Cotton is grown between latitudes of 37° north and 30° south in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions and on every continent.

Ideal conditions for the cotton plant are:

• Long vegetation periods (175 to 225 days) without frost. 
• Constant temperatures between 18 and 30°. 
• Ample sunshine and fairly dry conditions. 
• A minimum of 500 mm of water between germination and boll formation. 
• Deep, well-drained soils with a good nutrient content.

The map shows all the countries in which cotton is cultivated on more than 1% of the entire agricultural area (arable and grazing land):   

Further reading:

ICAC, Cotton Facts (2003) Chaudhry, et al.