s top coffee producing countries.
The World’s Coffee Production Leaders
At the end of 2020, the top 10 biggest coffee-producing nations held 87% of the commodity’s market share.
Here is a list of the top 20 largest coffee-producing nations in the world:
Rank | Country | Production in 2020 (Million 60-kg Bags) | Total Market Share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 63.4 | 37.4% |
2 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 29.0 | 17.1% |
3 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 14.3 | 8.4% |
4 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 12.0 | 7.1% |
5 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 7.3 | 4.3% |
6 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 6.1 | 3.6% |
7 | 🇮🇳 India | 5.7 | 3.4% |
8 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | 5.6 | 3.3% |
9 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 4.0 | 2.4% |
10 | 🇵🇪 Peru | 3.8 | 2.2% |
11 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 3.7 | 2.2% |
12 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 2.7 | 1.6% |
13 | 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire | 1.8 | 1.1% |
14 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 1.5 | 0.9% |
15 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 0.9 | 0.5% |
16 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 0.7 | 0.4% |
17 | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | 0.7 | 0.4% |
18 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 0.6 | 0.4% |
19 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 0.6 | 0.4% |
20 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 0.6 | 0.4% |
While some of the world’s top coffee-producing nations are well known, others may come as a surprise. More than 70 countries produce coffee, but the majority of global output comes from just the top five producers: Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.
Meet the Top Coffee Producing Countries
1. Brazil
Brazil is a true powerhouse of coffee production. The country single-highhandedly produces nearly 40% of the world’s coffee supply.
Many areas in Brazil have a climate perfectly conducive to coffee farming. Coffee plantations cover about 27,000 square kilometers of Brazil, with the majority located in Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Parana.
Brazil distinguishes itself from most other coffee-producing nations by drying the coffee cherries in the sun (unwashed coffee) rather than washing them.
The country is so influential to coffee production that the 60-kilogram burlap bags historically used to export beans from Brazil are still the worldwide standard for measuring production and trade.
2. Vietnam
Vietnam found a niche in the international market by focusing primarily on the less-expensive Robusta bean. Robusta beans can have up to twice as much caffeine as Arabica beans, giving the coffee a more bitter taste.
Though coffee has been grown in the region for well over a century, production skyrocketed through the 1990s after Vietnam’s communist government introduced economic reforms (known as Đổi Mới).
Today, Vietnam accounts for more than 40% of the world’s Robusta bean production.
Coffee cultivation in Vietnam is also extremely productive. The country’s coffee yields are considerably higher than other top coffee-producing countries.
3. Colombia
A popular advertising campaign featuring a fictional coffee farmer named Juan Valdez helped brand Colombia as one of the most famous coffee-producing nations. A coveted drink of choice, Colombian coffee is prized for its aromatic, mild, and fruity flavors.
4. Indonesia
Some of the rarest coffees in the Western world originate in Indonesia, including Kopi Luwak—a type of bean that has been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. Coffee made from these coffee beans might cost you anywhere between $35 to $100 per cup.
5. Ethiopia
Known for its full-flavored, down-to-earth, and full-bodied coffee beans, Ethiopia is the country that gave us the Arabica coffee plant. Today this type of coffee is considered to be the most widely sold in cafes and restaurants across the world.
All of these top producing countries are found in the so-called “Bean Belt”, which is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

The Future of Coffee Production
With global temperatures on the rise, good coffee may become increasingly challenging to grow. To future-proof good and continued growth of coffee beans, finding newer and hybrid blends of coffee beans is essential.
Several studies and research missions have found wild species of coffee growing off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire and in certain regions of Sierra Leone, which could be the answer to our coffee production problems. Coffee from these coffee plants tasted similar to the famous Arabica bean and also grew at higher temperatures.
Though the future of coffee production around the world is somewhat uncertain, our collective love of the morning cup of coffee will drive innovative solutions, even in the face of changing climate patterns.
Agriculture
Which Countries Produce the Most Wheat?
Global wheat production is concentrated in just a handful of countries. Here’s a look at the top wheat-producing countries worldwide.

