Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 161.15 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Costa Rica, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 161.15 kg/ha for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.2% on the previous year and up 18.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Costa Rica peaked at 211.39 kg/ha in 1998 and was at its lowest, 16.51 kg/ha, in 1961.
That places Costa Rica 22nd out of 186 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 16.51 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 21.21 kg/ha | +28.4% |
| 1963 | 35.89 kg/ha | +69.2% |
| 1964 | 41.34 kg/ha | +15.2% |
| 1965 | 27.07 kg/ha | -34.5% |
| 1966 | 33.43 kg/ha | +23.5% |
| 1967 | 32.03 kg/ha | -4.2% |
| 1968 | 59.72 kg/ha | +86.5% |
| 1969 | 82.91 kg/ha | +38.8% |
| 1970 | 75.72 kg/ha | -8.7% |
| 1971 | 52.95 kg/ha | -30.1% |
| 1972 | 51.75 kg/ha | -2.3% |
| 1973 | 68.29 kg/ha | +31.9% |
| 1974 | 70.97 kg/ha | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 63.36 kg/ha | -10.7% |
| 1976 | 58.33 kg/ha | -7.9% |
| 1977 | 79.14 kg/ha | +35.7% |
| 1978 | 80.37 kg/ha | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 76.93 kg/ha | -4.3% |
| 1980 | 76.94 kg/ha | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 84.8 kg/ha | +10.2% |
| 1982 | 94.74 kg/ha | +11.7% |
| 1983 | 101.64 kg/ha | +7.3% |
| 1984 | 91.07 kg/ha | -10.4% |
| 1985 | 88.31 kg/ha | -3.0% |
| 1986 | 93.57 kg/ha | +6.0% |
| 1987 | 100.17 kg/ha | +7.1% |
| 1988 | 109.8 kg/ha | +9.6% |
| 1989 | 120.4 kg/ha | +9.7% |
| 1990 | 104.33 kg/ha | -13.3% |
| 1991 | 116.11 kg/ha | +11.3% |
| 1992 | 122.42 kg/ha | +5.4% |
| 1993 | 114.36 kg/ha | -6.6% |
| 1994 | 126.05 kg/ha | +10.2% |
| 1995 | 127.06 kg/ha | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 170.68 kg/ha | +34.3% |
| 1997 | 193.7 kg/ha | +13.5% |
| 1998 | 211.39 kg/ha | +9.1% |
| 1999 | 156.17 kg/ha | -26.1% |
| 2000 | 139.76 kg/ha | -10.5% |
| 2001 | 99.46 kg/ha | -28.8% |
| 2002 | 103.56 kg/ha | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 120.3 kg/ha | +16.2% |
| 2004 | 131.1 kg/ha | +9.0% |
| 2005 | 134.2 kg/ha | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 133.19 kg/ha | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 141.75 kg/ha | +6.4% |
| 2008 | 144.6 kg/ha | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 108.46 kg/ha | -25.0% |
| 2010 | 114.9 kg/ha | +5.9% |
| 2011 | 182.4 kg/ha | +58.7% |
| 2012 | 144.31 kg/ha | -20.9% |
| 2013 | 136.23 kg/ha | -5.6% |
| 2014 | 158.6 kg/ha | +16.4% |
| 2015 | 170.24 kg/ha | +7.3% |
| 2016 | 176.27 kg/ha | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 181.22 kg/ha | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 207.87 kg/ha | +14.7% |
| 2019 | 204.87 kg/ha | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 187.97 kg/ha | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 166.07 kg/ha | -11.7% |
| 2022 | 142.4 kg/ha | -14.3% |
| 2023 | 161.15 kg/ha | +13.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 161.15 kg/ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 61.42 kg/ha, 2.6× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 161.15 kg/ha is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 43.32 kg/ha, 3.7× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 38.9 kg/ha | 16.51 kg/ha | 82.91 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 67.78 kg/ha | 51.75 kg/ha | 80.37 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 96.14 kg/ha | 76.94 kg/ha | 120.4 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 144.23 kg/ha | 104.33 kg/ha | 211.39 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 125.64 kg/ha | 99.46 kg/ha | 144.6 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 167.69 kg/ha | 114.9 kg/ha | 207.87 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 164.4 kg/ha | 142.4 kg/ha | 187.97 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % 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 -0.3048 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Costa Rica?
- Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Costa Rica was 161.15 kg/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 211.39 kg/ha in 1998.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.51 kg/ha in 1961.
- How does Costa Rica rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- Costa Rica ranks 22nd out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Nutrient balance — 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 (%).