Fertilizer consumption (% of fertilizer production) by country

What this measures

Fertilizer consumption measures the quantity of plant nutrients and is calculated as production plus imports minus exports. Fertilizer products cover nitrogenous, potash, and phosphate fertilizers (including ground rock phosphate). Traditional nutrients--animal and plant manures--are not included. Because some chemical compounds used for fertilizers have other industrial applications, the consumption data may overstate the quantity available for crops. Fertilizer consumption as a share of production shows the agriculture sector's vulnerability to import and energy price fluctuation. Most fertilizers that are commonly used in agriculture contain the three basic plant nutrients-nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Some fertilizers also contain certain micronutrients such as zinc and other metals that are necessary for plant growth. Materials that are applied to the land primarily to enhance soil characteristics (rather than as plant food) are commonly referred to as soil amendments.

Limitations: The FAO has revised the time series for fertilizer consumption and irrigation for 2002 onward. FAO collects fertilizer statistics for production, imports, exports, and consumption through the new FAO fertilizer resources questionnaire. In the previous release, the data were based on total consumption of fertilizers, but the data in the recent release are based on the nutrients in fertilizers. Some countries compile fertilizer data on a calendar year basis, while others compile on a crop year basis (July-June).

Each country's latest available year is shown; countries report on different schedules, so compare years before comparing values.

Ranking

Regions and income groups

More environment indicators

• Fertilizer consumption (kilograms per hectare of arable land)
• Agricultural land (sq. km)
• Agricultural land (% of land area)
• Arable land (hectares)
• Arable land (hectares per person)
• Arable land (% of land area)
• Land under cereal production (hectares)
• Permanent cropland (% of land area)
• Forest area (sq. km)
• Forest area (% of land area)
• Agricultural irrigated land (% of total agricultural land)
• Average precipitation in depth (mm per year)

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Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, AG.CON.FERT.PT.ZS, CC BY 4.0. Original source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) View on data.worldbank.org; the full definition is in the World Bank's metadata glossary.