Swordfish production over time (1950–2024)
Follow swordfish production for the world’s countries, year by year, from 1950 to 2024.
- The country ranked first changed over time: Japan in 1950–1990, Spain in 1991, Japan in 1992–1994, Spain in 1995–1997, Japan in 1998, Spain in 1999–2024.
- Japan’s swordfish production went from 14.5K t in 1950 to 7.12K t in 2024 (down 7.38K t).
- Japan ranked #1 of 12 countries in 1950 and #5 of 73 in 2024. The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.
Japan and the leading countries
| Country | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spain | 2.03K t | 722 t | 4.06K t | 4.56K t | 15.1K t | 15.2K t | 19K t | 23.4K t | 31.2K t |
 Ecuador | – | – | – | – | 352 t | – | 490 t | 5.24K t | 9.62K t |
 Sri Lanka | – | – | – | – | 395 t | 3.44K t | 3.16K t | 9.66K t | 7.62K t |
 Chile | 800 t | 500 t | 200 t | 104 t | 4.96K t | 2.97K t | 4.36K t | 5.52K t | 7.27K t |
 Japan | 14.5K t | 16K t | 20.8K t | 14.7K t | 18K t | 13.2K t | 12.3K t | 8.77K t | 7.12K t |
| Countries with data | 12 | 16 | 21 | 30 | 43 | 60 | 72 | 76 | 73 |
Ranking and map for any year
Choose a year to see that year’s top countries and the world map. Colors split that year’s ranking into seven steps.
| Rank | Country | Swordfish production |
|---|
Biggest changes, 1950–2024
Compared among the countries that have data in both 1950 and 2024, ranked by how much the amount grew or shrank (the difference in quantity, not a percentage).
| Country | 1950 | 2024 | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2.03K t | 31.2K t | up 29.1K t | #3 → #1 |
| Chile | 800 t | 7.27K t | up 6.47K t | #6 → #4 |
 Italy | 1K t | 5.75K t | up 4.75K t | #4 → #6 |
 Indonesia | 18.1 t | 2.67K t | up 2.65K t | #11 → #8 |
 India | 29 t | 1.67K t | up 1.64K t | #9 → #13 |
| Country | 1950 | 2024 | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 14.5K t | 7.12K t | down 7.38K t | #1 → #5 |
 Peru | 6.9K t | 74.5 t | down 6.83K t | #2 → #47 |
The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.
All countries in key years
Open the table (countries with data)
| Country | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2.03K t | 722 t | 4.06K t | 4.56K t | 15.1K t | 15.2K t | 19K t | 23.4K t | 31.2K t |
| Ecuador | – | – | – | – | 352 t | – | 490 t | 5.24K t | 9.62K t |
| Sri Lanka | – | – | – | – | 395 t | 3.44K t | 3.16K t | 9.66K t | 7.62K t |
| Chile | 800 t | 500 t | 200 t | 104 t | 4.96K t | 2.97K t | 4.36K t | 5.52K t | 7.27K t |
| Japan | 14.5K t | 16K t | 20.8K t | 14.7K t | 18K t | 13.2K t | 12.3K t | 8.77K t | 7.12K t |
| Italy | 1K t | 3K t | 2.02K t | 4.14K t | 9.1K t | 7.52K t | 6.02K t | 2.25K t | 5.75K t |
 Portugal | – | – | 8 t | 15 t | 475 t | 1.34K t | 2.58K t | 2.85K t | 3.47K t |
| Indonesia | 18.1 t | 142 t | 220 t | 884 t | 1.79K t | 4.27K t | 8.26K t | 1.73K t | 2.67K t |
 China | – | – | – | – | – | 879 t | 2.84K t | 2.63K t | 2.41K t |
 Brazil | – | 400 t | 162 t | 1.58K t | 1.7K t | 4.7K t | 2.93K t | 2.11K t | 2.38K t |
 United States | 425 t | 606 t | 700 t | 4.34K t | 8.75K t | 8.01K t | 3.53K t | 2.25K t | 1.76K t |
 Canada | 1K t | 1.8K t | 4.8K t | 1.89K t | 911 t | 1.02K t | 1.35K t | 1.33K t | 1.7K t |
| India | 29 t | 22 t | 23 t | 133 t | 110 t | 451 t | 1.49K t | 514 t | 1.67K t |
 Morocco | – | – | 231 t | 136 t | 1.34K t | 2.82K t | 2.57K t | 1.81K t | 1.65K t |
 Iran | – | – | – | – | 1 t | 89 t | 206 t | 900 t | 1.52K t |
 Costa Rica | – | – | – | – | – | 409 t | 721 t | 916 t | 1.22K t |
 Vietnam | – | – | – | – | – | 253 t | 820 t | 912 t | 1.1K t |
 Oman | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 968 t |
 Australia | – | – | – | – | 23 t | 3.88K t | 1.42K t | 831 t | 882 t |
