Cereal yield vs. GDP per capita in China
China: Cereal yield vs. GDP per capita was 6.42 kg per hectare in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
6.42 kg per hectare
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
21st
of 180 countries
All-time high
6.42 kg per hectare
in 2023
All-time low
1.19 kg per hectare
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Cereal yield vs. GDP per capita in China, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in kg per hectare.
Analysis
In 2023, cereal yield vs. gdp per capita in China stood at 6.42 kg per hectare. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal yield vs. gdp per capita in China peaked at 6.42 kg per hectare in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.19 kg per hectare, in 1961.
China ranks 21st of 180 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Cereal yield vs. GDP per capita in China, year by year
| Year | kg per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.19 kg per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.32 kg per hectare | +10.9% |
| 1963 | 1.49 kg per hectare | +12.7% |
| 1964 | 1.62 kg per hectare | +8.9% |
| 1965 | 1.75 kg per hectare | +7.6% |
| 1966 | 1.88 kg per hectare | +7.6% |
| 1967 | 1.94 kg per hectare | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 1.94 kg per hectare | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 1.9 kg per hectare | -2.0% |
| 1970 | 2.13 kg per hectare | +12.0% |
| 1971 | 2.17 kg per hectare | +2.2% |
| 1972 | 2.11 kg per hectare | -3.1% |
| 1973 | 2.28 kg per hectare | +8.0% |
| 1974 | 2.39 kg per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1975 | 2.48 kg per hectare | +3.8% |
| 1976 | 2.52 kg per hectare | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 2.49 kg per hectare | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 2.79 kg per hectare | +12.3% |
| 1979 | 3.03 kg per hectare | +8.6% |
| 1980 | 2.94 kg per hectare | -3.1% |
| 1981 | 3.08 kg per hectare | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 3.46 kg per hectare | +12.1% |
| 1983 | 3.72 kg per hectare | +7.5% |
| 1984 | 3.95 kg per hectare | +6.4% |
| 1985 | 3.82 kg per hectare | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 3.89 kg per hectare | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 3.97 kg per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 3.93 kg per hectare | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 4.01 kg per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 4.31 kg per hectare | +7.3% |
| 1991 | 4.23 kg per hectare | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 4.36 kg per hectare | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 4.56 kg per hectare | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 4.5 kg per hectare | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 4.66 kg per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 4.89 kg per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 4.81 kg per hectare | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 4.95 kg per hectare | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 4.94 kg per hectare | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 4.75 kg per hectare | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 4.8 kg per hectare | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 4.87 kg per hectare | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 4.87 kg per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5.19 kg per hectare | +6.5% |
| 2005 | 5.22 kg per hectare | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 5.31 kg per hectare | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 5.32 kg per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 5.55 kg per hectare | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 5.45 kg per hectare | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 5.53 kg per hectare | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 5.71 kg per hectare | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 5.83 kg per hectare | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 5.9 kg per hectare | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 5.9 kg per hectare | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 5.99 kg per hectare | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.02 kg per hectare | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 6.11 kg per hectare | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 6.12 kg per hectare | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 6.27 kg per hectare | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 6.3 kg per hectare | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 6.32 kg per hectare | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 6.38 kg per hectare | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 6.42 kg per hectare | +0.6% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 6.42 kg per hectare is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.43 kg per hectare, 1.9× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- China's 6.42 kg per hectare is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.75 kg per hectare, 1.7× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.67 kg per hectare | 1.19 kg per hectare | 1.94 kg per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.44 kg per hectare | 2.11 kg per hectare | 3.03 kg per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.68 kg per hectare | 2.94 kg per hectare | 4.01 kg per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.62 kg per hectare | 4.23 kg per hectare | 4.95 kg per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.13 kg per hectare | 4.75 kg per hectare | 5.55 kg per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.94 kg per hectare | 5.53 kg per hectare | 6.27 kg per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.35 kg per hectare | 6.3 kg per hectare | 6.42 kg per hectare | 4 |
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 cereal yield vs. gdp per capita in China?
- Cereal yield vs. gdp per capita in China was 6.42 kg per hectare in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cereal yield vs. gdp per capita recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 6.42 kg per hectare in 2023.
- What is the lowest cereal yield vs. gdp per capita recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.19 kg per hectare in 1961.
- How does China rank for cereal yield vs. gdp per capita?
- China ranks 21st out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is cereal yield vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Cereal yield vs. GDP 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
Average cereal yield, measured in tonnes per hectare versus gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. GDP per capita is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.