Which has higher arable land — area, China or Sub-Saharan Africa?

Sub-Saharan Africa, at 223,442 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China as of 2024.

What is the difference in arable land — area between China and Sub-Saharan Africa?

114,381 1000 ha, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and Sub-Saharan Africa?

64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.

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.

China vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Arable land — Area

China

109,061 1000 ha

in 2024

Sub-Saharan Africa

223,442 1000 ha

in 2024

China rank

5th

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

7th

Arable land — Area over time

China
Sub-Saharan Africa

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 223,442 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China, a difference of 114,381 1000 ha.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 2.0 times China's.

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

China ranks 5th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 231 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	Sub-Saharan Africa	Difference	Ahead
1960s	102,185 1000 ha	124,668 1000 ha	22,482 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
1970s	98,394 1000 ha	131,850 1000 ha	33,456 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
1980s	112,719 1000 ha	139,337 1000 ha	26,618 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s	121,538 1000 ha	155,960 1000 ha	34,422 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s	120,252 1000 ha	176,116 1000 ha	55,864 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s	115,503 1000 ha	207,037 1000 ha	91,533 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
2020s	109,211 1000 ha	220,703 1000 ha	111,492 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher arable land — area, China or Sub-Saharan Africa?: Sub-Saharan Africa, at 223,442 1000 ha against 109,061 1000 ha in China as of 2024.
What is the difference in arable land — area between China and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 114,381 1000 ha, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
How do China and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for arable land — area?: China ranks 5th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th 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

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: 12 August 2026

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.