Agricultural land per capita in China
China: Agricultural land per capita was 0.3658 hectares per capita in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.3658 hectares per capita
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
109th
of 226 countries
All-time high
0.5221 hectares per capita
in 1961
All-time low
0.3649 hectares per capita
in 2021
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Agricultural land per capita in China, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares per capita.
Analysis
China recorded 0.3658 hectares per capita for agricultural land per capita in 2023.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and down 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural land per capita in China peaked at 0.5221 hectares per capita in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.3649 hectares per capita, in 2021.
That places China 109th out of 226 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Agricultural land per capita in China, year by year
| Year | hectares per capita | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.5221 hectares per capita | — |
| 1962 | 0.5189 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 1963 | 0.5083 hectares per capita | -2.0% |
| 1964 | 0.4977 hectares per capita | -2.1% |
| 1965 | 0.4902 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 1966 | 0.4825 hectares per capita | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 0.4754 hectares per capita | -1.5% |
| 1968 | 0.4679 hectares per capita | -1.6% |
| 1969 | 0.4613 hectares per capita | -1.4% |
| 1970 | 0.455 hectares per capita | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 0.4493 hectares per capita | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 0.4445 hectares per capita | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 0.4413 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 0.44 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 0.4374 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 0.437 hectares per capita | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 0.4372 hectares per capita | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.4377 hectares per capita | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 0.4364 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 0.4349 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 0.4339 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 0.4366 hectares per capita | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.4401 hectares per capita | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 0.445 hectares per capita | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 0.4495 hectares per capita | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 0.4479 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 0.445 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 0.4424 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 0.4405 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 0.4384 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 0.4368 hectares per capita | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 0.4342 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 0.4328 hectares per capita | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 0.4325 hectares per capita | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 0.4285 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 0.4248 hectares per capita | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 0.4213 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 0.418 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 0.4149 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 0.4118 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 0.4094 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 0.4072 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 0.4053 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 0.4034 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 0.4014 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 0.3994 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 0.3975 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 0.3956 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.3935 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.3903 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 0.3872 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 0.384 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3809 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 0.3779 hectares per capita | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 0.3751 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 0.3725 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 0.3697 hectares per capita | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.3675 hectares per capita | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 0.3658 hectares per capita | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 0.3651 hectares per capita | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.3649 hectares per capita | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.3652 hectares per capita | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 0.3658 hectares per capita | +0.2% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 0.3658 hectares per capita is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3687 hectares per capita, 99% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- China's 0.3658 hectares per capita is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1895 hectares per capita, 1.9× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.4916 hectares per capita | 0.4613 hectares per capita | 0.5221 hectares per capita | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.4416 hectares per capita | 0.4364 hectares per capita | 0.455 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4416 hectares per capita | 0.4339 hectares per capita | 0.4495 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4282 hectares per capita | 0.4149 hectares per capita | 0.4384 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4024 hectares per capita | 0.3935 hectares per capita | 0.4118 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3771 hectares per capita | 0.3658 hectares per capita | 0.3903 hectares per capita | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3652 hectares per capita | 0.3649 hectares per capita | 0.3658 hectares per capita | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
- 106 Tajikistan 0.3733 hectares per capita compare
- 107 Ghana 0.373 hectares per capita compare
- 108 Albania 0.3715 hectares per capita compare
- 110 Cambodia 0.3532 hectares per capita compare
- 111 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 0.3504 hectares per capita compare
- 112 Liberia 0.3501 hectares per capita compare
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.0314 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.0951 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.0082 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.3742 hectares per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0666 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 923.03 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.48 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural land per capita in China?
- Agricultural land per capita in China was 0.3658 hectares per capita in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural land per capita recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5221 hectares per capita in 1961.
- What is the lowest agricultural land per capita recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3649 hectares per capita in 2021.
- How does China rank for agricultural land per capita?
- China ranks 109th out of 226 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural land per capita rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural land per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Agricultural land is the sum of cropland and land used as pasture for grazing livestock.