Mineral fertilizers — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa
South Africa: Mineral fertilizers — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 42.46 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Mineral fertilizers — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
In 2023, mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa stood at 42.46 kg/ha.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.3% on the previous year and up 33.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa peaked at 54.72 kg/ha in 2021 and was at its lowest, 3.42 kg/ha, in 1961.
South Africa ranks 94th 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.
Mineral fertilizers — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.42 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 5.2 kg/ha | +52.1% |
| 1963 | 6.22 kg/ha | +19.7% |
| 1964 | 6.78 kg/ha | +9.0% |
| 1965 | 7.14 kg/ha | +5.3% |
| 1966 | 7.09 kg/ha | -0.7% |
| 1967 | 9.47 kg/ha | +33.6% |
| 1968 | 10.39 kg/ha | +9.7% |
| 1969 | 10.81 kg/ha | +4.1% |
| 1970 | 13 kg/ha | +20.3% |
| 1971 | 14.99 kg/ha | +15.2% |
| 1972 | 17.37 kg/ha | +15.9% |
| 1973 | 16.58 kg/ha | -4.5% |
| 1974 | 17.32 kg/ha | +4.5% |
| 1975 | 20.62 kg/ha | +19.1% |
| 1976 | 22.61 kg/ha | +9.7% |
| 1977 | 24.53 kg/ha | +8.5% |
| 1978 | 27.03 kg/ha | +10.2% |
| 1979 | 28.52 kg/ha | +5.5% |
| 1980 | 33.21 kg/ha | +16.4% |
| 1981 | 37.61 kg/ha | +13.2% |
| 1982 | 33.85 kg/ha | -10.0% |
| 1983 | 26.16 kg/ha | -22.7% |
| 1984 | 29.09 kg/ha | +11.2% |
| 1985 | 26.95 kg/ha | -7.4% |
| 1986 | 26.02 kg/ha | -3.5% |
| 1987 | 22.99 kg/ha | -11.6% |
| 1988 | 26.57 kg/ha | +15.6% |
| 1989 | 25.98 kg/ha | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 25.94 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 24.41 kg/ha | -5.9% |
| 1992 | 24.25 kg/ha | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 26.97 kg/ha | +11.2% |
| 1994 | 24.52 kg/ha | -9.1% |
| 1995 | 25.14 kg/ha | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 26.05 kg/ha | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 25.98 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 26.28 kg/ha | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 26.31 kg/ha | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 26.37 kg/ha | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 25.11 kg/ha | -4.8% |
| 2002 | 30.45 kg/ha | +21.3% |
| 2003 | 27.06 kg/ha | -11.1% |
| 2004 | 28.14 kg/ha | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 23.05 kg/ha | -18.1% |
| 2006 | 29.78 kg/ha | +29.2% |
| 2007 | 30.53 kg/ha | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 28.96 kg/ha | -5.2% |
| 2009 | 28.53 kg/ha | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 27.42 kg/ha | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 30.3 kg/ha | +10.5% |
| 2012 | 30.81 kg/ha | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 31.71 kg/ha | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 37.07 kg/ha | +16.9% |
| 2015 | 29.32 kg/ha | -20.9% |
| 2016 | 31.85 kg/ha | +8.6% |
| 2017 | 43.85 kg/ha | +37.7% |
| 2018 | 41.27 kg/ha | -5.9% |
| 2019 | 39.13 kg/ha | -5.2% |
| 2020 | 43.35 kg/ha | +10.8% |
| 2021 | 54.72 kg/ha | +26.2% |
| 2022 | 46.8 kg/ha | -14.5% |
| 2023 | 42.46 kg/ha | -9.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.39 kg/ha | 3.42 kg/ha | 10.81 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 20.26 kg/ha | 13 kg/ha | 28.52 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 28.84 kg/ha | 22.99 kg/ha | 37.61 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.58 kg/ha | 24.25 kg/ha | 26.97 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.8 kg/ha | 23.05 kg/ha | 30.53 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 34.27 kg/ha | 27.42 kg/ha | 43.85 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 46.83 kg/ha | 42.46 kg/ha | 54.72 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 34,979 t (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate 115.24 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, gaps filled 21,013 1000 USD (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, annual growth rate 78.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Printing and writing papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 36.55 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa?
- Mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa was 42.46 kg/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 54.72 kg/ha in 2021.
- What is the lowest mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.42 kg/ha in 1961.
- How does South Africa rank for mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- South Africa ranks 94th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is mineral fertilizers — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Mineral fertilizers — 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 (%).