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Where Sunflower seed Grows

Russia grew the most sunflower seed in 2024: 17.2 million tonnes, 32.9% of the world’s 52.2 million tonnes. Watch the top producers light up on the world map, coloured by their share of the world’s sunflower seed.

Rice Wheat Corn (maize) Potato Mango Banana Coffee Cocoa Tea Apple Tomato Jute

Sunflower seed grown in 2024

Point at or tap a country to see how much it grows.

Share of the world’s sunflower seed: 25% or more 10–25% 5–10% 2–5% 0.5–2% Under 0.5% None recorded

Top 10 sunflower seed producers

Tonnes grown in 2024

1Russia 32.9%

17.2 million tonnes
2Ukraine 21.0%

11.0 million tonnes
3Argentina 7.5%

3.9 million tonnes
4China 4.5%

2.3 million tonnes
5Turkey 4.2%

2.2 million tonnes
6Kazakhstan 3.5%

1.8 million tonnes
7Hungary 3.4%

1.8 million tonnes
8Bulgaria 3.1%

1.6 million tonnes
9Romania 2.9%

1.5 million tonnes
10France 2.8%

1.5 million tonnes

World total

52.2 million tonnes

Countries growing it

Largest producer

Russia

Top 3 together

61.4%

All 74 countries that grow sunflower seed

#	Country	Tonnes	Share
1	Russia	17,200,000	32.9%
2	Ukraine	10,955,940	21.0%
3	Argentina	3,895,156	7.5%
4	China	2,348,400	4.5%
5	Turkey	2,195,000	4.2%
6	Kazakhstan	1,834,397	3.5%
7	Hungary	1,798,950	3.4%
8	Bulgaria	1,644,740	3.1%
9	Romania	1,508,000	2.9%
10	France	1,479,770	2.8%
11	Tanzania	1,200,000	2.3%
12	Spain	831,610	1.6%
13	South Africa	632,000	1.2%
14	Serbia	622,512	1.2%
15	Moldova	618,984	1.2%
16	United States	519,640	1.0%
17	Italy	287,680	0.6%
18	Uganda	285,000	0.5%
19	Bolivia	249,191	0.5%
20	Myanmar	200,000	0.4%
21	Greece	188,480	0.4%
22	Croatia	180,590	0.3%
23	India	177,329	0.3%
24	Slovakia	163,330	0.3%
25	Germany	134,200	0.3%
26	Egypt	117,671	0.2%
27	Pakistan	98,477	0.2%
28	Brazil	90,221	0.2%
29	Iran	66,000	0.1%
30	Sudan	59,500	0.1%
31	Austria	53,480	0.1%
32	South Sudan	52,679	0.1%
33	Canada	50,680	0.1%
34	Morocco	45,490	0.1%
35	Zambia	44,128	0.1%
36	Poland	41,350	0.1%
37	Czechia	41,120	0.1%
38	Australia	32,030	0.1%
39	Azerbaijan	29,341	0.1%
40	Paraguay	25,110	under 0.1%
41	Thailand	25,000	under 0.1%
42	Uzbekistan	22,717	under 0.1%
43	Malawi	22,000	under 0.1%
44	Switzerland	15,885	under 0.1%
45	Tajikistan	13,000	under 0.1%
46	Angola	12,390	under 0.1%
47	Venezuela	9,989	under 0.1%
48	Syria	9,862	under 0.1%
49	Zimbabwe	9,602	under 0.1%
50	Mozambique	9,155	under 0.1%
51	Portugal	6,900	under 0.1%
52	Ethiopia	6,507	under 0.1%
53	Tunisia	6,412	under 0.1%
54	Kenya	6,000	under 0.1%
55	Mexico	5,344	under 0.1%
56	North Macedonia	5,341	under 0.1%
57	Belarus	5,000	under 0.1%
58	Uruguay	5,000	under 0.1%
59	Kyrgyzstan	4,337	under 0.1%
60	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,816	under 0.1%
61	Botswana	3,117	under 0.1%
62	Israel	2,800	under 0.1%
63	Chile	2,186	under 0.1%
64	Georgia	1,300	under 0.1%
65	Slovenia	1,200	under 0.1%
66	Albania	1,160	under 0.1%
67	Afghanistan	1,131	under 0.1%
68	Luxembourg	670	under 0.1%
69	Iraq	391	under 0.1%
70	Ecuador	231	under 0.1%
71	Algeria	89	under 0.1%
72	Namibia	69	under 0.1%
73	Puerto Rico	4	under 0.1%
74	Bhutan	1	under 0.1%

Where other food grows

Grains

Fruit

Vegetables

Beans and nuts

Drinks, sugar and spices

Fibres and more

Data: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 28 October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL. Licence: CC-BY-4.0. FAOSTAT item: Sunflower seed. Some figures are FAO estimates. Xilfy is not affiliated with or endorsed by FAO.

Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain). Borders are simplified and do not imply any view on disputed territory.

About the Where Food Grows

Where Food Grows shows which countries grow the food we eat. Pick one of 73 crops – rice, wheat, mango, banana, coffee, cocoa, tea, jute and more – and the countries that grow it light up on the world map one after another, largest producer first. Each country is coloured by its share of the world’s crop, with the top 10 beside the map and every producing country ranked below, from FAOSTAT’s latest figures.

How to use it

1 Pick a crop from the list or the buttons above the map.
2 Watch the top producers light up; press Replay to see it again.
3 Point at or tap any country for its tonnes, rank and share of the world.
4 Scroll down for every country that grows the crop, or copy the link to share it.

Frequently asked questions

Which country produces the most sunflower seed?

Russia grew the most sunflower seed in 2024: 17.2 million tonnes, 32.9% of the world’s 52.2 million tonnes. The figures are FAOSTAT’s for 2024.

What are the top 5 sunflower seed producing countries?

Russia (32.9%), Ukraine (21.0%), Argentina (7.5%), China (4.5%) and Turkey (4.2%), by tonnes grown in 2024.

Where does the data come from?

From FAOSTAT, the food and farming statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), dataset “Crops and livestock products”, under the CC BY 4.0 licence. It shows the latest year FAO has published, usually two years behind.

Why do some numbers look different from other sources?

Countries report in different ways and FAO fills gaps with its own estimates. Some crops are also grouped: FAO counts mangoes together with guavas and mangosteens, and lemons with limes. The FAOSTAT item name under the map says exactly what is counted.

Why are Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao shown apart from China?

FAOSTAT reports them separately, so the map follows its figures. Borders are simplified and do not imply any view on disputed territory.

Why is a country grey?

FAOSTAT has no production of that crop recorded for it in the latest year. It may grow a little that is not reported.

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