Cereal yields in China
China: Cereal yields was 6.49 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
6.49 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
24th
of 186 countries
All-time high
6.49 tonnes per hectare
in 2024
All-time low
1.19 tonnes per hectare
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Cereal yields in China, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
China recorded 6.49 tonnes per hectare for cereal yields in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cereal yields in China peaked at 6.49 tonnes per hectare in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.19 tonnes per hectare, in 1961.
China ranks 24th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Cereal yields in China, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | +10.9% |
| 1963 | 1.49 tonnes per hectare | +12.7% |
| 1964 | 1.62 tonnes per hectare | +8.9% |
| 1965 | 1.75 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 1966 | 1.88 tonnes per hectare | +7.6% |
| 1967 | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | +3.0% |
| 1968 | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 1.9 tonnes per hectare | -2.0% |
| 1970 | 2.13 tonnes per hectare | +12.0% |
| 1971 | 2.17 tonnes per hectare | +2.2% |
| 1972 | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | -3.1% |
| 1973 | 2.28 tonnes per hectare | +8.0% |
| 1974 | 2.39 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1975 | 2.48 tonnes per hectare | +3.8% |
| 1976 | 2.52 tonnes per hectare | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 2.49 tonnes per hectare | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 2.79 tonnes per hectare | +12.3% |
| 1979 | 3.03 tonnes per hectare | +8.6% |
| 1980 | 2.94 tonnes per hectare | -3.1% |
| 1981 | 3.08 tonnes per hectare | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 3.46 tonnes per hectare | +12.1% |
| 1983 | 3.72 tonnes per hectare | +7.5% |
| 1984 | 3.95 tonnes per hectare | +6.4% |
| 1985 | 3.82 tonnes per hectare | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 3.89 tonnes per hectare | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 3.97 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 3.93 tonnes per hectare | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 4.01 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 4.31 tonnes per hectare | +7.3% |
| 1991 | 4.23 tonnes per hectare | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 4.36 tonnes per hectare | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 4.56 tonnes per hectare | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 4.5 tonnes per hectare | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 4.66 tonnes per hectare | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 4.89 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 4.81 tonnes per hectare | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 4.95 tonnes per hectare | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 4.94 tonnes per hectare | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 4.75 tonnes per hectare | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 4.8 tonnes per hectare | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 4.87 tonnes per hectare | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 4.87 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5.19 tonnes per hectare | +6.5% |
| 2005 | 5.22 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 5.31 tonnes per hectare | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 5.32 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 5.55 tonnes per hectare | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 5.45 tonnes per hectare | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 5.53 tonnes per hectare | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 5.71 tonnes per hectare | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 5.83 tonnes per hectare | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 5.9 tonnes per hectare | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 5.9 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5.99 tonnes per hectare | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.02 tonnes per hectare | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 6.11 tonnes per hectare | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 6.13 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 6.28 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 6.3 tonnes per hectare | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 6.32 tonnes per hectare | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 6.39 tonnes per hectare | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 6.42 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 6.49 tonnes per hectare | +1.1% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 6.49 tonnes per hectare is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.39 tonnes per hectare, 1.9× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- China's 6.49 tonnes per hectare is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.69 tonnes per hectare, 1.8× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.67 tonnes per hectare | 1.19 tonnes per hectare | 1.94 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.44 tonnes per hectare | 2.11 tonnes per hectare | 3.03 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.68 tonnes per hectare | 2.94 tonnes per hectare | 4.01 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.62 tonnes per hectare | 4.23 tonnes per hectare | 4.95 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.13 tonnes per hectare | 4.75 tonnes per hectare | 5.55 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.94 tonnes per hectare | 5.53 tonnes per hectare | 6.28 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.39 tonnes per hectare | 6.3 tonnes per hectare | 6.49 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
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 yields in China?
- Cereal yields in China was 6.49 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cereal yields recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 6.49 tonnes per hectare in 2024.
- What is the lowest cereal yields recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.19 tonnes per hectare in 1961.
- How does China rank for cereal yields?
- China ranks 24th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is cereal yields rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.1%. 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 (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Cereal yields. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in tonnes per hectare.