Visualizing Global Wheat Production by Country (2000-2020)
Wheat is a dietary staple for millions of people around the world.
After rice and corn (maize), wheat is the third most-produced cereal worldwide, and the second-most-produced for human consumption. And considering wheat’s importance in the global food system, any impact on major producers such as droughts, wars, or other events, can impact the entire world.
Which countries are the largest producers of wheat? This graphic by Kashish Rastogi visualizes the breakdown of 20 years of global wheat production by country.
Top 10 Wheat Producing Countries
While more than 80 different countries produce wheat around the world, the majority of global wheat production comes from just a handful of countries, according to data from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Here’s a look at the top 10 wheat-producing countries worldwide, based on total yield in tonnes from 2000-2020:
Rank | Country | Continent | Total yield (tonnes, 2000-2020) | % of total (2000-2020) |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇨🇳 China | Asia & Oceania | 2.4 B | 17.0% |
#2 | 🇮🇳 India | Asia & Oceania | 1.8 B | 12.5% |
#3 | 🇷🇺 Russia | Asia & Oceania | 1.2 B | 8.4% |
#4 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | Americas | 1.2 B | 8.4% |
#5 | 🇫🇷 France | Europe | 767 M | 5.4% |
#6 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Americas | 571 M | 4.0% |
#7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | Europe | 491 M | 3.5% |
#8 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Asia & Oceania | 482 M | 3.4% |
#9 | 🇦🇺 Australia | Asia & Oceania | 456 M | 3.2% |
#10 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | Europe | 433 M | 3.1% |
China, the world’s largest wheat producer, has yielded more than 2.4 billion tonnes of wheat over the last two decades, making up roughly 17% of total production from 2000-2020.
A majority of China’s wheat is used domestically to help meet the country’s rising food demand. China is the world’s largest consumer of wheat—in 2020/2021, the country accounted for approximately 19% of global wheat consumption.
The second-largest wheat-producing country is India. Over the last two decades, India has produced 12.5% of the world’s wheat. Like China, India keeps most of its wheat domestic because of significant food demand across the country.
Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat producer, is also the largest global exporter of wheat. The country exported more than $7.3 billion worth of wheat in 2021, accounting for approximately 13.1% of total wheat exports that year.
Russia-Ukraine Impact on Global Wheat Market
Because Russia and Ukraine are both significant global wheat producers, the ongoing conflict between the two countries has caused massive disruptions to the global wheat market.
The conflict has had an impact on adjacent industries as well. For instance, Russia is one of the world’s major fertilizer suppliers, and the conflict has led to a global fertilizer shortage which could lead to food shortages worldwide.
Agriculture
Timeline: The Domestication of Animals
This graphic shows a timeline of when 15 different animals became domesticated, based on archaeological findings.

Timeline: The Domestication of Animals
While dogs weren’t always our docile companions, research indicates that they were likely one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans. In fact, genetic evidence suggests that dogs split from their wild wolf ancestors around 33,000 years ago.
When did humans domesticate other animals, and why? This timeline highlights the domestication period of 15 different animals, based on archeological findings.
Because exact timing is tricky to pinpoint and research on the topic is ongoing, these estimates may vary by thousands of years.
Defining Domestic
The domestication of animals is a particular process that’s done through selective breeding. Generally speaking, domestic animals follow most of these criteria:
- Genetically distinct from their wild ancestors and more human-friendly as a genetic trait.
- Dependent on humans for food and reproduction.
- They’re extremely difficult or impossible to breed with wild counterparts.
- Show the physical traits of domestication syndrome, such as smaller skulls, floppy ears, or coat color variations.
Domestication is not the same as taming an animal, which is when humans condition wild animals to live in captivity.
While some research suggests that domestic animals can prosper in the wild, domestic animals are typically more susceptible to predators since they lack some of the advantages, instincts, or traits that help their wild counterparts survive in nature.
Key Reasons for the Domestication of Animals
Humans domesticate animals for a number of reasons: some have been domesticated for food, work, companionship, or a combination of all three.
After dogs, livestock animals such as sheep, cows, and pigs are thought to have been some of the first animals to become domesticated by humans. This was around the same time that humanity shifted from a hunter-gathering lifestyle to an agricultural society.
Domesticated Animal | Primary Type | Estimated Domestication Period | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
Dog | Pet | 13,000–34,000 BCE | Eurasia |
Sheep | Livestock | 9,000 BCE | Middle East |
Goat | Livestock | 8,500 BCE | Middle East |
Pig | Livestock | 8,300 BCE | Middle East |
Cow | Livestock | 8,300 BCE | Middle East |
Cat | Pet | 7,500 BCE | Middle East |
Zebu (Humped Cow) | Livestock | 6,000 BCE | South Asia |
Llama | Livestock | 4,000 BCE | South America |
Horse | Work | 3,500 BCE | Central Asia |
Alpaca | Livestock | 3,000 BCE | South America |
Bactrian Camel (two-humped) | Work | 2,500 BCE | Central Asia |
Chicken | Livestock | 2,000 BCE | East Asia/Middle East |
Arabian Camel (one-humped) | Work | 1,000 BCE | Middle East |
Turkey | Livestock | 0 CE | North America |
Duck | Livestock | 1,000 CE | East Asia/Middle East |
Horses are thought to be some of the first animals domesticated for work. Scientific research suggests that the modern horse originated in Central Asia, and were selectively bred for their exceptional back strength and overall resilience.
When it comes to domesticating animals, herbivores (like cows) are generally the easiest to convert because they’re easier to feed than animals that rely on meats or grains, which need to be sourced or domesticated themselves.
Domestication Has Shaped Modern Humanity
The domestication of species has helped create our modern society. Domesticating plants and animals created a world with stable food production, which enabled the human population to boom worldwide.
This is because agriculture meant fewer people could provide more food to humans on a mass scale, so people had more time to focus on other things like creative pursuits, scientific research, etc. This gave us time to create tools that helped boost efficiencies in farming and agriculture, leading to the world as we know it today.
-
Misc2 weeks ago
Visualizing Which Countries Drink the Most Beer
-
Demographics4 weeks ago
Ranked: The 20 Countries With the Fastest Declining Populations
-
Personal Finance2 weeks ago
Mapped: The Salary You Need to Buy a Home in 50 U.S. Cities
-
Energy3 weeks ago
Visualizing the World’s Largest Oil Producers
-
Energy2 weeks ago
Which Countries Produce the Most Natural Gas?
-
Agriculture4 weeks ago
Timeline: The Domestication of Animals
-
Business3 weeks ago
Ranked: The World’s Largest Container Shipping Companies
-
Misc6 days ago
Brand Loyalty is Declining for Most Luxury Automakers