How much of world output rests on estimates?

For the 67 commodities with FAOSTAT or FAO FishStat production data, the median commodity has 69% of its output in official figures. 14 have more than half of their output estimated or imputed, led by dates, silk, yams, tea. 1 is almost entirely official.

Each figure in these datasets carries a flag. Official means the country reported it. Estimated means the reporting country or FAO made an estimate from limited data. Imputed means FAO filled a gap where a country did not report, using a model. International means the value comes from another international organisation. Shares are weighted by production, so a flagged small producer barely moves the total. Imputed figures are FAO's own best estimate and can differ from national statistics. Click a heading to sort.

Share of world production by data flag, for each commodity
Commodity	Official	International	Estimated	Imputed	Top-10 producers estimated or imputed	Source, year
Dates	7.4%	<0.1%	2%	91%	9 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Silk	10%	<0.1%	89%	1.2%	7 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Yams	14%	<0.1%	72%	14%	6 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Tea	19%	<0.1%	53%	27%	6 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Vanilla	29%	<0.1%	55%	16%	7 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Shrimp	30%	<0.1%	70%	<0.1%	4 of 10	FAO FishStat, 2024
Cinnamon	31%	<0.1%	1.4%	68%	8 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Eggs	36%	<0.1%	59%	5.3%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Plywood	22%	15%	56%	7.6%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT forestry, 2024
Lamb	36%	2.3%	28%	33%	5 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Plantains	40%	<0.1%	12%	48%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Logs	46%	<0.1%	54%	<0.1%	6 of 10	FAOSTAT forestry, 2024
Fishmeal	49%	<0.1%	51%	<0.1%	4 of 10	FAO FishStat, 2024
Tomatoes	49%	0.1%	35%	16%	3 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cassava	55%	<0.1%	23%	22%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Sawnwood	53%	1.9%	45%	<0.1%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT forestry, 2024
Potatoes	56%	0.2%	6.8%	37%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Wool	58%	<0.1%	24%	18%	6 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cardamom	60%	<0.1%	0.8%	39%	3 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Ginger	62%	<0.1%	16%	22%	5 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Grapes	64%	0.2%	0.5%	35%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Honey	66%	<0.1%	14%	20%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Sisal	69%	<0.1%	12%	19%	7 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Milk	70%	0.1%	28%	2.4%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Pineapples	70%	<0.1%	11%	19%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Pistachios	70%	<0.1%	0.6%	29%	6 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Pepper	73%	<0.1%	9.9%	17%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Beef	73%	0.9%	12%	15%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Sesame seed	39%	38%	0.1%	23%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cloves	77%	<0.1%	6.1%	17%	7 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Tobacco	78%	<0.1%	3.7%	19%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Almonds	77%	1.5%	9.5%	12%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Chicken	67%	14%	3.5%	16%	3 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Bananas	82%	<0.1%	4.1%	14%	3 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Mangoes	82%	<0.1%	3.5%	14%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cashews	83%	<0.1%	1.2%	16%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Hazelnuts	84%	<0.1%	10%	6.4%	4 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Coffee	80%	5.2%	2.5%	13%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Sugar	39%	47%	8.2%	6.6%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Orange juice	67%	18%	2.2%	12%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Oranges	67%	18%	2.2%	12%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Apples	86%	0.5%	1.4%	12%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cheese	87%	<0.1%	1.6%	12%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Avocados	81%	6.4%	3.2%	9.5%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Chickpeas	90%	<0.1%	1.1%	9.1%	3 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cotton	86%	4.5%	1.3%	8.4%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Olive oil	68%	23%	<0.1%	9.4%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Peanuts	74%	18%	0.2%	8.4%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Pork	87%	4.8%	0.5%	7.9%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Lentils	92%	<0.1%	3.4%	4.6%	2 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Sorghum	57%	38%	0.3%	5.6%	1 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Jute	95%	<0.1%	0.6%	4.6%	6 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Barley	79%	17%	0.7%	3.3%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Oats	82%	15%	2.5%	0.5%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Coconut oil	41%	57%	0.3%	2%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Rice	90%	7.4%	0.9%	1.2%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Wheat	83%	15%	1%	0.4%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Linseed	46%	52%	0.3%	1.1%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Cocoa	70%	28%	0.3%	1.1%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Corn	93%	5.9%	1%	0.4%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Palm kernel oil	28%	71%	0.1%	1.1%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Natural rubber	76%	24%	0.2%	0.1%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Palm oil	89%	11%	<0.1%	0.2%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Sunflower oil	13%	86%	<0.1%	0.2%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2023
Soybeans	97%	3.3%	<0.1%	0.2%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Canola	94%	5.8%	<0.1%	<0.1%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024
Quinoa	100%	<0.1%	<0.1%	<0.1%	0 of 10	FAOSTAT, 2024

FAOSTAT crops, livestock and forestry and FAO FishStat, latest year for each commodity; flags as published (A official, X international, E estimated, I imputed). Minerals (USGS) and energy (Energy Institute) carry no per-country flags, so they are not shown; USGS figures for many countries are themselves estimates. The same flags appear beside individual figures on each commodity page.

More patterns

Concentration: How much of each commodity comes from one country?
Producer or exporter?: Is the biggest producer also the biggest seller abroad?
Prices in real terms: Which prices are records once inflation is removed?
Growth and decline: Whose output is rising or falling fastest?
Linked prices and seasons: Which prices move together, and which have a season?
Reserves and mining: Where are the deposits, and who digs them up?
Supply concentration: Which commodities depend on the fewest suppliers?
Land or yield?: Did output grow because farmers planted more or farmed better?
Supply shocks and prices: When world output falls, do prices rise?
Category price indices: How have energy, metals and food prices moved since 1960?
Drawdowns and volatility: How far do prices fall, and do they recover?
Stocks and prices: Are prices lower when the world holds more stock?
Which prices follow oil?: How closely does each commodity track crude oil?
Net exporters and importers: Who is a net seller and who a net buyer?
Country leaders: Which countries lead across the most commodities?
Export dependency: Which countries rely on one commodity?
Concentration over time: Has production spread out or narrowed?
Import dependency: Which countries buy most of a commodity from one supplier?
Supplier shifts: Who gained and lost importers' business?
Trade price against benchmark: Does traded product sell above or below the benchmark price?
Prices in other currencies: How much of a price move is the dollar?
Do prices lead each other?: Does one commodity price move before another?
Volatility over time: Are prices more volatile now than they used to be?
Seasonality: Which prices have a calendar-month pattern?
Price ratios: What does one commodity buy of another, and is that high or low?
El Niño and prices: Do El Niño and La Niña years move commodity prices?
Who consumes it: Which countries consume each commodity, and how much per person?
Self-sufficiency: Which large markets depend on imports, and which produce far more than they use?
Trade flows: Who sells each commodity to whom?

Every figure is computed from the same tables as the commodity pages. The full set is in patterns.json, and single facts from it appear each day on the facts page.