Aquaculture production in China

China: Aquaculture production was 81.95 million metric tons in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
81.95 million metric tons
Change on year
up 4.7%
World rank
1st
of 216 countries
All-time high
81.95 million metric tons
in 2024
All-time low
741,121 metric tons
in 1962
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Aquaculture production in China, 1960–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M196019922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in metric tons.

Analysis

China recorded 81.95 million metric tons for aquaculture production in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.7% on the previous year and up 43.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, aquaculture production in China peaked at 81.95 million metric tons in 2024 and was at its lowest, 741,121 metric tons, in 1962.

That places China 1st out of 216 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Aquaculture production in China, year by year

Annual values for Aquaculture production (metric tons) in China, 1960 to 2024.
Year metric tons Change
1960 958,506 metric tons —
1961 777,762 metric tons -18.9%
1962 741,121 metric tons -4.7%
1963 856,931 metric tons +15.6%
1964 1.02 million metric tons +18.7%
1965 1.16 million metric tons +14.0%
1966 1.32 million metric tons +13.9%
1967 1.32 million metric tons -0.4%
1968 1.31 million metric tons -0.7%
1969 1.51 million metric tons +15.9%
1970 1.48 million metric tons -2.2%
1971 1.79 million metric tons +21.0%
1972 1.99 million metric tons +11.0%
1973 1.82 million metric tons -8.3%
1974 1.98 million metric tons +8.3%
1975 2.16 million metric tons +9.2%
1976 2.11 million metric tons -2.4%
1977 2.79 million metric tons +32.4%
1978 2.99 million metric tons +7.1%
1979 2.90 million metric tons -2.9%
1980 3.11 million metric tons +7.0%
1981 3.03 million metric tons -2.3%
1982 3.26 million metric tons +7.4%
1983 3.66 million metric tons +12.3%
1984 4.27 million metric tons +16.8%
1985 5.03 million metric tons +17.7%
1986 5.61 million metric tons +11.5%
1987 6.33 million metric tons +12.8%
1988 7.38 million metric tons +16.6%
1989 8.10 million metric tons +9.8%
1990 8.39 million metric tons +3.6%
1991 9.70 million metric tons +15.5%
1992 12.19 million metric tons +25.7%
1993 15.22 million metric tons +24.9%
1994 18.21 million metric tons +19.7%
1995 21.15 million metric tons +16.1%
1996 23.47 million metric tons +10.9%
1997 23.75 million metric tons +1.2%
1998 25.67 million metric tons +8.1%
1999 28.00 million metric tons +9.1%
2000 29.75 million metric tons +6.2%
2001 31.10 million metric tons +4.5%
2002 33.16 million metric tons +6.6%
2003 34.89 million metric tons +5.2%
2004 37.17 million metric tons +6.5%
2005 38.94 million metric tons +4.8%
2006 40.91 million metric tons +5.1%
2007 42.53 million metric tons +4.0%
2008 44.07 million metric tons +3.6%
2009 46.06 million metric tons +4.5%
2010 47.79 million metric tons +3.7%
2011 49.15 million metric tons +2.8%
2012 52.08 million metric tons +6.0%
2013 55.03 million metric tons +5.7%
2014 57.32 million metric tons +4.2%
2015 59.37 million metric tons +3.6%
2016 62.32 million metric tons +5.0%
2017 64.36 million metric tons +3.3%
2018 66.14 million metric tons +2.8%
2019 68.42 million metric tons +3.5%
2020 70.48 million metric tons +3.0%
2021 72.81 million metric tons +3.3%
2022 75.44 million metric tons +3.6%
2023 78.28 million metric tons +3.8%
2024 81.95 million metric tons +4.7%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 81.95 million metric tons is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5,803 metric tons, 14122.8× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • China's 81.95 million metric tons is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1,310 metric tons, 62557.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 1.10 million metric tons 741,121 metric tons 1.51 million metric tons 10
1970s 2.20 million metric tons 1.48 million metric tons 2.99 million metric tons 10
1980s 4.98 million metric tons 3.03 million metric tons 8.10 million metric tons 10
1990s 18.57 million metric tons 8.39 million metric tons 28.00 million metric tons 10
2000s 37.86 million metric tons 29.75 million metric tons 46.06 million metric tons 10
2010s 58.20 million metric tons 47.79 million metric tons 68.42 million metric tons 10
2020s 75.79 million metric tons 70.48 million metric tons 81.95 million metric tons 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 2 Indonesia 15.75 million metric tons compare
  2. 3 India 12.09 million metric tons compare
  3. 4 Vietnam 5.65 million metric tons compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More environment data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is aquaculture production in China?
Aquaculture production in China was 81.95 million metric tons in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest aquaculture production recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 81.95 million metric tons in 2024.
What is the lowest aquaculture production recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 741,121 metric tons in 1962.
How does China rank for aquaculture production?
China ranks 1st out of 216 countries with data for 2024.
Is aquaculture production rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 43.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Aquaculture production (metric tons). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Aquaculture production in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/aquaculture-production-metric-tons/china/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/aquaculture-production-metric-tons/china/">Aquaculture production in China</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Aquaculture production (metric tons)
Unit
metric tons
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 16,030 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Aquaculture is understood to mean the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Aquaculture production specifically refers to output from aquaculture activities, which are designated for final harvest for consumption.