10 World’s Largest Coconut-Producing Countries

 

10 World’s Largest Coconut-Producing Countries --There are 10 World's Largest Country Producers of Coconuts in 2024 According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2026. Functionally, in human life, coconut and its existence is known for its diverse uses, ranging from food, medicine, construction/furniture to the cosmetic industry and is considered one of the most useful plant species in the world, and is often referred to as the tree of life. The inner flesh of a ripe coconut can be used as a food source for many people. When immature / young coconut, the coconut water in the fruit can be drunk and is beneficial for health.

 

Taxonomically, coconut (Cocos nucifera) belongs to the Aracaeae family so that it is related to date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), sago (Metroxylon sago), oil palm (Elaeis), and Red Palm (Cyrtostachys lakka). Historically, in terms of the originality of the area, the origin of these coconut trees is still debated, although many people say that coconut comes from Southeast Asia and the Melanesia region. Related to biological and agronomic aspects, coconut trees can grow on sandy soils and are very tolerant of high salinity, so it is not surprising that this plant is commonly found in coastal/seaside areas. In terms of climatic aspect, this plant is suitable with the areas which have abundant sunlight and regular rainfall (1,500-3000 mm per year).

 

Commonly, the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the most useful trees in the tropical areas and this tree is grown in more than 90 countries. Most of the parts of trees including the fruits, stems, leaves can be processed into some useful products to humans. Some of the derivative products from coconut, namely coconut water (The refreshing liquid inside young coconuts), coconut flesh (The white flesh inside a mature coconut can be enjoyed fresh, dried (called copra), or grated), coconut milk (Made by grating coconut flesh and squeezing out the liquid, coconut milk is a creamy and flavourful base for soups, curries, and stews), coconut oil (Extracted from dried coconut flesh, coconut oil is a popular cooking oil), coconut sugar (A natural sweetener derived from the sap of coconut flowers), coconut lumber (The tall, straight trunks of coconut palms can be used for building furniture, fences, and even houses),  coconut leaves (The long, green leaves of the coconut palm are used for thatching roofs, making baskets, and weaving mats).

Physically, coconuts are often clustered as “dwarf coconut” or “tall coconut.” Dwarf varieties are self-pollinated and often blossom early. Pollen shedding coincides with the blooming of female flowers. Commonly, dwarf coconuts started to bear fruit around the age of 4 - 5 years with stem height approximately 5 meters (m), sometimes more. Based on the life cycle, the generative phase of the plant is more than 25 years. Furthermore, the stems, leaves and fruit are smaller than tall varieties of coconuts and are thought to be less productive and less tolerant to poor growing conditions. Tall varieties blossom slower and are cross-pollinated. Commonly, tall coconut trees begin to bear fruit at around 5-8 years of age with a stem height of up to 25 meters (m) or more, in addition the productive age of the plant is more than 35 years.

The dwarf cultivars are usually cultivated for harvesting of young coconut fruits. The kind of dwarf coconuts are ‘Nam Hom’ (Thailand), ‘Yellow- Malayan’ (Malaysia, Ivory Coast), ‘Tembili’ or ‘King Coconut’ (Sri Lanka). Meanwhile, the tall coconuts are usually grown for harvesting of mature coconut fruits. The kind of tall coconuts includes ‘Bali’ (Indonesia), ‘Laguna’ (Philippines), ‘Tahiti’ (Tahiti), ‘West African Tall’ (Ivory Coast), Malayan Tall, and Jamaica Tall. Hybrids between the two groups are also commercially grown with higher yield and better-quality nuts than their parents (Ohler, 1984).

