Leaching — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia
Australia: Leaching — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 7.1 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Leaching — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia is 7.1 kg/ha, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
The figure is up 12.8% on the previous year and up 62.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia peaked at 7.1 kg/ha in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.31 kg/ha, in 1966.
Australia ranks 112th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Leaching — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.36 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 1.35 kg/ha | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 1.52 kg/ha | +12.7% |
| 1964 | 1.41 kg/ha | -7.0% |
| 1965 | 1.36 kg/ha | -3.4% |
| 1966 | 1.31 kg/ha | -4.2% |
| 1967 | 1.49 kg/ha | +14.5% |
| 1968 | 1.43 kg/ha | -4.5% |
| 1969 | 1.54 kg/ha | +8.0% |
| 1970 | 1.7 kg/ha | +10.1% |
| 1971 | 1.96 kg/ha | +15.4% |
| 1972 | 2.34 kg/ha | +19.2% |
| 1973 | 2.77 kg/ha | +18.7% |
| 1974 | 2.85 kg/ha | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 3.06 kg/ha | +7.6% |
| 1976 | 3.16 kg/ha | +3.1% |
| 1977 | 2.82 kg/ha | -10.8% |
| 1978 | 2.63 kg/ha | -6.5% |
| 1979 | 2.62 kg/ha | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 2.56 kg/ha | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 2.46 kg/ha | -3.8% |
| 1982 | 2.32 kg/ha | -5.8% |
| 1983 | 2.51 kg/ha | +8.3% |
| 1984 | 2.38 kg/ha | -5.3% |
| 1985 | 2.47 kg/ha | +3.9% |
| 1986 | 2.5 kg/ha | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 2.75 kg/ha | +10.3% |
| 1988 | 3.15 kg/ha | +14.3% |
| 1989 | 3.47 kg/ha | +10.2% |
| 1990 | 3.63 kg/ha | +4.6% |
| 1991 | 3.69 kg/ha | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 4.09 kg/ha | +10.9% |
| 1993 | 4.31 kg/ha | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 4.29 kg/ha | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 4.99 kg/ha | +16.3% |
| 1996 | 5.15 kg/ha | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 4.82 kg/ha | -6.3% |
| 1998 | 5.34 kg/ha | +10.8% |
| 1999 | 5.35 kg/ha | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 4.75 kg/ha | -11.4% |
| 2001 | 4.93 kg/ha | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 4.78 kg/ha | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 4.69 kg/ha | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 4.67 kg/ha | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 4.19 kg/ha | -10.3% |
| 2006 | 4.3 kg/ha | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 4.45 kg/ha | +3.5% |
| 2008 | 4.19 kg/ha | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 3.78 kg/ha | -9.8% |
| 2010 | 4.4 kg/ha | +16.4% |
| 2011 | 3.94 kg/ha | -10.5% |
| 2012 | 4.04 kg/ha | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 4.37 kg/ha | +8.4% |
| 2014 | 4.79 kg/ha | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 4.59 kg/ha | -4.2% |
| 2016 | 5.2 kg/ha | +13.3% |
| 2017 | 5.18 kg/ha | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 4.92 kg/ha | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 4.75 kg/ha | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 6.05 kg/ha | +27.4% |
| 2021 | 6.7 kg/ha | +10.8% |
| 2022 | 6.3 kg/ha | -6.0% |
| 2023 | 7.1 kg/ha | +12.8% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 7.1 kg/ha is below the median for high income countries, which is 13.65 kg/ha, 52% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Australia's 7.1 kg/ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 7.1 kg/ha, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.42 kg/ha | 1.31 kg/ha | 1.54 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.59 kg/ha | 1.7 kg/ha | 3.16 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.66 kg/ha | 2.32 kg/ha | 3.47 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.57 kg/ha | 3.63 kg/ha | 5.35 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.47 kg/ha | 3.78 kg/ha | 4.93 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.62 kg/ha | 3.94 kg/ha | 5.2 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.54 kg/ha | 6.05 kg/ha | 7.1 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
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 leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia?
- Leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Australia was 7.1 kg/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.1 kg/ha in 2023.
- What is the lowest leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.31 kg/ha in 1966.
- How does Australia rank for leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- Australia ranks 112th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is leaching — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 62.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Leaching — 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 (%).