The 2 Countries That Produce The Most Rice In The World
Rice is one of the most commonly-used ingredients in the world. It's prevalent throughout many cultures and can be used in so many different ways. Its commonality and ease of use makes it one of the most versatile ingredients for meal prepping and a staple ingredient in many households around the world.
Despite how popular rice is, very few stop to question where exactly all the world's rice comes from. There are several countries responsible for major rice production, but there are two countries specifically that produce the most rice in the world: India and China. In 2025 alone, these countries each produced over 145 million metric tons of rice, according to the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.
To really put things in perspective, this means that India and China each make up 27% of global rice production. This means that there's a good chance that most rice dishes you consume, from basic stovetop steamed white rice to green sticky rice, are made using rice produced by either of these two countries.
Rice production around the world
For years now, India and China have been leading forces in rice production. Back in 2023, China produced almost 146 million metric tons of rice, while India produced 135 million metric tons (via Statista). Both of these countries continuously produced more than 4 times the amount of rice than any other country in the world.
This isn't to say there aren't other major rice producing countries out there. Bangladesh and Indonesia take third and fourth place with 36.6 million tons of rice and 34.6 million tons of rice produced respectively in 2025, per USDA data. These two countries each make up roughly 7% of the world's rice production, which is only about a quarter of the rice production in India or China.
Overall, rice production is highest in Asia. Other major rice production countries include Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Burma, Pakistan, and Cambodia. While these countries still produce millions of tons of rice each year, they each make up 5% or less of the world's rice production.