 

The World's Area harvested, Production, and Yield of Coconut Fruits from 1961 to 2024

 

Years	World's Area harvested of Coconuts Trees	World's Production of Coconut Fruits	Yield of Coconut Fruits
	(Hectares (Ha))	(Tons)	(Tons/hectare (T/ha))
1961	5,222,741	23,728,295	4.54
1962	5,436,778	25,566,163	4.70
1963	5,599,604	26,055,840	4.65
1964	5,780,222	25,937,591	4.49
1965	5,971,961	25,391,883	4.25
1966	5,995,607	26,126,333	4.36
1967	6,295,569	25,665,958	4.08
1968	6,362,373	25,997,749	4.09
1969	6,555,334	25,227,205	3.85
1970	6,674,568	26,151,865	3.92
1971	6,972,486	28,490,580	4.09
1972	7,061,087	29,910,187	4.24
1973	7,105,115	27,853,472	3.92
1974	7,276,283	26,521,040	3.64
1975	7,380,504	30,599,032	4.15
1976	7,718,809	33,461,451	4.34
1977	7,971,087	31,913,682	4.00
1978	8,167,589	32,533,967	3.98
1979	8,515,868	31,061,641	3.65
1980	8,724,094	32,014,534	3.67
1981	8,887,497	33,862,245	3.81
1982	9,040,193	33,314,578	3.69
1983	8,990,468	32,358,048	3.60
1984	9,099,075	31,266,223	3.44
1985	9,350,318	35,720,893	3.82
1986	9,572,059	38,753,890	4.05
1987	9,743,961	38,511,439	3.95
1988	9,853,611	37,104,790	3.77
1989	9,837,565	38,130,451	3.88
1990	9,936,323	43,279,843	4.36
1991	10,112,290	44,306,073	4.38
1992	10,094,604	45,960,146	4.55
1993	10,364,696	47,385,049	4.57
1994	10,585,155	48,867,281	4.62
1995	10,677,255	50,650,049	4.74
1996	10,763,019	49,776,350	4.62
1997	10,711,686	50,462,993	4.71
1998	10,543,033	49,324,765	4.68
1999	10,579,943	49,598,279	4.69
2000	10,643,599	51,662,827	4.85
2001	10,909,747	52,438,834	4.81
2002	10,764,406	54,014,127	5.02
2003	10,826,571	54,776,515	5.06
2004	10,909,596	55,570,724	5.09
2005	11,016,906	58,353,300	5.30
2006	11,077,831	58,835,858	5.31
2007	11,457,607	62,895,974	5.49
2008	11,397,660	61,137,135	5.36
2009	11,418,843	62,113,059	5.44
2010	11,584,450	61,088,269	5.27
2011	11,733,322	59,828,359	5.10
2012	11,828,414	62,546,086	5.29
2013	11,257,453	62,333,301	5.54
2014	11,042,723	62,006,610	5.62
2015	11,164,304	60,763,955	5.44
2016	11,035,515	60,089,691	5.45
2017	11,112,727	58,985,215	5.31
2018	11,120,423	65,458,856	5.89
2019	11,213,025	63,864,813	5.70
2020	11,088,972	61,680,061	5.56
2021	11,055,063	64,152,854	5.80
2022	10,979,733	63,715,316	5.80
2023	11,223,594	64,974,430	5.79
2024	11,208,376	65,543,721	5.85
Source: FAOSTAT, 2026

 

Based on data from the FAO Statistical Database (FAO Stats), Globally, coconut production and area harvested showed a gradual increase of trends from 1961 to 2024. Specifically, the world’s area harvested of coconuts in 1961 was just 5.2 million hectares (Ha) and it grew into 11.2 million hectares in the year of 2024. Furthermore, the world's coconut production also increased from 23.7 million tons in the year 1961 to 65.5 million tons in 2024. Meanwhile, the yield of coconut fruits is stable in the range of 3-5 tons/ ha (t/ha).

