Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency in India
India: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency was 43.02 % in 2023. ▼ Falling
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency in India, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
India recorded 43.02 % for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in 2023.
That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in India peaked at 49.49 % in 1970 and was at its lowest, 36.07 %, in 2009.
That places India 114th out of 186 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 48.96 % | — |
| 1962 | 49.03 % | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 48.63 % | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 48.7 % | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 45.69 % | -6.2% |
| 1966 | 44.45 % | -2.7% |
| 1967 | 45.28 % | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 45.32 % | +0.1% |
| 1969 | 48.38 % | +6.8% |
| 1970 | 49.49 % | +2.3% |
| 1971 | 47.63 % | -3.8% |
| 1972 | 45.14 % | -5.2% |
| 1973 | 49.08 % | +8.7% |
| 1974 | 45.94 % | -6.4% |
| 1975 | 47.24 % | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 45.05 % | -4.6% |
| 1977 | 45.86 % | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 46.2 % | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 41.44 % | -10.3% |
| 1980 | 41.27 % | -0.4% |
| 1981 | 42.61 % | +3.2% |
| 1982 | 41.77 % | -2.0% |
| 1983 | 43.34 % | +3.8% |
| 1984 | 40.64 % | -6.2% |
| 1985 | 38.93 % | -4.2% |
| 1986 | 36.16 % | -7.1% |
| 1987 | 38.04 % | +5.2% |
| 1988 | 38.36 % | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 40.73 % | +6.2% |
| 1990 | 39.43 % | -3.2% |
| 1991 | 38.85 % | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 40.3 % | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 39.19 % | -2.8% |
| 1994 | 38.35 % | -2.1% |
| 1995 | 38.92 % | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 38.82 % | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 37.7 % | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 37.1 % | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 38.34 % | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 39.46 % | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 39.51 % | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 37.28 % | -5.6% |
| 2003 | 39.93 % | +7.1% |
| 2004 | 37.48 % | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 36.87 % | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 37.22 % | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 39.89 % | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 38.33 % | -3.9% |
| 2009 | 36.07 % | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 38.2 % | +5.9% |
| 2011 | 39.23 % | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 40.81 % | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 40.88 % | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 40.92 % | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 38.32 % | -6.3% |
| 2016 | 40.91 % | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 41.32 % | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 41.7 % | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 41.27 % | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 39.6 % | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 41.87 % | +5.7% |
| 2022 | 41.31 % | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 43.02 % | +4.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 43.02 % is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 52.75 %, 82% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- India's 43.02 % is above the median for South Asia, which is 42.86 %, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 47.16 % | 44.45 % | 49.03 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 46.31 % | 41.44 % | 49.49 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 40.18 % | 36.16 % | 43.34 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 38.7 % | 37.1 % | 40.3 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 38.2 % | 36.07 % | 39.93 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 40.36 % | 38.2 % | 41.7 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.45 % | 39.6 % | 43.02 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 17.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.92 % 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 1.12 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in India?
- Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in India was 43.02 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 49.49 % in 1970.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.07 % in 2009.
- How does India rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency?
- India ranks 114th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency. 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 (%).