How does China rank for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures?

China ranks 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.

Is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in China?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China

Name: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

China: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures was 41.84 percent in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

41.84 percent

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

30th

of 209 countries

All-time high

41.84 percent

in 1994

All-time low

25.35 percent

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2023

Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China, 1961–2023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China is 41.84 percent, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China peaked at 41.84 percent in 1994 and was at its lowest, 25.35 percent, in 1961.

That places China 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China, year by year

Annual values for Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China, 1961 to 2023.
Year	percent	Change
1961	25.35 percent	—
1962	25.67 percent	+1.3%
1963	25.99 percent	+1.2%
1964	26.31 percent	+1.2%
1965	26.74 percent	+1.6%
1966	27.16 percent	+1.6%
1967	27.59 percent	+1.6%
1968	28.01 percent	+1.5%
1969	28.55 percent	+1.9%
1970	29.08 percent	+1.9%
1971	29.61 percent	+1.8%
1972	30.14 percent	+1.8%
1973	30.78 percent	+2.1%
1974	31.42 percent	+2.1%
1975	32.06 percent	+2.0%
1976	32.7 percent	+2.0%
1977	33.34 percent	+2.0%
1978	33.99 percent	+1.9%
1979	34.48 percent	+1.4%
1980	34.97 percent	+1.4%
1981	35.46 percent	+1.4%
1982	35.95 percent	+1.4%
1983	36.44 percent	+1.4%
1984	36.93 percent	+1.3%
1985	37.42 percent	+1.3%
1986	37.92 percent	+1.3%
1987	38.41 percent	+1.3%
1988	38.9 percent	+1.3%
1989	39.39 percent	+1.3%
1990	39.88 percent	+1.2%
1991	40.37 percent	+1.2%
1992	40.86 percent	+1.2%
1993	41.35 percent	+1.2%
1994	41.84 percent	+1.2%
1995	41.84 percent	+0.0%
1996	41.84 percent	+0.0%
1997	41.84 percent	+0.0%
1998	41.84 percent	+0.0%
1999	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2000	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2001	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2002	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2003	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2004	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2005	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2006	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2007	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2008	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2009	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2010	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2011	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2012	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2013	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2014	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2015	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2016	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2017	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2018	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2019	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2020	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2021	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2022	41.84 percent	+0.0%
2023	41.84 percent	+0.0%

China compared with similar countries

China's 41.84 percent is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 12.32 percent, 3.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
China's 41.84 percent is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.93 percent, 14.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	26.82 percent	25.35 percent	28.55 percent	9
1970s	31.76 percent	29.08 percent	34.48 percent	10
1980s	37.18 percent	34.97 percent	39.39 percent	10
1990s	41.35 percent	39.88 percent	41.84 percent	10
2000s	41.84 percent	41.84 percent	41.84 percent	10
2010s	41.84 percent	41.84 percent	41.84 percent	10
2020s	41.84 percent	41.84 percent	41.84 percent	4

Countries ranked near China

27 Guinea 43.55 percent compare
28 Australia 43.14 percent compare
29 Paraguay 42.38 percent compare
31 Yemen 41.67 percent compare
32 Armenia 41.51 percent compare
32 Cote d'Ivoire 41.51 percent compare

See the full ranking of 210 places →

More reference data data for China

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 49.4 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 75.5 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 303.29 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 18.8 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 303.29 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 165.62 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 206.2 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 350.74 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,480 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 102.37 (2050)

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China?: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China was 41.84 percent in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in China?: The highest recorded value was 41.84 percent in 1994.
What is the lowest share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures recorded in China?: The lowest recorded value was 25.35 percent in 1961.
How does China rank for share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures?: China ranks 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures rising or falling in China?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/area-meadows-and-pastures/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 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/area-meadows-and-pastures/china/">Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures in China</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Share of land used for permanent meadows and pastures
Unit: percent
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 210 places, 12,094 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Permanent meadows and pastures are areas used permanently (five years or more) for herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land).