What is land area in China?

Land area in China was 9.39 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

What is the highest land area recorded in China?

The highest recorded value was 9.39 million sq. km in 1961.

What is the lowest land area recorded in China?

The lowest recorded value was 9.39 million sq. km in 2016.

How does China rank for land area?

China ranks 2nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023.

Is land area rising or falling in China?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Where does this China data come from?

The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Land area in China

Name: Land area in China
Creator: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

China: Land area was 9.39 million sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

9.39 million sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

2nd

of 216 countries

All-time high

9.39 million sq. km

in 1961

All-time low

9.39 million sq. km

in 2016

Years of data

1961–2023

Land area in China, 1961–2023

Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

China recorded 9.39 million sq. km for land area in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is down 0.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land area in China peaked at 9.39 million sq. km in 1961 and was at its lowest, 9.39 million sq. km, in 2016.

That places China 2nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

Land area in China, year by year

Annual values for Land area (sq. km) in China, 1961 to 2023.
Year	sq. km	Change
1961	9.39 million sq. km	—
1962	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1963	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1964	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1965	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1966	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1967	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1968	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1969	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1970	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1971	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1972	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1973	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1974	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1975	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1976	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1977	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1978	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1979	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1980	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1981	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1982	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1983	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1984	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1985	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1986	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1987	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1988	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1989	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1990	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1991	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1992	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1993	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1994	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1995	9.39 million sq. km	-0.0%
1996	9.39 million sq. km	-0.0%
1997	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1998	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
1999	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2000	9.39 million sq. km	-0.0%
2001	9.39 million sq. km	-0.0%
2002	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2003	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2004	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2005	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2006	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2007	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2008	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2009	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2010	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2011	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2012	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2013	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2014	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2015	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2016	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2017	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2018	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2019	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2020	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2021	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2022	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%
2023	9.39 million sq. km	+0.0%

China compared with similar countries

China's 9.39 million sq. km is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96,297 sq. km, 97.5× the median. (58 countries reporting)
China's 9.39 million sq. km is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18,270 sq. km, 513.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9
1970s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	10
1980s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	10
1990s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	10
2000s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	10
2010s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	10
2020s	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	9.39 million sq. km	4

Countries ranked near China

1 Russia 16.38 million sq. km compare
3 United States 9.15 million sq. km compare
4 Canada 8.79 million sq. km compare
5 Brazil 8.36 million sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

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)

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is land area in China?: Land area in China was 9.39 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest land area recorded in China?: The highest recorded value was 9.39 million sq. km in 1961.
What is the lowest land area recorded in China?: The lowest recorded value was 9.39 million sq. km in 2016.
How does China rank for land area?: China ranks 2nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023.
Is land area rising or falling in China?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this China data come from?: The figures come from FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Land area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Land area in China. Statizoid, drawing on FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/land-area-sq-km/china/

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About this data

Indicator: Land area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 264 places, 15,371 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.