Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America
Northern America: Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 40.68 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America is 40.68 kg/ha, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 3.2% on the previous year and up 16.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America peaked at 43.24 kg/ha in 2017 and was at its lowest, 7.72 kg/ha, in 1961.
Northern America ranks 4th of 29 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Biological fixation — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7.72 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 7.88 kg/ha | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 8.1 kg/ha | +2.7% |
| 1964 | 8.43 kg/ha | +4.1% |
| 1965 | 9.75 kg/ha | +15.6% |
| 1966 | 10.56 kg/ha | +8.3% |
| 1967 | 11.25 kg/ha | +6.5% |
| 1968 | 11.87 kg/ha | +5.5% |
| 1969 | 11.59 kg/ha | -2.4% |
| 1970 | 11.71 kg/ha | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 12.05 kg/ha | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 12.97 kg/ha | +7.6% |
| 1973 | 15.67 kg/ha | +20.8% |
| 1974 | 13.48 kg/ha | -14.0% |
| 1975 | 15.52 kg/ha | +15.1% |
| 1976 | 13.59 kg/ha | -12.4% |
| 1977 | 17.08 kg/ha | +25.7% |
| 1978 | 18.26 kg/ha | +6.9% |
| 1979 | 21 kg/ha | +15.0% |
| 1980 | 18.33 kg/ha | -12.7% |
| 1981 | 19.32 kg/ha | +5.4% |
| 1982 | 20.66 kg/ha | +6.9% |
| 1983 | 16.85 kg/ha | -18.4% |
| 1984 | 18.62 kg/ha | +10.5% |
| 1985 | 19.16 kg/ha | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 18.02 kg/ha | -5.9% |
| 1987 | 18.21 kg/ha | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 16.26 kg/ha | -10.7% |
| 1989 | 18.39 kg/ha | +13.1% |
| 1990 | 18.07 kg/ha | -1.7% |
| 1991 | 18.87 kg/ha | +4.4% |
| 1992 | 19.82 kg/ha | +5.0% |
| 1993 | 18.54 kg/ha | -6.5% |
| 1994 | 22.36 kg/ha | +20.6% |
| 1995 | 20.98 kg/ha | -6.2% |
| 1996 | 22.26 kg/ha | +6.1% |
| 1997 | 25.05 kg/ha | +12.5% |
| 1998 | 25.82 kg/ha | +3.1% |
| 1999 | 25.98 kg/ha | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 26.66 kg/ha | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 27.05 kg/ha | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 26.34 kg/ha | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 25.39 kg/ha | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 29.73 kg/ha | +17.1% |
| 2005 | 29.68 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 30.84 kg/ha | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 27.06 kg/ha | -12.2% |
| 2008 | 30.94 kg/ha | +14.3% |
| 2009 | 33.5 kg/ha | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 34.15 kg/ha | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 32.08 kg/ha | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 33.48 kg/ha | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 34.97 kg/ha | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 39.01 kg/ha | +11.6% |
| 2015 | 38.95 kg/ha | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 41.38 kg/ha | +6.2% |
| 2017 | 43.24 kg/ha | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 42.56 kg/ha | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 36.29 kg/ha | -14.7% |
| 2020 | 41.35 kg/ha | +13.9% |
| 2021 | 42.07 kg/ha | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 42.04 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 40.68 kg/ha | -3.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.68 kg/ha | 7.72 kg/ha | 11.87 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 15.13 kg/ha | 11.71 kg/ha | 21 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.38 kg/ha | 16.26 kg/ha | 20.66 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.78 kg/ha | 18.07 kg/ha | 25.98 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.72 kg/ha | 25.39 kg/ha | 33.5 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.61 kg/ha | 32.08 kg/ha | 43.24 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.53 kg/ha | 40.68 kg/ha | 42.07 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Northern America
- 1 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 51.82 kg/ha compare
- 1 Djibouti 212.66 kg/ha compare
- 2 Brazil 190.79 kg/ha compare
- 3 Paraguay 146.87 kg/ha compare
- 3 Viet Nam 19.57 kg/ha compare
- 4 Argentina 52.73 kg/ha compare
- 4 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 17.16 kg/ha compare
- 5 Lao People's Democratic Republic 16.1 kg/ha compare
- 5 Myanmar 42.66 kg/ha compare
- 6 Uruguay 41.26 kg/ha compare
- 7 Bangladesh 40.53 kg/ha compare
- 7 United Republic of Tanzania 13.42 kg/ha compare
More environment data for Northern America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.23 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.466 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.49 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 43.74 million t (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Production 70.81 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Production 60.43 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 92.54 million t (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 13.25 kg/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America?
- Biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Northern America was 40.68 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 Northern America?
- The highest recorded value was 43.24 kg/ha in 2017.
- What is the lowest biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Northern America?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.72 kg/ha in 1961.
- How does Northern America rank for biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- Northern America ranks 4th out of 29 groups with data for 2023.
- Is biological fixation — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in Northern America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Northern America 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.
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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 (%).