Agricultural water withdrawals vs. GDP per capita in China
China: Agricultural water withdrawals vs. GDP per capita was 62.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Agricultural water withdrawals vs. GDP per capita in China, 1980–2022
Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
China recorded 62.1% for agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita in 2022.
That represents a change of down 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita in China peaked at 88.2% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 61.2%, in 2019.
China ranks 87th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Agricultural water withdrawals vs. GDP per capita in China, year by year
| Year | % of total freshwater withdrawal | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 88.2% | — |
| 1981 | 87.9% | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 87.6% | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 87.3% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 87.0% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 86.3% | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 85.6% | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 85.0% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 84.3% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 83.6% | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 83.0% | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 81.1% | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 79.3% | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 77.6% | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 76.3% | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 75.0% | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 73.7% | -1.7% |
| 1997 | 72.5% | -1.7% |
| 1998 | 71.3% | -1.7% |
| 1999 | 70.0% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 68.8% | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 68.0% | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 67.1% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 66.3% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 65.4% | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 64.6% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 64.3% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 63.0% | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 63.3% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 63.5% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 62.5% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 62.4% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 64.3% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 64.5% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 64.6% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 64.4% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 62.4% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 62.3% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 61.4% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 61.2% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 62.1% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 62.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 62.1% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 86.3% | 83.6% | 88.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.0% | 70.0% | 83.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.4% | 63.0% | 68.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.0% | 61.2% | 64.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.1% | 62.1% | 62.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- 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)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3366 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita in China?
- Agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita in China was 62.1% in 2022, according to AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 88.2% in 1980.
- What is the lowest agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.2% in 2019.
- How does China rank for agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita?
- China ranks 87th out of 180 countries with data for 2022.
- Is agricultural water withdrawals vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural water withdrawals vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of total water withdrawals used in agriculture versus gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.