 

The World's Production of Coconut Fruits based on Continental Region in 2024

 

Continent	Production in 2024	World's Production Share of Coconuts in 2024
	(Tons)	(%)
Africa	2,296,996	3.5
Americas	5,704,603	8.7
Asia	55,208,477	84.2
Oceania	2,333,645	3.6
Source: FAOSTAT, 2026

 

 

Specifically, in terms of continental database, coconut production is still dominated by the Asian region with output around 55 million tons, followed by the Americas at 5.7 million tons, Oceania at 2.3 million tons, and Africa with 2.2 million tons. If viewed from the point of view of the country, several countries become the centre of coconut plantations. Because the coconut plant has several benefits, especially in terms of health, many countries are competing to cultivate this plant. The following are some of the world's largest coconut producing countries in 2024. This data is obtained from the FAO Statistical Database for 2026.

 

 

Table Rank of 10 World’s Largest Coconut-Producing Countries in 2024

 

Rank	Country Producers	Production of Coconut in 2024
		(Tons)
1	Indonesia	17,985,386
2	India	14,707,567
3	Philippines	14,500,416
4	Brazil	3,158,018
5	Viet Nam	2,280,323
6	Sri Lanka	1,814,800
7	Myanmar	1,329,374
8	Papua New Guinea	1,250,138
9	Mexico	1,127,654
10	Thailand	975,238
Source: FAOSTAT, 2026

 

Related to countries' production, there are 10 World’s Largest Country Producers of Coconuts in 2024. All the data were obtained from FAO Statistical Corporate Database in 2026. Some of the countries came from the Asian Region because the Asian continent contributes more than 80% of the world's coconut production in 2024.

 

 

Brief Description of 10 World’s Largest Coconut-Producing Countries in the World

 

 

1. Indonesia

 

Indonesia is the world’s largest coconut-producing country with coconut production reaching 17.1 million tons in the year of 2024. In this country, the planted area reaches more than 3.5 million hectares with more than 90% of the area belonging to smallholder farmers. Geographically, Geographically, there are some main cultivation areas of coconut in Indonesia, and it can be found in some provinces including Riau, Sulawesi Utara, Jawa Timur, Maluku Utara, Sulawesi Tengah, Jawa Tengah. Specifically, Province of Riau contributed around 11,74% of total coconut in Indonesia, followed by Sulawesi Utara (9,18%), Jawa Timur (7,87%), Maluku Utara (7,09%), Sulawesi Tengah (6,72%) dan and Tengah (5,50%) (Kementerian Pertanian, 2026).

 

Commonly, there are two types of coconuts most widely cultivated in Indonesia, namely the Kelapa dalam (tall coconut) and the hybrid coconut (tall coconut x dwarf coconut) with total coconut area in Indonesia reaching 3.31 million hectares (ha) in 2025 (Kementerian Pertanian, 2026). In general, in the year of 2025, Indonesia's coconut plantations are dominated by tall coconut, accounting for 97.25% of the total area, while hybrid coconuts account for only 2.75% (Kementerian Pertanian, 2026). The common coconut is distributed in all provinces, while the hybrid coconut is only cultivated in a few provinces in Indonesia. In terms of genetic aspects, there are several types of superior coconut in Indonesia and have been planted in this country. The types of coconuts include Green Coconut, Early Entok Coconut, Gading Coconut, Pandan Fragrant Coconut, Kopyor Coconut, Wulung Coconut, Hybrid Coconut, and Red Coconut.

 

2. India

 

India is the 2nd world’s largest country as the world's largest coconut producing country. In 2024, production reached 14.7 million tons with a land area of more than 2.1 million hectares. There are several states in India that are key areas for coconut cultivation. The area includes the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Of these regions, the states of Kerala and Karna have the largest coconut plantation area in India. In India, coconut is one of the important plants and it symbolizes purity, fertility and blessings besides many religious ceremonies in this country that use coconut. In India, in terms of genetic aspects, there are some popular coconut cultivars or varieties, namely West Coast Tall (WCT), East Coast Tall (ECT), Chandrakalpa (Lakshadweep Ordinary or LCT), Andaman Ordinary (VPM-3), Tiptur Tall, and Kalpa Raksha (Hybrid Variety).

