Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in China
China: Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland was 57.9 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in China, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in China is 57.9 %, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 7.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in China peaked at 58.37 % in 2022 and was at its lowest, 37.72 %, in 1991.
China ranks 29th of 217 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 42.95 % | — |
| 1962 | 43.2 % | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 43.28 % | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 43.5 % | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 43.73 % | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 44.05 % | +0.7% |
| 1967 | 44.38 % | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 44.71 % | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 44.95 % | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 45.29 % | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 45.61 % | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 45.93 % | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 46.21 % | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 46.09 % | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 46.94 % | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 47.26 % | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 47.62 % | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 48.01 % | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 48.39 % | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 48.74 % | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 48.74 % | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 46.77 % | -4.0% |
| 1983 | 44.23 % | -5.4% |
| 1984 | 41.63 % | -5.9% |
| 1985 | 39.25 % | -5.7% |
| 1986 | 38.91 % | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 38.81 % | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 38.62 % | -0.5% |
| 1989 | 38.29 % | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 37.94 % | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 37.72 % | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 38.32 % | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 38.78 % | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 39.01 % | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 39.25 % | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 40.73 % | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 40.9 % | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 41.09 % | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 41.25 % | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 41.41 % | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 42.57 % | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 43.74 % | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 46.31 % | +5.9% |
| 2004 | 46.44 % | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 46.53 % | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 46.82 % | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 47.1 % | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 47.04 % | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 47.36 % | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 49.27 % | +4.0% |
| 2011 | 50.58 % | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 50.89 % | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 52.46 % | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 53.64 % | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 55.02 % | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 56.18 % | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 57.1 % | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 57.9 % | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 58.23 % | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 58.28 % | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 58.36 % | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 58.37 % | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 57.9 % | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 57.9 % | +0.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 57.9 % is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 18.6 %, 3.1× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- China's 57.9 % is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 18.63 %, 3.1× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 43.86 % | 42.95 % | 44.95 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 46.73 % | 45.29 % | 48.39 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 42.4 % | 38.29 % | 48.74 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 39.5 % | 37.72 % | 41.25 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.53 % | 41.41 % | 47.36 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.13 % | 49.27 % | 58.23 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.16 % | 57.9 % | 58.37 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
- 26 Azerbaijan 62.97 % compare
- 27 Chile 58.07 % compare
- 28 China, mainland 57.96 % compare
- 30 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 57.31 % compare
- 31 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 54.58 % compare
- 32 Albania 52.89 % compare
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 5.29 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in China?
- Land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland in China was 57.9 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 58.37 % in 2022.
- What is the lowest land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.72 % in 1991.
- How does China rank for land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland?
- China ranks 29th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is land area equipped for irrigation — share in cropland rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Land area equipped for irrigation — Share in Cropland. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
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.