China vs United States: FAO projections of arable land
China
127.58 million hectares
in 2023
United States
154.73 million hectares
in 2023
China rank
4th
United States rank
3rd
FAO projections of arable land over time
- China
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 154.73 million hectares against 127.58 million hectares in China, a difference of 27.15 million hectares.
That makes United States's figure about 1.2 times China's.
Across all 63 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
China ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 224 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 103.36 million hectares | 181.04 million hectares | 77.68 million hectares | United States |
| 1970s | 100.28 million hectares | 189.27 million hectares | 88.98 million hectares | United States |
| 1980s | 116.95 million hectares | 189.36 million hectares | 72.41 million hectares | United States |
| 1990s | 130.45 million hectares | 183.37 million hectares | 52.92 million hectares | United States |
| 2000s | 132.71 million hectares | 170.16 million hectares | 37.45 million hectares | United States |
| 2010s | 131.25 million hectares | 159.14 million hectares | 27.89 million hectares | United States |
| 2020s | 127.63 million hectares | 155.59 million hectares | 27.96 million hectares | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fao projections of arable land, China or United States?
- United States, at 154.73 million hectares against 127.58 million hectares in China as of 2023.
- What is the difference in fao projections of arable land between China and United States?
- 27.15 million hectares, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States?
- 63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
- How do China and United States rank globally for fao projections of arable land?
- China ranks 4th and United States ranks 3rd of 224 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as FAO projections of arable land. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Land allocated to arable production or permanent crops, measured in hectares. Values from 2030 onwards are FAO's 2018 projections under three different scenarios.