What is the difference in agricultural land use between China and USSR?

35.01 million hectares, with USSR ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?

31 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 1991.

Where does this data come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Agricultural land use. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs USSR: Agricultural land use

China

520.41 million hectares

in 2023

USSR

555.42 million hectares

in 1991

China rank

2nd

USSR rank

1st

Agricultural land use over time

China
USSR

How they compare

USSR currently reports 555.42 million hectares against 520.41 million hectares in China, a difference of 35.01 million hectares.

That makes USSR's figure about 1.1 times China's.

Across all 31 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.

China ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 1st of 227 countries.

USSR has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	USSR	Difference	Ahead
1960s	355.13 million hectares	544.21 million hectares	189.08 million hectares	USSR
1970s	398.46 million hectares	551.12 million hectares	152.66 million hectares	USSR
1980s	465.99 million hectares	556.29 million hectares	90.30 million hectares	USSR
1990s	508.54 million hectares	555.82 million hectares	47.28 million hectares	USSR

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher agricultural land use, China or USSR?: USSR, at 555.42 million hectares against 520.41 million hectares in China as of 1991.
What is the difference in agricultural land use between China and USSR?: 35.01 million hectares, with USSR ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?: 31 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 1991.
How do China and USSR rank globally for agricultural land use?: China ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 1st of 227 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Agricultural land use. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs USSR: Agricultural land use. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 04 October 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/compare/agricultural-land/china/ussr/

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About this data

Indicator: Agricultural land use
Unit: hectares
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 228 places, 13,212 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Land used for cultivation of crops and animal husbandry. The total of areas under cropland and permanent meadows and pastures.