 South Korea | – | – | 422 t | 1.25K t | 234 t | 665 t | 1.87K t | 1.12K t | 836 t |
 Tunisia | – | – | – | – | 176 t | 483 t | 1.02K t | 918 t | 799 t |
 Mexico | – | – | – | 380 t | 2.65K t | 2.22K t | 760 t | 32.9 t | 758 t |
 Seychelles | – | – | – | – | – | 456 t | 665 t | 1.86K t | 647 t |
 South Africa | – | – | – | 31 t | – | 361 t | 542 t | 301 t | 615 t |
 Panama | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 786 t | 509 t |
 Malaysia | – | – | – | – | – | – | 333 t | 927 t | 502 t |
 Greece | – | – | – | – | 1.34K t | 1.96K t | 1.49K t | 657 t | 501 t |
 Algeria | – | – | – | 650 t | 712 t | 816 t | 459 t | 501 t | 472 t |
 Namibia | – | – | – | – | – | 469 t | 417 t | 789 t | 402 t |
 Bangladesh | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 402 t |
 Vanuatu | – | – | – | – | – | – | 298 t | 535 t | 398 t |
 Senegal | – | – | – | – | – | 39 t | 191 t | 70.6 t | 395 t |
 Malta | – | – | 112 t | 222 t | 135 t | 175 t | 423 t | 361 t | 381 t |
 Türkiye | – | 100 t | 99 t | 13 t | 243 t | 370 t | 334 t | 402 t | 379 t |
 France | – | – | – | 5 t | 79 t | 122 t | 113 t | 200 t | 331 t |
 New Zealand | – | – | – | – | 80 t | 975 t | 535 t | 219 t | 330 t |
 Nigeria | – | – | – | – | – | – | 72 t | 304 t | 330 t |
 Mauritius | – | – | – | – | – | – | 212 t | 1.01 t | 190 t |
 Kiribati | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 109 t | 174 t |
 Kenya | – | – | – | 8 t | – | 2 t | 86 t | 423 t | 132 t |
 Libya | – | – | – | – | – | 8 t | – | 22 t | 120 t |
 Egypt | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 t | 100 t |
 Madagascar | – | – | – | – | – | – | 99 t | 14.8 t | 93.7 t |
 Belize | – | – | – | – | – | 11 t | 241 t | 113 t | 87.3 t |
 Tanzania | – | – | – | – | – | – | 54 t | 711 t | 84 t |
 Micronesia | – | – | – | – | – | 41 t | 15 t | 48.4 t | 78.5 t |
| Peru | 6.9K t | 400 t | 2.4K t | 216 t | 2 t | 20 t | 418 t | 14.3 t | 74.5 t |
 Côte d’Ivoire | – | – | – | – | 8 t | 20 t | 186 t | 44.8 t | 66.9 t |
 Fiji | – | – | – | – | 2 t | 118 t | 90 t | 106 t | 63.5 t |
 Cyprus | – | – | – | 72 t | 173 t | 82 t | 32 t | 30.3 t | 61.8 t |
 Ireland | – | – | – | – | – | 35 t | 1 t | 23.6 t | 61.3 t |
 Comoros | 14 t | 7 t | 32 t | 270 t | 484 t | 489 t | 208 t | 40.1 t | 41.5 t |
 Croatia | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 t | 23.1 t | 40.5 t |
 Venezuela | – | – | 23 t | 192 t | 9 t | 30 t | 24 t | 17.3 t | 38.9 t |
 Marshall Islands | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 t | 17 t | 38.9 t |
 Solomon Islands | – | – | – | 3 t | – | 5 t | 74 t | 95 t | 35 t |
 Republic of the Congo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3.03 t | 21 t |
 Montenegro | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6.52 t | 17.8 t |
 Tonga | – | – | – | – | 5 t | 29 t | 26 t | 16 t | 13 t |
 Ghana | – | – | – | 110 t | 146 t | 117 t | 116 t | 31.2 t | 11.8 t |
 São Tomé & Príncipe | – | – | – | – | 181 t | 120 t | 193 t | 3.78 t | 8.9 t |
 Barbados | – | – | – | – | – | 13 t | 13 t | 11.8 t | 8.37 t |
 Grenada | – | – | – | – | 1 t | 84 t | 20 t | 15.4 t | 6.56 t |
 Trinidad & Tobago | – | – | – | – | 66 t | 41 t | 21 t | 7.76 t | 4.09 t |
 Guyana | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4.52 t | 3 t |
 Liberia | – | – | – | 5 t | 3 t | 42 t | 55 t | 3.46 t | 1.47 t |
 Papua New Guinea | – | – | – | – | – | 12 t | 93 t | 0.35 t | 1.14 t |
 Tuvalu | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 t | 0.9 t |
 Samoa | – | – | – | – | – | 123 t | 7 t | 27 t | 0.84 t |
 Guatemala | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.72 t |
 Togo | – | – | – | – | 3 t | 7 t | 3 t | 5 t | 0.4 t |
 United Kingdom | – | – | – | – | – | 1 t | 581 t | 202 t | 0.072 t |
 Nauru | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.15 t | 0.03 t |
