Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in World
World: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area was 54.3 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in World, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in World is 54.3 kg/ha, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and down 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in World peaked at 56.18 kg/ha in 2012 and was at its lowest, 15.81 kg/ha, in 1961.
That places World 9th out of 29 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.
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen per unit area in World, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 15.81 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 16.51 kg/ha | +4.4% |
| 1963 | 17.64 kg/ha | +6.9% |
| 1964 | 17.8 kg/ha | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 19.69 kg/ha | +10.6% |
| 1966 | 20.97 kg/ha | +6.5% |
| 1967 | 22.33 kg/ha | +6.5% |
| 1968 | 23.35 kg/ha | +4.5% |
| 1969 | 24.75 kg/ha | +6.0% |
| 1970 | 26.69 kg/ha | +7.8% |
| 1971 | 27.4 kg/ha | +2.7% |
| 1972 | 30.09 kg/ha | +9.8% |
| 1973 | 30.98 kg/ha | +3.0% |
| 1974 | 31.4 kg/ha | +1.4% |
| 1975 | 35.22 kg/ha | +12.2% |
| 1976 | 35.12 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 37.94 kg/ha | +8.0% |
| 1978 | 39.4 kg/ha | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 42.44 kg/ha | +7.7% |
| 1980 | 45.24 kg/ha | +6.6% |
| 1981 | 43.76 kg/ha | -3.3% |
| 1982 | 43.23 kg/ha | -1.2% |
| 1983 | 47.44 kg/ha | +9.7% |
| 1984 | 47.81 kg/ha | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 47.14 kg/ha | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 48.6 kg/ha | +3.1% |
| 1987 | 51.26 kg/ha | +5.5% |
| 1988 | 54.53 kg/ha | +6.4% |
| 1989 | 52.96 kg/ha | -2.9% |
| 1990 | 50.29 kg/ha | -5.1% |
| 1991 | 49.26 kg/ha | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 47.09 kg/ha | -4.4% |
| 1993 | 46.67 kg/ha | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 46.1 kg/ha | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 50.44 kg/ha | +9.4% |
| 1996 | 51.38 kg/ha | +1.8% |
| 1997 | 49.27 kg/ha | -4.1% |
| 1998 | 50.31 kg/ha | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 51.11 kg/ha | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 49.15 kg/ha | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 48.82 kg/ha | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 51.38 kg/ha | +5.2% |
| 2003 | 52.37 kg/ha | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 51.46 kg/ha | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 52.08 kg/ha | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 54.34 kg/ha | +4.3% |
| 2007 | 54.45 kg/ha | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 50.86 kg/ha | -6.6% |
| 2009 | 54.32 kg/ha | +6.8% |
| 2010 | 55.67 kg/ha | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 55.52 kg/ha | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 56.18 kg/ha | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 55.36 kg/ha | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 53.84 kg/ha | -2.7% |
| 2015 | 53.63 kg/ha | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 53.67 kg/ha | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 53.14 kg/ha | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 52.92 kg/ha | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 52.21 kg/ha | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 55.69 kg/ha | +6.7% |
| 2021 | 53.62 kg/ha | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 52.91 kg/ha | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 54.3 kg/ha | +2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.87 kg/ha | 15.81 kg/ha | 24.75 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 33.67 kg/ha | 26.69 kg/ha | 42.44 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 48.2 kg/ha | 43.23 kg/ha | 54.53 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.19 kg/ha | 46.1 kg/ha | 51.38 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 51.92 kg/ha | 48.82 kg/ha | 54.45 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.21 kg/ha | 52.21 kg/ha | 56.18 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 54.13 kg/ha | 52.91 kg/ha | 55.69 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near World
- 6 Lao People's Democratic Republic 38.13 kg/ha compare
- 6 Montenegro 366.65 kg/ha compare
- 7 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 26.58 kg/ha compare
- 7 Turkmenistan 316.59 kg/ha compare
- 8 Trinidad and Tobago 275.81 kg/ha compare
- 9 Belgium 224.74 kg/ha compare
- 9 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 19.21 kg/ha compare
- 10 Djibouti 210.5 kg/ha compare
- 10 Republic of Moldova 11.76 kg/ha compare
- 11 Qatar 204.72 kg/ha compare
- 11 United Republic of Tanzania 10.19 kg/ha compare
- 12 Barbados 201.71 kg/ha compare
- 12 Cabo Verde 40.5 kg/ha compare
More environment data for World
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.5 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.99 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.208 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.88 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 4.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.27 % 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 0.2123 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in World?
- Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area in World was 54.3 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 World?
- The highest recorded value was 56.18 kg/ha in 2012.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.81 kg/ha in 1961.
- How does World rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area?
- World ranks 9th out of 29 groups with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen per unit area rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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 (%).