Coconut Facts for Kids

A Picture of a Coconut
  • Name: Coconut
  • Type of Food: Fruit
  • Produced From: Cocos nucifera
  • Total Calories: 354 (raw coconut, 100 grams)
  • Total Fat: 33 grams (raw coconut, 100 grams)
  • Total Protein: 3.3 grams (raw coconut, 100 grams)
  • Total Carbohydrates: 15 grams (raw coconut, 100 grams)

24 Coconut Facts for Kids

  1. Coconuts are a fruit consumed by humans.
  2. The name coconut comes from coco, an old Portuguese and Spanish word that means “head” or “skull”.
  3. Coconuts are harvested from coconut trees (Cocos nucifera) and its variants.
  4. Coconuts trees are commercially grown in coconut plantations.
  5. A coconut is not a nut, it’s botanically a drupe.
  6. Humans have been using coconuts for thousands of years.
  7. Coconuts are used as food and to make various manmade products.
  8. According to FAOSTAT, the world produced over 68 million tons of coconuts in 2018.
  9. According to FAOSTAT, the largest producer of coconuts in 2018 was Indonesia with over 20 million tons.
  10. Based on FAOSTAT data, Indonesia produced over 29% of the world’s coconut supply in 2018.
  11. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 354 calories.
  12. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 33 grams of fat.
  13. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains no cholesterol.
  14. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 20 milligrams of sodium.
  15. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 15 grams of carbohydrates.
  16. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 9 grams of dietary fiber.
  17. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 6 grams of sugar.
  18. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 3 grams of protein.
  19. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains 356 milligrams of potassium.
  20. One 100 gram serving of coconut contains the following Daily Values, 1% calcium, 5% vitamin C, 13% iron, 5% vitamin b-6 and 8% magnesium.
  21. Coconut oil isn’t just used in cooking, it’s also used in cosmetics, soaps, oils and other products.
  22. The coir, which is the fiber husk around a coconut, is used to make brushes, mats, ropes and other items.
  23. In Malaysia and Thailand there are trained southern pig-tailed macaques that can pick coconuts. In Thailand, the practice of training southern pig-tailed macaques to pick coconuts is about 400 years old.
  24. A common coconut myth is more people are killed annually from falling coconuts than by shark attacks. There are documented cases of falling coconuts killing a human, but annual deaths by shark attacks are greater.

Additional Resources on Coconuts

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