China vs India: Arable land — Area
Arable land — Area over time
- China
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 153,810 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China, a difference of 44,749 1000 ha.
That makes India's figure about 1.4 times China's.
Across all 64 years both countries report, India has been ahead every year.
China ranks 5th and India ranks 3rd of 231 countries.
India has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 102,185 1000 ha | 158,300 1000 ha | 56,114 1000 ha | India |
| 1970s | 98,394 1000 ha | 161,600 1000 ha | 63,206 1000 ha | India |
| 1980s | 112,719 1000 ha | 163,126 1000 ha | 50,406 1000 ha | India |
| 1990s | 121,538 1000 ha | 162,334 1000 ha | 40,796 1000 ha | India |
| 2000s | 120,252 1000 ha | 159,506 1000 ha | 39,254 1000 ha | India |
| 2010s | 115,503 1000 ha | 156,586 1000 ha | 41,082 1000 ha | India |
| 2020s | 109,211 1000 ha | 154,265 1000 ha | 45,054 1000 ha | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher arable land — area, China or India?
- India, at 153,810 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in arable land — area between China and India?
- 44,749 1000 ha, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
- How do China and India rank globally for arable land — area?
- China ranks 5th and India ranks 3rd of 231 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.
Individual pages
About this data
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.