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

Sub-Saharan Africa, at 2.20 million 1000 ha against 942,470 1000 ha in China as of 2024.

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

1.26 million 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 Land area — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Land area — Area

China

942,470 1000 ha

in 2024

Sub-Saharan Africa

2.20 million 1000 ha

in 2024

China rank

4th

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

7th

Land area — Area over time

China
Sub-Saharan Africa

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 2.20 million 1000 ha against 942,470 1000 ha in China, a difference of 1.26 million 1000 ha.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 2.3 times China's.

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

China ranks 4th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 248 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	942,470 1000 ha	2.13 million 1000 ha	1.18 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
1970s	942,469 1000 ha	2.13 million 1000 ha	1.18 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
1980s	942,467 1000 ha	2.13 million 1000 ha	1.18 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s	942,469 1000 ha	2.13 million 1000 ha	1.18 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s	942,470 1000 ha	2.14 million 1000 ha	1.19 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s	942,470 1000 ha	2.19 million 1000 ha	1.25 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa
2020s	942,470 1000 ha	2.20 million 1000 ha	1.26 million 1000 ha	Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher land area — area, China or Sub-Saharan Africa?: Sub-Saharan Africa, at 2.20 million 1000 ha against 942,470 1000 ha in China as of 2024.
What is the difference in land area — area between China and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 1.26 million 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 land area — area?: China ranks 4th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 7th of 248 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Land area — Area. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Land area — Area
Unit: 1000 ha
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage: 284 places, 16,501 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.