Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency in Spain
Spain: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency was 26.83 % in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency in Spain, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Spain recorded 26.83 % for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 27.3% on the previous year and down 33.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in Spain peaked at 43.01 % in 2008 and was at its lowest, 21.04 %, in 1995.
That places Spain 159th out of 186 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen use efficiency in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 35.58 % | — |
| 1962 | 38.19 % | +7.3% |
| 1963 | 40.31 % | +5.6% |
| 1964 | 33.76 % | -16.3% |
| 1965 | 33.94 % | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 34.21 % | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 34.12 % | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 33.32 % | -2.4% |
| 1969 | 30.52 % | -8.4% |
| 1970 | 28.92 % | -5.2% |
| 1971 | 31.95 % | +10.5% |
| 1972 | 29.25 % | -8.5% |
| 1973 | 28.47 % | -2.7% |
| 1974 | 31.34 % | +10.1% |
| 1975 | 32.56 % | +3.9% |
| 1976 | 28.52 % | -12.4% |
| 1977 | 29.55 % | +3.6% |
| 1978 | 32.19 % | +8.9% |
| 1979 | 27.96 % | -13.1% |
| 1980 | 34.59 % | +23.7% |
| 1981 | 26.02 % | -24.8% |
| 1982 | 29.88 % | +14.9% |
| 1983 | 29.32 % | -1.9% |
| 1984 | 38.08 % | +29.9% |
| 1985 | 35.61 % | -6.5% |
| 1986 | 27.97 % | -21.4% |
| 1987 | 32.71 % | +16.9% |
| 1988 | 34.22 % | +4.6% |
| 1989 | 30.96 % | -9.5% |
| 1990 | 31.47 % | +1.6% |
| 1991 | 32.33 % | +2.8% |
| 1992 | 31.3 % | -3.2% |
| 1993 | 31.83 % | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 27.71 % | -12.9% |
| 1995 | 21.04 % | -24.1% |
| 1996 | 33.4 % | +58.8% |
| 1997 | 32.4 % | -3.0% |
| 1998 | 32.25 % | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 27.45 % | -14.9% |
| 2000 | 35.57 % | +29.6% |
| 2001 | 28.85 % | -18.9% |
| 2002 | 33.29 % | +15.4% |
| 2003 | 31.35 % | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 36.26 % | +15.7% |
| 2005 | 25.76 % | -29.0% |
| 2006 | 32.13 % | +24.7% |
| 2007 | 36.93 % | +15.0% |
| 2008 | 43.01 % | +16.4% |
| 2009 | 34.15 % | -20.6% |
| 2010 | 33.6 % | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 40.09 % | +19.3% |
| 2012 | 29.97 % | -25.3% |
| 2013 | 40.06 % | +33.7% |
| 2014 | 31.8 % | -20.6% |
| 2015 | 31.95 % | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 37.28 % | +16.7% |
| 2017 | 27.52 % | -26.2% |
| 2018 | 41.25 % | +49.9% |
| 2019 | 34.22 % | -17.0% |
| 2020 | 40.5 % | +18.3% |
| 2021 | 42.92 % | +6.0% |
| 2022 | 36.92 % | -14.0% |
| 2023 | 26.83 % | -27.3% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 26.83 % is below the median for high income countries, which is 40.97 %, 65% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Spain's 26.83 % is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 45.98 %, 58% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 34.88 % | 30.52 % | 40.31 % | 9 |
| 1970s | 30.07 % | 27.96 % | 32.56 % | 10 |
| 1980s | 31.94 % | 26.02 % | 38.08 % | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.12 % | 21.04 % | 33.4 % | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.73 % | 25.76 % | 43.01 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 34.77 % | 27.52 % | 41.25 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.79 % | 26.83 % | 42.92 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More environment data for Spain
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.67 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.402 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.3 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 10.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4277 % 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 -0.5136 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in Spain?
- Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency in Spain was 26.83 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 43.01 % in 2008.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.04 % in 1995.
- How does Spain rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency?
- Spain ranks 159th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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 (%).