Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus in Australia
Australia: Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus was -54,454 t in 2023. ▼ Falling
Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus in Australia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.
Analysis
In 2023, nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus in Australia stood at -54,454 t. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 690.9% on the previous year and down 174.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus in Australia peaked at 308,547 t in 1973 and was at its lowest, -54,454 t, in 2023.
That places Australia 183rd out of 186 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus in Australia, year by year
| Year | t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 162,244 t | — |
| 1962 | 149,622 t | -7.8% |
| 1963 | 161,955 t | +8.2% |
| 1964 | 225,978 t | +39.5% |
| 1965 | 272,394 t | +20.5% |
| 1966 | 250,778 t | -7.9% |
| 1967 | 250,473 t | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 227,285 t | -9.3% |
| 1969 | 222,841 t | -2.0% |
| 1970 | 201,971 t | -9.4% |
| 1971 | 227,749 t | +12.8% |
| 1972 | 301,807 t | +32.5% |
| 1973 | 308,547 t | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 129,455 t | -58.0% |
| 1975 | 112,900 t | -12.8% |
| 1976 | 186,019 t | +64.8% |
| 1977 | 211,660 t | +13.8% |
| 1978 | 194,874 t | -7.9% |
| 1979 | 210,879 t | +8.2% |
| 1980 | 218,566 t | +3.6% |
| 1981 | 179,344 t | -17.9% |
| 1982 | 196,598 t | +9.6% |
| 1983 | 125,357 t | -36.2% |
| 1984 | 137,776 t | +9.9% |
| 1985 | 122,590 t | -11.0% |
| 1986 | 136,187 t | +11.1% |
| 1987 | 196,582 t | +44.3% |
| 1988 | 176,377 t | -10.3% |
| 1989 | 159,025 t | -9.8% |
| 1990 | 92,699 t | -41.7% |
| 1991 | 118,895 t | +28.3% |
| 1992 | 159,501 t | +34.2% |
| 1993 | 139,578 t | -12.5% |
| 1994 | 180,495 t | +29.3% |
| 1995 | 230,005 t | +27.4% |
| 1996 | 188,096 t | -18.2% |
| 1997 | 184,481 t | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 185,705 t | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 168,592 t | -9.2% |
| 2000 | 175,690 t | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 208,092 t | +18.4% |
| 2002 | 168,469 t | -19.0% |
| 2003 | 236,151 t | +40.2% |
| 2004 | 170,593 t | -27.8% |
| 2005 | 163,744 t | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 139,100 t | -15.1% |
| 2007 | 235,382 t | +69.2% |
| 2008 | 150,020 t | -36.3% |
| 2009 | 55,613 t | -62.9% |
| 2010 | 105,870 t | +90.4% |
| 2011 | 84,472 t | -20.2% |
| 2012 | 46,684 t | -44.7% |
| 2013 | 72,937 t | +56.2% |
| 2014 | 92,443 t | +26.7% |
| 2015 | 118,730 t | +28.4% |
| 2016 | 112,862 t | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 51,974 t | -53.9% |
| 2018 | 109,192 t | +110.1% |
| 2019 | 154,672 t | +41.7% |
| 2020 | 190,248 t | +23.0% |
| 2021 | 127,677 t | -32.9% |
| 2022 | 9,216 t | -92.8% |
| 2023 | -54,454 t | -690.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's -54,454 t is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,812 t. (57 countries reporting)
- Australia's -54,454 t is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 58.42 t. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus in Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | -690.9% | 9,216 t | -54,454 t |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 213,730 t | 149,622 t | 272,394 t | 9 |
| 1970s | 208,586 t | 112,900 t | 308,547 t | 10 |
| 1980s | 164,840 t | 122,590 t | 218,566 t | 10 |
| 1990s | 164,805 t | 92,699 t | 230,005 t | 10 |
| 2000s | 170,285 t | 55,613 t | 236,151 t | 10 |
| 2010s | 94,984 t | 46,684 t | 154,672 t | 10 |
| 2020s | 68,172 t | -54,454 t | 190,248 t | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus in Australia?
- Nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus in Australia was -54,454 t in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 308,547 t in 1973.
- What is the lowest nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was -54,454 t in 2023.
- How does Australia rank for nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus?
- Australia ranks 183rd out of 186 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nutrient balance — cropland phosphorus rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 174.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Nutrient balance — Cropland phosphorus. 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 (%).