Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen in World

World: Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen was 85.33 million t in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
85.33 million t
Change on year
up 2.6%
Rank
1st
of 29 groups
All-time high
87.42 million t
in 2020
All-time low
21.17 million t
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen in World, 1961–2023

20.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.

Analysis

In 2023, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen in World stood at 85.33 million t.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen in World peaked at 87.42 million t in 2020 and was at its lowest, 21.17 million t, in 1961.

That places World 1st out of 29 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen in World, year by year

Annual values for Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen in World, 1961 to 2023.
Year t Change
1961 21.17 million t —
1962 22.16 million t +4.6%
1963 23.79 million t +7.4%
1964 24.04 million t +1.0%
1965 26.66 million t +10.9%
1966 28.39 million t +6.5%
1967 30.28 million t +6.6%
1968 31.95 million t +5.5%
1969 34.08 million t +6.7%
1970 36.72 million t +7.8%
1971 37.63 million t +2.5%
1972 41.50 million t +10.3%
1973 42.82 million t +3.2%
1974 43.49 million t +1.6%
1975 48.83 million t +12.3%
1976 48.93 million t +0.2%
1977 53.11 million t +8.5%
1978 55.60 million t +4.7%
1979 60.18 million t +8.2%
1980 64.33 million t +6.9%
1981 62.42 million t -3.0%
1982 62.12 million t -0.5%
1983 68.47 million t +10.2%
1984 69.80 million t +1.9%
1985 69.49 million t -0.4%
1986 71.82 million t +3.4%
1987 75.93 million t +5.7%
1988 80.75 million t +6.3%
1989 78.45 million t -2.8%
1990 74.62 million t -4.9%
1991 73.22 million t -1.9%
1992 69.85 million t -4.6%
1993 69.28 million t -0.8%
1994 68.39 million t -1.3%
1995 74.89 million t +9.5%
1996 76.29 million t +1.9%
1997 73.40 million t -3.8%
1998 74.97 million t +2.1%
1999 76.34 million t +1.8%
2000 73.32 million t -4.0%
2001 72.90 million t -0.6%
2002 76.64 million t +5.1%
2003 78.37 million t +2.3%
2004 77.27 million t -1.4%
2005 78.51 million t +1.6%
2006 81.90 million t +4.3%
2007 82.16 million t +0.3%
2008 76.80 million t -6.5%
2009 82.45 million t +7.3%
2010 84.65 million t +2.7%
2011 85.03 million t +0.4%
2012 86.52 million t +1.8%
2013 85.54 million t -1.1%
2014 83.41 million t -2.5%
2015 83.46 million t +0.1%
2016 83.60 million t +0.2%
2017 82.96 million t -0.8%
2018 82.84 million t -0.1%
2019 81.70 million t -1.4%
2020 87.42 million t +7.0%
2021 84.28 million t -3.6%
2022 83.15 million t -1.3%
2023 85.33 million t +2.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 26.94 million t 21.17 million t 34.08 million t 9
1970s 46.88 million t 36.72 million t 60.18 million t 10
1980s 70.36 million t 62.12 million t 80.75 million t 10
1990s 73.12 million t 68.39 million t 76.34 million t 10
2000s 78.03 million t 72.90 million t 82.45 million t 10
2010s 83.97 million t 81.70 million t 86.52 million t 10
2020s 85.04 million t 83.15 million t 87.42 million t 4

Countries ranked near World

  1. 1 China 20.36 million t compare
  2. 2 China, mainland 19.40 million t compare
  3. 3 India 17.23 million t compare
  4. 3 Viet Nam 1.49 million t compare
  5. 4 Türkiye 1.05 million t compare
  6. 4 USSR 12.20 million t compare

See the full ranking of 233 places →

More environment data for World

All data for World →

Frequently asked questions

What is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen in World?
Nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen in World was 85.33 million t in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen recorded in World?
The highest recorded value was 87.42 million t in 2020.
What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen recorded in World?
The lowest recorded value was 21.17 million t in 1961.
How does World rank for nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen?
World ranks 1st out of 29 groups with data for 2023.
Is nutrient balance — cropland nitrogen rising or falling in World?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen in World. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/nutrient-balance-cropland-nitrogen/world/

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About this data

Indicator
Nutrient balance — Cropland nitrogen
Unit
t
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
233 places, 13,500 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

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 (%).