China vs United States: Agricultural land — Area

China
392,604 1000 ha
in 2024
United States
421,540 1000 ha
in 2024
China rank
4th
United States rank
3rd

Agricultural land — Area over time

  • China
  • United States
0100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k196119922024

How they compare

United States currently reports 421,540 1000 ha against 392,604 1000 ha in China, a difference of 28,936 1000 ha.

That makes United States's figure about 1.1 times China's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 64 shared years of data; in 1961 it was United States ahead.

China ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 255 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade China United States Difference Ahead
1960s 423,345 1000 ha 438,881 1000 ha 15,536 1000 ha United States
1970s 420,218 1000 ha 432,062 1000 ha 11,845 1000 ha United States
1980s 432,461 1000 ha 429,416 1000 ha 3,044 1000 ha China
1990s 439,060 1000 ha 420,322 1000 ha 18,739 1000 ha China
2000s 432,520 1000 ha 413,889 1000 ha 18,631 1000 ha China
2010s 408,144 1000 ha 424,159 1000 ha 16,015 1000 ha United States
2020s 392,473 1000 ha 422,224 1000 ha 29,751 1000 ha United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher agricultural land — area, China or United States?
United States, at 421,540 1000 ha against 392,604 1000 ha in China as of 2024.
What is the difference in agricultural land — area between China and United States?
28,936 1000 ha, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
How do China and United States rank globally for agricultural land — area?
China ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 255 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Agricultural land — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs United States: Agricultural land — Area. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/agricultural-land-area/china/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Agricultural land — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
288 places, 16,964 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.