China vs USSR: Land area in hectares
China
938.82 million hectares
in 2023
USSR
2.19 billion hectares
in 1991
China rank
2nd
USSR rank
2nd
Land area in hectares over time
- China
- USSR
How they compare
USSR currently reports 2.19 billion hectares against 938.82 million hectares in China, a difference of 1.25 billion hectares.
That makes USSR's figure about 2.3 times China's.
Across all 31 years both countries report, USSR has been ahead every year.
China ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 2nd of 233 countries.
USSR has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | USSR | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 938.83 million hectares | 2.19 billion hectares | 1.25 billion hectares | USSR |
| 1970s | 938.83 million hectares | 2.19 billion hectares | 1.25 billion hectares | USSR |
| 1980s | 938.83 million hectares | 2.19 billion hectares | 1.25 billion hectares | USSR |
| 1990s | 938.83 million hectares | 2.19 billion hectares | 1.25 billion hectares | USSR |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher land area in hectares, China or USSR?
- USSR, at 2.19 billion hectares against 938.82 million hectares in China as of 1991.
- What is the difference in land area in hectares between China and USSR?
- 1.25 billion hectares, with USSR ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and USSR?
- 31 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 1991.
- How do China and USSR rank globally for land area in hectares?
- China ranks 2nd and USSR ranks 2nd of 233 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Land area in hectares. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total land area, measured in hectares. 100 hectares is one square kilometer. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.