Atmospheric deposition — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia
Australia: Atmospheric deposition — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 1.83 kg/ha in 2023. ▼ Falling
Atmospheric deposition — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
In 2023, atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia stood at 1.83 kg/ha.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia peaked at 2.22 kg/ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1.7 kg/ha, in 2002.
That places Australia 170th out of 186 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Atmospheric deposition — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.86 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 1.87 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 1.88 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 1.89 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 1.9 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 1.92 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 1.93 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 1.94 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 1.95 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 1.97 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 2 kg/ha | +1.6% |
| 1972 | 1.99 kg/ha | -0.5% |
| 1973 | 1.98 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 1.99 kg/ha | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 2 kg/ha | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 2 kg/ha | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 1.99 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 1.99 kg/ha | -0.0% |
| 1979 | 1.99 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 2.06 kg/ha | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 1.99 kg/ha | -3.4% |
| 1982 | 1.99 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 1.98 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 1.99 kg/ha | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 2 kg/ha | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 1.99 kg/ha | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 2 kg/ha | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 2.01 kg/ha | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 2.02 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 2.22 kg/ha | +10.2% |
| 1991 | 2.03 kg/ha | -8.8% |
| 1992 | 2.02 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 2.02 kg/ha | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 2.03 kg/ha | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 2.02 kg/ha | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 2.04 kg/ha | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 1.89 kg/ha | -7.4% |
| 1998 | 1.93 kg/ha | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 2.12 kg/ha | +9.5% |
| 2000 | 1.81 kg/ha | -14.7% |
| 2001 | 1.76 kg/ha | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 1.7 kg/ha | -3.4% |
| 2003 | 2.06 kg/ha | +20.9% |
| 2004 | 1.74 kg/ha | -15.4% |
| 2005 | 1.72 kg/ha | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 1.94 kg/ha | +12.6% |
| 2007 | 1.81 kg/ha | -6.7% |
| 2008 | 1.7 kg/ha | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 1.84 kg/ha | +8.2% |
| 2010 | 1.8 kg/ha | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 1.91 kg/ha | +6.3% |
| 2012 | 1.75 kg/ha | -8.6% |
| 2013 | 1.77 kg/ha | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 1.81 kg/ha | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 1.81 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 1.81 kg/ha | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 1.83 kg/ha | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 1.8 kg/ha | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 1.8 kg/ha | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.81 kg/ha | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 1.81 kg/ha | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.81 kg/ha | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 1.83 kg/ha | +0.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 1.83 kg/ha is below the median for high income countries, which is 6.66 kg/ha, 27% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Australia's 1.83 kg/ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.83 kg/ha, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.91 kg/ha | 1.86 kg/ha | 1.95 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.99 kg/ha | 1.97 kg/ha | 2 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 2 kg/ha | 1.98 kg/ha | 2.06 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.03 kg/ha | 1.89 kg/ha | 2.22 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.81 kg/ha | 1.7 kg/ha | 2.06 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.81 kg/ha | 1.75 kg/ha | 1.91 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.81 kg/ha | 1.81 kg/ha | 1.83 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 167 Peru 2.18 kg/ha compare
- 168 Solomon Islands 2.01 kg/ha compare
- 169 Australia and New Zealand 1.85 kg/ha compare
- 171 Cook Islands 1.82 kg/ha compare
- 171 Fiji 1.82 kg/ha compare
- 171 French Polynesia 1.82 kg/ha compare
- 171 Kiribati 1.82 kg/ha compare
- 171 Nauru 1.82 kg/ha compare
- 171 Tonga 1.82 kg/ha compare
- 171 Tuvalu 1.82 kg/ha compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia?
- Atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia was 1.83 kg/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.22 kg/ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7 kg/ha in 2002.
- How does Australia rank for atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- Australia ranks 170th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is atmospheric deposition — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Atmospheric deposition — Cropland nitrogen per unit area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
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 (%).