 Albania | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17 t | – | – |
 Angola | 100 t | 100 t | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Argentina | – | 300 t | 400 t | – | 230 t | – | 1 t | – | – |
 Bulgaria | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Benin | – | – | – | – | 28 t | – | 18 t | – | – |
 Colombia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3.39 t | – |
 Cuba | – | 300 t | 282 t | 594 t | 495 t | 11 t | – | – | – |
 Cape Verde | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Dominica | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Gabon | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.2 t | – | – |
 Guinea | – | – | – | – | – | – | 359 t | – | – |
 Equatorial Guinea | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Guinea-Bissau | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Honduras | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Israel | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Iceland | – | – | – | – | – | 2 t | – | – | – |
 St. Kitts & Nevis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 t | – |
 Lebanon | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 St. Lucia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Lithuania | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Maldives | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Mozambique | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 131 t | – |
 Nicaragua | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Netherlands | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Norway | – | – | 400 t | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Philippines | 19 t | 34 t | 97 t | 153 t | 184 t | 58 t | 90 t | 16 t | – |
 Pakistan | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Poland | – | – | – | 1 t | – | – | – | – | – |
 Palau | – | – | – | – | – | 1 t | – | – | – |
 Russia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Sierra Leone | – | – | – | – | – | 2 t | – | – | – |
 Syria | – | – | – | – | – | – | 37 t | – | – |
 Thailand | – | – | – | – | – | 15 t | 81 t | – | – |
 Ukraine | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 Uruguay | – | – | – | – | 302 t | 713 t | 222 t | – | – |
 St. Vincent & Grenadines | – | – | – | – | 3 t | – | 17 t | 10 t | – |
 Yemen | – | – | – | 7 t | – | – | 3.6K t | 1.79K t | – |
| Countries with data | 12 | 16 | 21 | 30 | 43 | 60 | 72 | 76 | 73 |
Notes on reading this history
Yearly values come from the same statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FishStat). The number of countries with data differs by year, so each year’s ranks are given only among the countries that have data that year. Countries that produce none (zero) are not ranked. Weather and harvests make the yearly values go up and down. The “latest value” on the ranking page uses each country’s latest year, so it does not always match the ranks for a single year.
The weight is wild catch and farmed production added together, counted as live weight: the whole animal as it was caught or harvested, before it is gutted, shelled or processed. It is more than the weight of the food you buy.
Older years have fewer countries with data. See the “Countries with data” row in the table.
Source: FAO. 2026. FishStat: Global production by production source. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division [online]. Rome. Updated 2026. Accessed on 05 November 2026. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production Licence: CC-BY-4.0. Processed by this site. fao.org/fishery
FishStat data last updated: 2026-03-30
More indicators over time
- Latest ranking: Swordfish production
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