 

3. Philippines

 

The Philippines is the 3rd largest country after Indonesia as a world coconut producing country. According to data from FAO in 2024, coconut production reached 14.5 million tons with a coconut plantation area of more than 3 million hectares. The majority areas of the Philippines' coconut production can be found in several regions, namely Davao, North Mindanao, and the Zamboanga Peninsula. Many of the country's coconuts are also exported abroad in the form of coconut oil, dried coconut, copra meal, and oleochemicals. In 2013 coconut farming in this country experienced a shock, Typhoon Haiyan which damaged coconut plantations there and it is estimated that around 44 million crops were damaged and affected 1 million coconut farmers in the country. Until now, recovery efforts are still being conducted with assistance/loans from national or international institutions. In Philippine’s, related to genetic aspect, there are some cultivars of coconut which was grown in Philippines, namely Tacunan Dwarf, Laguna Tall, Catigan Dwarf, NAT (Natural Tall),

  

4. Brazil

Introduced by Portuguese explorers in 1553 and first planted in the state of Bahia, Brazil still became one of the world's major country producers of coconut in 2024. Statistically, according to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), the production of Brazil’s coconut in 2024 reached 3.1 million tons. In terms of geographical production, The North and Northeast regions of the country still become main coconut production located in the states of Bahia, Sergipe, and Ceará. In Brazil, related to genetics, some coconut trees can be found and cultivated in Brazil including Green Dwarf (Cocos nucifera var. nana), Yellow Dwarf (Cocos nucifera var. aurantiaca), Malayan Tall (Cocos nucifera var. typica), and King Coconut (Cocos nucifera var. aurantiaca).

 

5. Vietnam

Vietnam also became one of the world’s largest country producers of Coconuts in 2024. Statistically, the production of coconut from Vietnam reached 2.28 million tons. Geographically, the main growing of coconut in Vietnam can be found in the Mekong Delta which has total coconut areas around 170 - 175 thousand hectares (ha), followed by South Central Coast (16-20 thousand hectares (ha)). Specifically, in the Mekong Delta, some of the provinces which have large cultivation areas of coconut are Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Soc Trang. Furthermore, some provinces in the South-Central Coast which have large areas of coconut trees are Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa. In terms of genetic aspects, some of the planted coconut trees found in Vietnam include Green Siamese Coconut (Dừa xiêm xanh), Blue Siamese Coconut (Dừa xiêm lục), Red Siamese Coconut (Dừa xiêm lửa), Macapuno Coconut, and Vietnamese Green and Yellow Coconut.

 

 

6. Sri Lanka

 

Sri Lanka is the 6^th world’s largest country producer of coconuts in 2024. Statistically, the production of coconut in 2024 reached 1.8 million tons. In this country, coconut is an important commodity utilizing 70% to 75% of the Sri Lanka’s total harvested coconut. Specifically, the harvested coconut in Sri Lanka can be used as Pol Sambol (Coconut Relish), Pol Roti (Coconut Flatbread), Kiri Bath (Milk Rice), Curry Bases. Specifically, as one of most cultivated trees in Sri Lanka with around 12% of its agricultural products are contributed from coconut plants with an area of approximately 395 thousand hectares. Geographically, the main cultivation area of coconut in Sri Lanka is in the area called the Coconut Triangle, which includes the districts of Puttalam, Kurunegala, and Colombo. Furthermore, to boost the Sri Lanka Coconut Production, the government and industry stakeholders in that country have recently launched a massive expansion project into the Northern Province (Jaffna, Mullaitivu, and Mannar). In Sri Lanka, in terms of genetic aspects, some cultivated coconut trees, which can be found, includes Tall Coconut (Gon Thæmbili, Nawasi, and Pora pol coconut), dwarf coconut, and king coconut.

