Australia vs China: Cotton yields
Australia
5.06 tonnes per hectare
in 2024
China
6.59 tonnes per hectare
in 2024
Australia rank
2nd
China rank
1st
Cotton yields over time
- Australia
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 6.59 tonnes per hectare against 5.06 tonnes per hectare in Australia, a difference of 1.53 tonnes per hectare.
That makes China's figure about 1.3 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 64 shared years of data; in 1961 it was China ahead.
Australia ranks 2nd and China ranks 1st of 100 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 6 and China in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | 0.4025 tonnes per hectare | Australia |
| 1970s | 2.21 tonnes per hectare | 1.37 tonnes per hectare | 0.8415 tonnes per hectare | Australia |
| 1980s | 3.19 tonnes per hectare | 2.22 tonnes per hectare | 0.9679 tonnes per hectare | Australia |
| 1990s | 3.49 tonnes per hectare | 2.61 tonnes per hectare | 0.8825 tonnes per hectare | Australia |
| 2000s | 4.42 tonnes per hectare | 3.48 tonnes per hectare | 0.9374 tonnes per hectare | Australia |
| 2010s | 4.91 tonnes per hectare | 4.58 tonnes per hectare | 0.3259 tonnes per hectare | Australia |
| 2020s | 4.68 tonnes per hectare | 6.3 tonnes per hectare | 1.63 tonnes per hectare | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cotton yields, Australia or China?
- China, at 6.59 tonnes per hectare against 5.06 tonnes per hectare in Australia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cotton yields between Australia and China?
- 1.53 tonnes per hectare, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and China?
- 64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
- How do Australia and China rank globally for cotton yields?
- Australia ranks 2nd and China ranks 1st of 100 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 Cotton yields. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Yield is the amount produced per unit of land used, measured in tonnes per hectare.