Africa vs China: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland over time
- Africa
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 57.9 % against 5.61 % in Africa, a difference of 52.29 %.
That makes China's figure about 10.3 times Africa's.
Across all 64 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
Africa ranks 26th and China ranks 28th of 31 groups.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Africa | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.49 % | 43.86 % | 39.37 % | China |
| 1970s | 4.8 % | 46.73 % | 41.94 % | China |
| 1980s | 5.1 % | 42.4 % | 37.29 % | China |
| 1990s | 5.52 % | 39.5 % | 33.98 % | China |
| 2000s | 5.57 % | 45.53 % | 39.96 % | China |
| 2010s | 5.55 % | 54.13 % | 48.57 % | China |
| 2020s | 5.65 % | 58.16 % | 52.52 % | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland, Africa or China?
- China, at 57.9 % against 5.61 % in Africa as of 2024.
- What is the difference in land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland between Africa and China?
- 52.29 %, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Africa and China?
- 64 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2024.
- How do Africa and China rank globally for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- Africa ranks 26th and China ranks 28th of 31 groups.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland. 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.