Insecticide use in China

China: Insecticide use was 58,756 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
58,756 tonnes
Change on year
down 3.0%
World rank
4th
of 211 countries
All-time high
91,969 tonnes
in 2013
All-time low
38,936 tonnes
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Insecticide use in China, 1990–2023

020.0k40.0k60.0k80.0k100.0k1990200620231990: 38.9k tonnes1991: 38.9k tonnes1992: 40.7k tonnes1993: 43.0k tonnes1994: 49.8k tonnes1995: 55.3k tonnes1996: 58.0k tonnes1997: 60.8k tonnes1998: 62.7k tonnes1999: 67.2k tonnes2000: 65.1k tonnes2001: 64.9k tonnes2002: 66.7k tonnes2003: 67.4k tonnes2004: 70.5k tonnes2005: 74.3k tonnes2006: 78.2k tonnes2007: 82.6k tonnes2008: 85.1k tonnes2009: 86.9k tonnes2010: 89.5k tonnes2011: 90.9k tonnes2012: 91.9k tonnes2013: 92.0k tonnes2014: 91.7k tonnes2015: 90.7k tonnes2016: 88.5k tonnes2017: 84.2k tonnes2018: 76.5k tonnes2019: 70.8k tonnes2020: 66.8k tonnes2021: 63.0k tonnes2022: 60.6k tonnes2023: 58.8k tonnes

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for insecticide use in China is 58,756 tonnes, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and down 36.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, insecticide use in China peaked at 91,969 tonnes in 2013 and was at its lowest, 38,936 tonnes, in 1990.

That places China 4th out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 51,537 tonnes 38,936 tonnes 67,238 tonnes 10
2000s 74,167 tonnes 64,857 tonnes 86,948 tonnes 10
2010s 86,674 tonnes 70,805 tonnes 91,969 tonnes 10
2020s 62,290 tonnes 58,756 tonnes 66,801 tonnes 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 1 Indonesia 171,568 tonnes compare
  2. 2 Brazil 127,282 tonnes compare
  3. 3 Vietnam 81,664 tonnes compare
  4. 5 Pakistan 26,702 tonnes compare
  5. 6 India 20,619 tonnes compare
  6. 7 Turkey 18,619 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is insecticide use in China?
Insecticide use in China was 58,756 tonnes 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 insecticide use recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 91,969 tonnes in 2013.
What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 38,936 tonnes in 1990.
How does China rank for insecticide use?
China ranks 4th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
Is insecticide use rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 36.1%. 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 Insecticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Insecticide use
Unit
tonnes
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
211 places, 7,015 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Annual quantity of insecticides used in agriculture, measured as the tonnes of active ingredient per year.