Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho
Lesotho: Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 1.2 kg/ha in 2023. ▼ Falling
Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 1.2 kg/ha for biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in 2023.
The figure is down 33.2% on the previous year and down 18.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho peaked at 4.89 kg/ha in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.3487 kg/ha, in 2016.
Lesotho ranks 146th of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.1 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 2.15 kg/ha | -30.8% |
| 1963 | 1.95 kg/ha | -9.1% |
| 1964 | 1.93 kg/ha | -1.0% |
| 1965 | 2.05 kg/ha | +6.0% |
| 1966 | 2.27 kg/ha | +10.6% |
| 1967 | 2.12 kg/ha | -6.5% |
| 1968 | 2.08 kg/ha | -1.6% |
| 1969 | 1.92 kg/ha | -7.9% |
| 1970 | 2.09 kg/ha | +8.7% |
| 1971 | 2.27 kg/ha | +8.8% |
| 1972 | 1.45 kg/ha | -36.1% |
| 1973 | 1.96 kg/ha | +35.2% |
| 1974 | 3.04 kg/ha | +55.4% |
| 1975 | 3.5 kg/ha | +15.0% |
| 1976 | 3.19 kg/ha | -8.8% |
| 1977 | 4.89 kg/ha | +53.0% |
| 1978 | 2.89 kg/ha | -41.0% |
| 1979 | 2.95 kg/ha | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 1.97 kg/ha | -33.4% |
| 1981 | 1.6 kg/ha | -18.8% |
| 1982 | 2.59 kg/ha | +61.8% |
| 1983 | 1.6 kg/ha | -37.9% |
| 1984 | 1.61 kg/ha | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 1.59 kg/ha | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 1.58 kg/ha | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 1.23 kg/ha | -21.8% |
| 1988 | 2.22 kg/ha | +80.0% |
| 1989 | 2.18 kg/ha | -2.0% |
| 1990 | 2.17 kg/ha | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 1.06 kg/ha | -51.1% |
| 1992 | 0.8138 kg/ha | -23.3% |
| 1993 | 0.5771 kg/ha | -29.1% |
| 1994 | 1.04 kg/ha | +79.8% |
| 1995 | 1.01 kg/ha | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 2.05 kg/ha | +103.6% |
| 1997 | 2.86 kg/ha | +39.8% |
| 1998 | 2.45 kg/ha | -14.4% |
| 1999 | 2.98 kg/ha | +21.4% |
| 2000 | 2.81 kg/ha | -5.7% |
| 2001 | 2.82 kg/ha | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 2.17 kg/ha | -23.0% |
| 2003 | 1.87 kg/ha | -14.0% |
| 2004 | 1.34 kg/ha | -28.3% |
| 2005 | 1.13 kg/ha | -15.8% |
| 2006 | 2.03 kg/ha | +80.2% |
| 2007 | 1.59 kg/ha | -21.5% |
| 2008 | 0.9092 kg/ha | -42.9% |
| 2009 | 0.9782 kg/ha | +7.6% |
| 2010 | 2.23 kg/ha | +127.8% |
| 2011 | 1.64 kg/ha | -26.3% |
| 2012 | 1.39 kg/ha | -15.1% |
| 2013 | 1.47 kg/ha | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 1.06 kg/ha | -27.6% |
| 2015 | 1.66 kg/ha | +56.3% |
| 2016 | 0.3487 kg/ha | -79.0% |
| 2017 | 1.3 kg/ha | +272.8% |
| 2018 | 1.23 kg/ha | -5.2% |
| 2019 | 0.4496 kg/ha | -63.5% |
| 2020 | 0.659 kg/ha | +46.6% |
| 2021 | 3.94 kg/ha | +497.4% |
| 2022 | 1.79 kg/ha | -54.5% |
| 2023 | 1.2 kg/ha | -33.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 1.2 kg/ha is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.24 kg/ha, 12% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 1.2 kg/ha is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.23 kg/ha, 10% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +497.4% | 0.659 kg/ha | 3.94 kg/ha |
| 2017 | +272.8% | 0.3487 kg/ha | 1.3 kg/ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.17 kg/ha | 1.92 kg/ha | 3.1 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.82 kg/ha | 1.45 kg/ha | 4.89 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.82 kg/ha | 1.23 kg/ha | 2.59 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7 kg/ha | 0.5771 kg/ha | 2.98 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.76 kg/ha | 0.9092 kg/ha | 2.82 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.28 kg/ha | 0.3487 kg/ha | 2.23 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.9 kg/ha | 0.659 kg/ha | 3.94 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 143 Uzbekistan 1.73 kg/ha compare
- 144 Maldives 1.66 kg/ha compare
- 145 Algeria 1.25 kg/ha compare
- 147 Turkmenistan 1.13 kg/ha compare
- 148 Luxembourg 1.07 kg/ha compare
- 149 Afghanistan 0.9911 kg/ha compare
More environment data for Lesotho
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.284 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.783 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.521 % 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 -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4197 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho?
- Biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho was 1.2 kg/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 4.89 kg/ha in 1977.
- What is the lowest biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3487 kg/ha in 2016.
- How does Lesotho rank for biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- Lesotho ranks 146th out of 176 countries with data for 2023.
- Is biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Biological fixation — 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 (%).