Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta
Malta: Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus per unit area was 28.32 kg/ha in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kg/ha.
Analysis
Malta recorded 28.32 kg/ha for nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area in 2023.
That represents a change of up 12.5% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta peaked at 53.68 kg/ha in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.41 kg/ha, in 1961.
Malta ranks 16th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta, year by year
| Year | kg/ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.41 kg/ha | — |
| 1962 | 6.65 kg/ha | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 7.79 kg/ha | +17.1% |
| 1964 | 9.08 kg/ha | +16.6% |
| 1965 | 10.19 kg/ha | +12.2% |
| 1966 | 12.21 kg/ha | +19.8% |
| 1967 | 13.13 kg/ha | +7.5% |
| 1968 | 16.76 kg/ha | +27.6% |
| 1969 | 17.67 kg/ha | +5.4% |
| 1970 | 17.65 kg/ha | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 18.45 kg/ha | +4.5% |
| 1972 | 17.09 kg/ha | -7.3% |
| 1973 | 17.64 kg/ha | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 16.65 kg/ha | -5.6% |
| 1975 | 17.71 kg/ha | +6.3% |
| 1976 | 20.61 kg/ha | +16.4% |
| 1977 | 22.15 kg/ha | +7.5% |
| 1978 | 22.73 kg/ha | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 21.59 kg/ha | -5.0% |
| 1980 | 26.5 kg/ha | +22.8% |
| 1981 | 21.35 kg/ha | -19.5% |
| 1982 | 23.32 kg/ha | +9.3% |
| 1983 | 31.62 kg/ha | +35.6% |
| 1984 | 42.2 kg/ha | +33.5% |
| 1985 | 39.05 kg/ha | -7.5% |
| 1986 | 38.76 kg/ha | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 38.34 kg/ha | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 39.49 kg/ha | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 39.65 kg/ha | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 40.08 kg/ha | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 40.22 kg/ha | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 42.35 kg/ha | +5.3% |
| 1993 | 42.88 kg/ha | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 42.31 kg/ha | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 47.3 kg/ha | +11.8% |
| 1996 | 41.01 kg/ha | -13.3% |
| 1997 | 44.99 kg/ha | +9.7% |
| 1998 | 46.28 kg/ha | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 48.19 kg/ha | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 50.23 kg/ha | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 52.54 kg/ha | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 46.1 kg/ha | -12.3% |
| 2003 | 48.15 kg/ha | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 48.82 kg/ha | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 49.59 kg/ha | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 47.52 kg/ha | -4.2% |
| 2007 | 48.96 kg/ha | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 48.13 kg/ha | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 35.66 kg/ha | -25.9% |
| 2010 | 33.2 kg/ha | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 28.2 kg/ha | -15.1% |
| 2012 | 26.73 kg/ha | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 27.7 kg/ha | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 27.11 kg/ha | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 28.19 kg/ha | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 28.39 kg/ha | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 25.23 kg/ha | -11.1% |
| 2018 | 22.67 kg/ha | -10.2% |
| 2019 | 23.29 kg/ha | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 53.68 kg/ha | +130.5% |
| 2021 | 44.27 kg/ha | -17.5% |
| 2022 | 25.17 kg/ha | -43.1% |
| 2023 | 28.32 kg/ha | +12.5% |
Malta compared with similar countries
- Malta's 28.32 kg/ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 7.75 kg/ha, 3.7× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Malta's 28.32 kg/ha is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3.82 kg/ha, 7.4× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +130.5% | 23.29 kg/ha | 53.68 kg/ha |
| 2022 | -43.1% | 44.27 kg/ha | 25.17 kg/ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.1 kg/ha | 6.41 kg/ha | 17.67 kg/ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 19.23 kg/ha | 16.65 kg/ha | 22.73 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 34.03 kg/ha | 21.35 kg/ha | 42.2 kg/ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.56 kg/ha | 40.08 kg/ha | 48.19 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.57 kg/ha | 35.66 kg/ha | 52.54 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.07 kg/ha | 22.67 kg/ha | 33.2 kg/ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.86 kg/ha | 25.17 kg/ha | 53.68 kg/ha | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malta
- 13 Bangladesh 32.66 kg/ha compare
- 13 Republic of Moldova -1.48 kg/ha compare
- 14 Republic of Korea 30.3 kg/ha compare
- 15 Mongolia 29.94 kg/ha compare
- 15 Melanesia -1.75 kg/ha compare
- 16 Democratic Republic of the Congo -2.01 kg/ha compare
- 17 Cook Islands 26.86 kg/ha compare
- 17 Syrian Arab Republic -3.04 kg/ha compare
- 18 Micronesia (Federated States of) -52.38 kg/ha compare
- 18 Switzerland 23.85 kg/ha compare
- 19 Japan 22.49 kg/ha compare
More environment data for Malta
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.15 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.365 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.16 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8269 % 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 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta?
- Nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area in Malta was 28.32 kg/ha in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area recorded in Malta?
- The highest recorded value was 53.68 kg/ha in 2020.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area recorded in Malta?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.41 kg/ha in 1961.
- How does Malta rank for nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area?
- Malta ranks 16th out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus per unit area rising or falling in Malta?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malta data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus 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 (%).