Africa vs China: Arable land — Area

Africa
266,831 1000 ha
in 2024
China
109,061 1000 ha
in 2024
Africa rank
6th
China rank
5th

Arable land — Area over time

  • Africa
  • China
0100.0k200.0k300.0k196119922024

How they compare

Africa currently reports 266,831 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China, a difference of 157,770 1000 ha.

That makes Africa's figure about 2.4 times China's.

Across all 64 years both countries report, Africa has been ahead every year.

Africa ranks 6th and China ranks 5th of 36 groups.

Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Africa China Difference Ahead
1960s 156,381 1000 ha 102,185 1000 ha 54,196 1000 ha Africa
1970s 165,552 1000 ha 98,394 1000 ha 67,158 1000 ha Africa
1980s 173,942 1000 ha 112,719 1000 ha 61,223 1000 ha Africa
1990s 194,902 1000 ha 121,538 1000 ha 73,364 1000 ha Africa
2000s 217,445 1000 ha 120,252 1000 ha 97,193 1000 ha Africa
2010s 249,862 1000 ha 115,503 1000 ha 134,359 1000 ha Africa
2020s 264,047 1000 ha 109,211 1000 ha 154,836 1000 ha Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher arable land — area, Africa or China?
Africa, at 266,831 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China as of 2024.
What is the difference in arable land — area between Africa and China?
157,770 1000 ha, with Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Africa and China?
64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
How do Africa and China rank globally for arable land — area?
Africa ranks 6th and China ranks 5th of 36 groups.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Arable land — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Arable land — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
267 places, 15,674 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.