Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in China

China: Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland was 187,003 Square kilometres in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
187,003 Square kilometres
Change on year
up 10.4%
World rank
2nd
of 169 countries
All-time high
187,003 Square kilometres
in 2022
All-time low
45,103 Square kilometres
in 2005
Years of data
5
2005–2022

Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in China, 2005–2022

50.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k2005201320222005: 45.1k Square kilometres2010: 77.2k Square kilometres2015: 107.7k Square kilometres2020: 169.4k Square kilometres2022: 187.0k Square kilometres

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.

Analysis

The most recent figure for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in China is 187,003 Square kilometres, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

That represents a change of up 10.4% on the previous year and up 142.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in China peaked at 187,003 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 45,103 Square kilometres, in 2005.

That places China 2nd out of 169 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.

Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in China, year by year

Annual values for Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in China, 2005 to 2022.
Year Square kilometres Change
2005 45,103 Square kilometres
2010 77,210 Square kilometres +71.2%
2015 107,691 Square kilometres +39.5%
2020 169,369 Square kilometres +57.3%
2022 187,003 Square kilometres +10.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 45,103 Square kilometres 45,103 Square kilometres 45,103 Square kilometres 1
2010s 92,451 Square kilometres 77,210 Square kilometres 107,691 Square kilometres 2
2020s 178,186 Square kilometres 169,369 Square kilometres 187,003 Square kilometres 2

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 OECD 216,625 Square kilometres compare
  2. 3 Brazil 98,263 Square kilometres compare
  3. 4 Russian Federation 75,712 Square kilometres compare
  4. 5 India 64,573 Square kilometres compare

See the full ranking of 979 places →

More environment data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in China?
Land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland in China was 187,003 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 187,003 Square kilometres in 2022.
What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 45,103 Square kilometres in 2005.
How does China rank for land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland?
China ranks 2nd out of 169 countries with data for 2022.
Is land cover and land cover change — loss of cropland rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 142.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland in China. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/land-cover-and-land-cover-change-loss-of-cropland/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland
Unit
Square kilometres
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
979 places, 4,895 data points, 2005–2022
Last refreshed

The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from 2000 to 2022 for the Climate Change Initiative Land Cover dataset, and from 1975 to 2030 for the Global Human Settlement Layer dataset. Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The dataset has a global coverage on the national level, while on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The following country aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas, the LAC region and the World. Data source(s): Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Global Human Settlement Layer built-up area data. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation