Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa
South Africa: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 23.96 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nutrient balance — 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, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa stood at 23.96 kg/ha.
The figure is down 15.7% on the previous year and up 38.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa peaked at 35.56 kg/ha in 2021 and was at its lowest, -1.02 kg/ha, in 1967.
That places South Africa 21st out of 32 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.1 kg/ha | -1.02 kg/ha | 6.04 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 10.12 kg/ha | 5 kg/ha | 17.23 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.68 kg/ha | 9.01 kg/ha | 21.91 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.95 kg/ha | 11.54 kg/ha | 22.69 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.17 kg/ha | 10.05 kg/ha | 21.89 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.42 kg/ha | 15.02 kg/ha | 25.54 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.07 kg/ha | 23.96 kg/ha | 35.56 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 18 China, Taiwan Province of 176.96 kg/ha compare
- 19 Mongolia 176.31 kg/ha compare
- 20 Bangladesh 168.08 kg/ha compare
- 21 Malta 161.75 kg/ha compare
- 22 Costa Rica 161.15 kg/ha compare
- 23 China 158.62 kg/ha compare
- 24 Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 157.66 kg/ha compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 1.18 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 2.03 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value 30,837 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import quantity 7,586 t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Export value 272,220 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Export quantity 385,631 t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import value 516,696 1000 USD (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import quantity 472,308 t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa?
- Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in South Africa was 23.96 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 35.56 kg/ha in 2021.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.02 kg/ha in 1967.
- How does South Africa rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- South Africa ranks 21st out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.8%. 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 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 (%).