Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho
Lesotho: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 11.76 kg/ha in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Nutrient balance — 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 11.76 kg/ha for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in 2023.
That represents a change of down 38.1% on the previous year and down 53.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho peaked at 41.9 kg/ha in 2019 and was at its lowest, -0.4621 kg/ha, in 1978.
Lesotho ranks 140th of 186 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.5545 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 0.6962 kg/ha | +25.6% |
| 1963 | 0.6197 kg/ha | -11.0% |
| 1964 | 0.5547 kg/ha | -10.5% |
| 1965 | 1.48 kg/ha | +167.7% |
| 1966 | 0.9988 kg/ha | -32.7% |
| 1967 | 2.01 kg/ha | +101.2% |
| 1968 | 1.94 kg/ha | -3.2% |
| 1969 | 2.24 kg/ha | +15.1% |
| 1970 | 3.87 kg/ha | +72.8% |
| 1971 | 3.41 kg/ha | -11.9% |
| 1972 | 7.37 kg/ha | +116.3% |
| 1973 | 6 kg/ha | -18.5% |
| 1974 | 2.02 kg/ha | -66.4% |
| 1975 | 6.94 kg/ha | +244.0% |
| 1976 | 8.04 kg/ha | +15.8% |
| 1977 | 1.96 kg/ha | -75.6% |
| 1978 | -0.4621 kg/ha | -123.6% |
| 1979 | 3.31 kg/ha | -816.2% |
| 1980 | 5.88 kg/ha | +77.8% |
| 1981 | 5.82 kg/ha | -1.1% |
| 1982 | 9.05 kg/ha | +55.7% |
| 1983 | 8.33 kg/ha | -8.0% |
| 1984 | 8.13 kg/ha | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 5.12 kg/ha | -37.1% |
| 1986 | 7.87 kg/ha | +53.9% |
| 1987 | 8.45 kg/ha | +7.3% |
| 1988 | 5.34 kg/ha | -36.8% |
| 1989 | 6.27 kg/ha | +17.4% |
| 1990 | 4.08 kg/ha | -34.9% |
| 1991 | 11.35 kg/ha | +178.2% |
| 1992 | 9.4 kg/ha | -17.2% |
| 1993 | 8.71 kg/ha | -7.3% |
| 1994 | 6.41 kg/ha | -26.5% |
| 1995 | 14.77 kg/ha | +130.5% |
| 1996 | 7.98 kg/ha | -46.0% |
| 1997 | 9 kg/ha | +12.8% |
| 1998 | 10.49 kg/ha | +16.5% |
| 1999 | 13.82 kg/ha | +31.7% |
| 2000 | 19.91 kg/ha | +44.0% |
| 2001 | 19.41 kg/ha | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 19.35 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 14.89 kg/ha | -23.1% |
| 2004 | 11.3 kg/ha | -24.1% |
| 2005 | 11.86 kg/ha | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 18.97 kg/ha | +59.9% |
| 2007 | 18.84 kg/ha | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 10.88 kg/ha | -42.2% |
| 2009 | 11.26 kg/ha | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 6.8 kg/ha | -39.6% |
| 2011 | 14.01 kg/ha | +106.2% |
| 2012 | 11.4 kg/ha | -18.7% |
| 2013 | 25.31 kg/ha | +122.0% |
| 2014 | 24.06 kg/ha | -4.9% |
| 2015 | 18.28 kg/ha | -24.0% |
| 2016 | 14.38 kg/ha | -21.3% |
| 2017 | 6.37 kg/ha | -55.7% |
| 2018 | 11.84 kg/ha | +85.8% |
| 2019 | 41.9 kg/ha | +253.9% |
| 2020 | 16.59 kg/ha | -60.4% |
| 2021 | 24.34 kg/ha | +46.7% |
| 2022 | 19.01 kg/ha | -21.9% |
| 2023 | 11.76 kg/ha | -38.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 11.76 kg/ha is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 18.65 kg/ha, 63% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 11.76 kg/ha is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.16 kg/ha, 97% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Nutrient balance — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | +816.2% | -0.4621 kg/ha | 3.31 kg/ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.23 kg/ha | 0.5545 kg/ha | 2.24 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.25 kg/ha | -0.4621 kg/ha | 8.04 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.03 kg/ha | 5.12 kg/ha | 9.05 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.6 kg/ha | 4.08 kg/ha | 14.77 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.67 kg/ha | 10.88 kg/ha | 19.91 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.43 kg/ha | 6.37 kg/ha | 41.9 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.92 kg/ha | 11.76 kg/ha | 24.34 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
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 nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho?
- Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in Lesotho was 11.76 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 Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 41.9 kg/ha in 2019.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.4621 kg/ha in 1978.
- How does Lesotho rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- Lesotho ranks 140th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Lesotho 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 (%).