 

7. Myanmar

Myanmar also becomes one of the world’s largest country producers of coconuts in 2024. Statistically, the production of coconuts from Myanmar reached 1.3 million tons. Geographically, In Myanmar, coconuts are cultivated extensively in Shan and Mon States, covering over 5,000 hectares. Some of the harvested coconuts in Myanmar also exported into some foreign countries including Bangladesh, China, India. Functionally, in the culinary aspects, Coconut can be processed as ingredients as some dishes including Ohn No Khao Swè, Ohn Htamin (Coconut Rice), Kyawk Kyaw (Burmese Coconut Jelly), Mont Let Hsaung.

 

8. Papua New Guinea

Statistically, the production of coconut from Papua New Guinea reached 1.25 million tons in 2024. Geographically, the coconut plantation in Papua New Guinea can be found in East New Britain, Madang, New Ireland, West New Britain, Milne Bay, East Sepik, Morobe, Central, Oro and Gulf Provinces. In terms of genetic aspects, In Papua New Guinea, some coconut tree cultivars / varieties which can be found in this country are Karkar Tall, Rabaul Pompon, Lowland Niuhi, and Spicata Red Dwarf.

 

9. Mexico

Statistically, according to the FAO Statistical Corporate Database, the production of coconuts from Mexico in 2024 reached 1.12 million tons. Dominated by smallholder farmers, there are some main cultivation areas in Mexico founded in Guerrero leading as the top producer, accounting for approximately 17% of Mexico's coconut output, followed by Jalisco, Quintana Roo, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Colima.

 

10. Thailand

The production of coconut from Thailand reached 975 thousand tons in 2024. Geographically, most of the coconut growing areas can be found in the peninsular provinces or on the shores of the Gulf of Thailand accounting for 80% of Thailand's total planted area. Structurally, around 80% of Coconut farms in Thailand are owned by the smallholder farmers with an average farm size of 2.4 hectares. Specifically, in Thailand, there is a popular variety of coconuts, and it is the Nam Hom variety. Functionally, the Nam Hom is cultivated exclusively for the premium beverage and fresh fruit export markets.

 

The Table Rank of 10 World’s Largest Country Producers of Coconuts in 2024

 

The Histogram Rank of 10 World’s Largest Country Producers of Coconuts in 2024

 

 

 

Source of 10 Largest Coconut-Producing Countries in the World 2024

 

Food Agriculture Organization (FAO).2024. Production of Coconuts: top 10 producers Accessed via http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/visualize on 13 November, 2025

Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture.2019. Indonesian Plantation Statistics Accessed Through http://ditjenbun.pertanian.go.id/?publikasi=buku-publikasi-statistik-2016-2019

Philippine Statistics Authority. 2019. Major Non-Food and Industrial Crops Quarterly Bulletin, October-December 2019 Accessed via https://psa.gov.ph/non-food/coconut. on 13 July 2021

Ghosh, S. 2019. Coconut production in India on a high growth phase Accessed Through https://www.indoasiancommodities.com/2019/06/05/coconut-production-india-high-growth-phase/  on 13 July, 2021

Sri Lanka Export Development Board. 2020. Coconut Export Performance accessed via https://www.srilankabusiness.com/coconut/about/export-performance.html  on 13 July, 2021

 

Siriphanich, J., Saradhuldhat, P., Romphophak, T., Krisanapook, K., Pathaveerat, S., & Tongchitpakdee, S. (2011). Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.). In Postharvest biology and technology of tropical and subtropical Fruits (pp. 8-35e). Woodhead Publishing.

Ohler., J.G. 1984. Coconut, Tree of Life. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Balai Informasi Pertanian. 1984. Budidaya Kelapa dan Masalahnya. Balai Informasi Pertanian Ungaran, Departemen Pertanian.

Kementerian Pertanian. 2026. Outlook Komoditas Perkebunan Kelapa. Accessed via https://satudata.pertanian.go.id/assets/docs/publikasi/OUTLOOK_KELAPA_2025_sign.pdf  on February 20th, 2026. Pusat Data Dan Sistem Informasi Pertanian Sekretariat Jenderal Kementerian Pertanian Tahun 2025.

 

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