China, mainland vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Arable land — Area

China, mainland
108,466 1000 ha
in 2024
Sub-Saharan Africa
223,442 1000 ha
in 2024
China, mainland rank
6th
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
4th

Arable land — Area over time

  • China, mainland
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k196119922024

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 223,442 1000 ha against 108,466 1000 ha in China, mainland, a difference of 114,976 1000 ha.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 2.1 times China, mainland's.

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

China, mainland ranks 6th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 4th of 211 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade China, mainland Sub-Saharan Africa Difference Ahead
1960s 101,386 1000 ha 124,668 1000 ha 23,282 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa
1970s 97,604 1000 ha 131,850 1000 ha 34,246 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa
1980s 111,986 1000 ha 139,337 1000 ha 27,350 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s 120,884 1000 ha 155,960 1000 ha 35,076 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s 119,642 1000 ha 176,116 1000 ha 56,474 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s 114,900 1000 ha 207,037 1000 ha 92,137 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa
2020s 108,613 1000 ha 220,703 1000 ha 112,090 1000 ha Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher arable land — area, China, mainland or Sub-Saharan Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa, at 223,442 1000 ha against 108,466 1000 ha in China, mainland as of 2024.
What is the difference in arable land — area between China, mainland and Sub-Saharan Africa?
114,976 1000 ha, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China, mainland and Sub-Saharan Africa?
64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
How do China, mainland and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for arable land — area?
China, mainland ranks 6th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 4th of 211 countries.
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.

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China, mainland vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Arable land — Area. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/arable-land-area/china-mainland/sub-saharan-africa/

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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.