Surface irrigation

(thousand ha)

China is the top country by surface irrigation in the world. As of 2020, surface irrigation in China was 71,357.2 thousand ha that accounts for 27.48% of the world's surface irrigation. The top 5 countries (others are India, Pakistan, the United States of America, and Iran) account for 68.87% of it. The world's total surface irrigation was estimated at 259,671.74 thousand ha in 2020.

The description is composed by our digital data assistant.
What is surface irrigation?

Surface irrigation systems are based on the principle of moving water over the land by simple gravity in order to moisten the soil. They can be subdivided into furrow, borderstrip and basin irrigation (including submersion irrigation of rice). Manual irrigation using buckets or watering cans are also included. Surface irrigation does NOT refer to the method of transporting the water from the source up to the field, which may be done by gravity or by pumping.