China (People’s Republic of) vs South America: Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen

China (People’s Republic of)
3.60 million t
in 2023
South America
15.47 million t
in 2023
China (People’s Republic of) rank
3rd
South America rank
1st

Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen over time

  • China (People’s Republic of)
  • South America
05.0M10.0M15.0M196119922023

How they compare

South America currently reports 15.47 million t against 3.60 million t in China (People’s Republic of), a difference of 11.87 million t.

That makes South America's figure about 4.3 times China (People’s Republic of)'s.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was China (People’s Republic of) ahead.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 3rd and South America ranks 1st of 176 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, China (People’s Republic of) averaged higher in 2 and South America in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade China (People’s Republic of) South America Difference Ahead
1960s 2.41 million t 505,159 t 1.91 million t China (People’s Republic of)
1970s 2.36 million t 1.44 million t 923,587 t China (People’s Republic of)
1980s 2.58 million t 2.84 million t 258,267 t South America
1990s 2.80 million t 4.00 million t 1.20 million t South America
2000s 3.18 million t 7.78 million t 4.60 million t South America
2010s 3.12 million t 12.47 million t 9.35 million t South America
2020s 3.53 million t 14.92 million t 11.38 million t South America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher biological fixation — cropland nitrogen, China (People’s Republic of) or South America?
South America, at 15.47 million t against 3.60 million t in China (People’s Republic of) as of 2023.
What is the difference in biological fixation — cropland nitrogen between China (People’s Republic of) and South America?
11.87 million t, with South America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and South America?
63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do China (People’s Republic of) and South America rank globally for biological fixation — cropland nitrogen?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 3rd and South America ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China (People’s Republic of) vs South America: Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/biological-fixation-cropland-nitrogen/china/south-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen
Unit
t
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
223 places, 12,870 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The Cropland Nutrient balance domain contains information on the flows of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from mineral fertilizer, manure applied, atmospheric deposition, crop removal, and biological fixation over cropland and per unit area of cropland. The flows are aggregated to total inputs and total outputs, from which the overall nutrient balance and nutrient use efficiency on cropland are calculated. Statistics are disseminated in units of tonnes and in kg/ha, as appropriate. Nutrient use efficiency is expressed as a fraction (%).