1
India
India produced 207,753,551 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023, about 1.15 million tonnes more than mainland China, which puts it narrowly at the top of FAO's ranking.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 207,753,551Region: South Asia
Top 10 Rice-Producing Countries by Annual Production
India grew 207.75 million tonnes of rice (paddy) in 2023, just ahead of mainland China's 206.60 million, according to FAOSTAT.
Quick answer
India was the world's largest rice producer in 2023, with 207.75 million tonnes of paddy rice. China (mainland) was second at 206.60 million tonnes and Bangladesh third at 60.60 million tonnes. The ranking uses FAOSTAT's 2023 country production figures for the item 'Rice' (paddy).
Rice production is dominated by two countries. In 2023 India and mainland China together grew 414.36 million tonnes of paddy rice, more than the other eight countries on this list combined, and India edged ahead of China by about 1.15 million tonnes. The rest of the top ten is almost entirely South and Southeast Asia. Brazil, at 10.29 million tonnes, is the largest producer outside Asia and ranks 11th.
Rice (paddy) production, 2023 (million tonnes)
India
China (mainland)
Bangladesh
Indonesia
Vietnam
Thailand
Myanmar
Philippines
Pakistan
Cambodia
The ranking
2
China (mainland)
Mainland China produced 206,603,200 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023, down from 208,494,800 tonnes in 2022. Together with India it accounts for more rice than the rest of the top ten combined.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 206,603,200Region: East Asia
3
Bangladesh
Bangladesh produced 60,601,181 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023, up 4.9% on 2022 (our calculation), making it a distant but clear third.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 60,601,181Region: South Asia
4
Indonesia
Indonesia produced 53,980,993 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023, the most of any Southeast Asian country.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 53,980,993Region: Southeast Asia
5
Vietnam
Vietnam produced 43,497,625 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 43,497,625Region: Southeast Asia
6
Thailand
Thailand produced 33,851,579 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 33,851,579Region: Southeast Asia
7
Myanmar
Myanmar produced 25,650,000 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 25,650,000Region: Southeast Asia
8
Philippines
The Philippines produced 20,059,562 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 20,059,562Region: Southeast Asia
9
Pakistan
Pakistan produced 14,788,853 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023, the third South Asian country in the top ten.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 14,788,853Region: South Asia
10
Cambodia
Cambodia produced 13,186,400 tonnes of paddy rice in 2023, up 11.3% on 2022 (our calculation), enough to edge Brazil (10.29 million tonnes) out of the top ten.
Production, 2023 (tonnes): 13,186,400Region: Southeast Asia
Full comparison
| # | Name | Production, 2023 (tonnes) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 207,753,551 | South Asia |
| 2 | China (mainland) | 206,603,200 | East Asia |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 60,601,181 | South Asia |
| 4 | Indonesia | 53,980,993 | Southeast Asia |
| 5 | Vietnam | 43,497,625 | Southeast Asia |
| 6 | Thailand | 33,851,579 | Southeast Asia |
| 7 | Myanmar | 25,650,000 | Southeast Asia |
| 8 | Philippines | 20,059,562 | Southeast Asia |
| 9 | Pakistan | 14,788,853 | South Asia |
| 10 | Cambodia | 13,186,400 | Southeast Asia |
How we ranked this
Countries are ranked by 2023 production of the FAOSTAT item 'Rice' (Production: Crops and livestock products, element Production, tonnes), from the FAOSTAT bulk download (Production_Crops_Livestock, release of 23 December 2025). Figures are paddy (unmilled) rice, so they are larger than milled-rice figures published by USDA and others; those are not mixed in. One source, one year: 2023. 'China' is mainland China; Taiwan (1.46 million tonnes) is reported separately and FAO's 'China' aggregate is not used, so nothing is counted twice. Regional and world totals are excluded. Values are shown in million tonnes rounded to two decimals; ranks use the unrounded tonnes, and there are no ties. Changes against 2022 are our calculations from the same dataset.
FAQ
Which country produces the most rice?
In 2023 it was India, with 207.75 million tonnes of paddy rice by FAOSTAT's count, narrowly ahead of mainland China at 206.60 million tonnes.
Why are these figures higher than other rice statistics?
FAO reports rice as paddy, the unmilled grain still in its husk. Milling removes the husk and bran, so milled-rice figures (as used by USDA) are lower. This list uses paddy figures only.
Which is the largest rice producer outside Asia?
Brazil, with 10.29 million tonnes in 2023, which ranks 11th worldwide in the same FAO dataset.
Sources
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