Arable land in China
China: Arable land was 0.0769 hectares per person in 2023. ▼ Falling
Arable land in China, 1961–2023
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in hectares per person.
Analysis
In 2023, arable land in China stood at 0.0769 hectares per person. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, arable land in China peaked at 0.1554 hectares per person in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.0769 hectares per person, in 2023.
China ranks 133rd of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.1414 hectares per person | 0.1253 hectares per person | 0.1554 hectares per person | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.1086 hectares per person | 0.0994 hectares per person | 0.1213 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1068 hectares per person | 0.0974 hectares per person | 0.1143 hectares per person | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1012 hectares per person | 0.095 hectares per person | 0.1091 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0928 hectares per person | 0.0912 hectares per person | 0.0943 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0835 hectares per person | 0.0774 hectares per person | 0.0898 hectares per person | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.077 hectares per person | 0.0769 hectares per person | 0.0772 hectares per person | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
- Rural population 33.7% (2025)
- Rural population growth -1.5% (2025)
- Rural population 473.41 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.7% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.30 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 99.99 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 6,418 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 641.73 million metric tons (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is arable land in China?
- Arable land in China was 0.0769 hectares per person in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- What is the highest arable land recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1554 hectares per person in 1961.
- What is the lowest arable land recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0769 hectares per person in 2023.
- How does China rank for arable land?
- China ranks 133rd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is arable land rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Arable land (hectares per person). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Arable land (hectares per person) includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.