Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in China
China: Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture was 294.46 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in China, 1990–2023
Source: Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in China is 294.46 million tonnes, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and down 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in China peaked at 318.36 million tonnes in 2015 and was at its lowest, 225.78 million tonnes, in 1990.
China ranks 1st of 193 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 253.20 million tonnes | 225.78 million tonnes | 291.78 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 289.96 million tonnes | 270.09 million tonnes | 308.15 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 310.40 million tonnes | 290.94 million tonnes | 318.36 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 293.41 million tonnes | 292.67 million tonnes | 294.46 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More agriculture & rural data for China
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.30 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 6.7% (2025)
- Rural population 473.41 million (2025)
- Rural population growth -1.5% (2025)
- Rural population 33.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.7% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.7% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 99.99 million hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in China?
- Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in China was 294.46 million tonnes in 2023, according to Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 318.36 million tonnes in 2015.
- What is the lowest nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 225.78 million tonnes in 1990.
- How does China rank for nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture?
- China ranks 1st out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Climate Watch (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents.