China vs India: Cropland — Area
Cropland — Area over time
- China
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 168,010 1000 ha against 129,388 1000 ha in China, a difference of 38,622 1000 ha.
That makes India's figure about 1.3 times China's.
Across all 64 years both countries report, India has been ahead every year.
China ranks 4th and India ranks 3rd of 234 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 | 104,265 1000 ha | 162,838 1000 ha | 58,573 1000 ha | India |
| 1970s | 101,207 1000 ha | 166,478 1000 ha | 65,272 1000 ha | India |
| 1980s | 117,852 1000 ha | 169,106 1000 ha | 51,254 1000 ha | India |
| 1990s | 131,332 1000 ha | 170,060 1000 ha | 38,728 1000 ha | India |
| 2000s | 133,553 1000 ha | 169,713 1000 ha | 36,160 1000 ha | India |
| 2010s | 132,050 1000 ha | 169,193 1000 ha | 37,142 1000 ha | India |
| 2020s | 128,814 1000 ha | 168,150 1000 ha | 39,336 1000 ha | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher cropland — area, China or India?
- India, at 168,010 1000 ha against 129,388 1000 ha in China as of 2024.
- What is the difference in cropland — area between China and India?
- 38,622 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 cropland — area?
- China ranks 4th and India ranks 3rd of 234 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Cropland — 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.