Data for 2018

Cropland Nitrogen Balance, 2018

Name: Cropland Nitrogen Balance, 2018
Creator: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: https://www.fao.org/contact-us/terms/db-terms-of-use/en/

2018, as FAO’s 2025 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

This is how much more nitrogen goes onto a country's cropland each year — as fertiliser, manure, fixation by crops and deposition from the air — than leaves it in the harvest, per hectare. The surplus is the nitrogen that ends up in rivers, groundwater and the air; a deficit means the soil itself is being drawn down.

Cropland Nitrogen Balance, 2018 covers 187 countries on 5 measures. Singapore is highest, at 1,391.47; Micronesia is lowest, at -551.10. The middle country reads 37.82. Against 2017, 187 values changed (94 up, 93 down), the same countries are covered.

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Cropland Nitrogen Balance · Data for 2018

HighestSingapore

1,391.47

LowestMicronesia

-551.10

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

187countries
5measures per country
2018the year it describes
187distinct values4 decimals, as published
Sep 29, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 4.0licence

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Cropland Nitrogen Balance, 2018, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 187 countries · select a heading to sort

Cropland Nitrogen Balance, 2018: every country, as published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	1,391.47	1,613.178	221.704	13.743	918
Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	524.80	569.146	44.342	7.791	2,099
Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	510.20	614.613	104.413	16.988	7,143
Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	421.00	432.916	11.918	2.753	4,210
Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	390.01	428.562	38.551	8.995	5,694
Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	289.70	376.800	87.101	23.116	253,197
Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	268.87	286.350	17.479	6.104	12,637
Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	256.39	472.101	215.710	45.692	718
Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	252.34	334.703	82.365	24.608	114,057
Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	239.14	374.966	135.825	36.223	923,801
Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	236.22	291.376	55.159	18.930	402,212
Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	214.34	267.116	52.778	19.759	2,358
Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	207.87	288.092	80.220	27.845	110,829
Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	190.54	269.670	79.129	29.343	150,661
China`CHN`Eastern Asia	181.62	308.351	126.729	41.099	23,359,047
South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	180.25	259.706	79.452	30.593	287,684
Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	179.54	266.016	86.472	32.506	1,436
Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	174.74	243.068	68.331	28.112	185,047
Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	173.05	193.011	19.966	10.344	139,524
Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	168.58	180.332	11.757	6.519	4,046
Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	161.85	232.362	70.508	30.344	715,042
Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	158.98	263.294	104.318	39.620	1,367,562
Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	146.17	211.060	64.893	30.746	61,881
Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	139.67	147.896	8.230	5.565	186,091
United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	135.03	158.590	23.565	14.859	11,038
United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	130.97	221.379	90.405	40.837	796,841
Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	127.63	146.868	19.237	13.098	1,325
Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	119.75	202.632	82.881	40.902	1,376,966
Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	114.46	157.657	43.196	27.399	3,657,371
Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	113.04	113.848	0.813	0.714	13,677
Suriname`SUR`South America	111.73	177.427	65.695	37.027	7,598
Colombia`COL`South America	110.30	176.346	66.043	37.451	490,629
Ecuador`ECU`South America	105.91	148.622	42.713	28.739	249,309
Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	105.55	172.718	67.171	38.890	255,403
Israel`ISR`Western Asia	105.18	135.169	29.990	22.187	50,833
Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	102.68	180.720	78.042	43.184	260,084
India`IND`Southern Asia	93.26	159.964	66.700	41.697	15,740,812
Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	93.15	104.174	11.029	10.587	12,189
Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	92.39	186.145	93.758	50.368	80,932
Uruguay`URY`South America	90.73	144.518	53.791	37.221	198,765
Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	90.11	118.514	28.402	23.965	524,726
France`FRA`Western Europe	78.54	158.939	80.401	50.586	1,502,604
Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	76.78	123.676	46.893	37.916	18,102
Chile`CHL`South America	76.60	134.611	58.012	43.096	151,996
Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	76.50	95.425	18.928	19.836	133,421
Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	75.79	107.671	31.879	29.608	192,907
Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	74.97	131.406	56.439	42.950	4,774
Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	73.92	98.538	24.615	24.980	303
North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	73.22	114.661	41.440	36.142	186,566
Austria`AUT`Western Europe	71.89	148.637	76.744	51.632	100,220
Germany`DEU`Western Europe	71.65	152.455	80.809	53.005	854,745
Venezuela`VEN`South America	71.03	91.469	20.438	22.344	234,403
Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	70.52	119.127	48.607	40.802	19,150
Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	70.15	180.604	110.452	61.157	145,308
Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	68.22	142.074	73.854	51.983	93,120
Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	67.83	93.113	25.283	27.153	47,210
Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	66.87	116.578	49.708	42.639	612,535
Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	65.16	120.648	55.484	45.988	288,026
Brazil`BRA`South America	65.01	246.936	181.921	73.671	4,128,058
Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	63.24	115.046	51.807	45.032	136,027
Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	61.03	120.987	59.957	49.556	2,584,256
Oman`OMN`Western Asia	60.90	111.517	50.620	45.392	6,631
Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	60.04	116.718	56.677	48.559	682,177
Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	59.71	101.632	41.925	41.252	1,001,295
Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	58.11	94.700	36.592	38.640	314
Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	57.49	93.166	35.674	38.291	39,669
Belize`BLZ`Central America	57.13	133.713	76.581	57.272	6,970
Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	54.72	123.652	68.935	55.749	198,680
Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	53.71	83.770	30.057	35.880	60,642
Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	53.41	76.765	23.351	30.419	26,958
Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	53.15	61.953	8.801	14.205	13,905
El Salvador`SLV`Central America	51.74	104.701	52.959	50.581	45,585
Honduras`HND`Central America	51.63	90.192	38.564	42.757	82,295
Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	50.65	125.839	75.189	59.750	227,773
Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	50.36	60.807	10.449	17.184	181,551
Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	49.90	77.398	27.500	35.530	13,961
Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	48.97	66.102	17.134	25.921	88
Guatemala`GTM`Central America	48.82	118.241	69.422	58.712	132,007
Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	46.99	87.898	40.912	46.545	189,023
Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	45.17	100.621	55.455	55.112	995,731
Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	44.70	65.797	21.101	32.070	19,407
North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	43.52	79.212	35.689	45.055	19,977
Mexico`MEX`Central America	43.51	91.069	47.564	52.228	983,525
Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	43.49	76.287	32.802	42.998	758,300
Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	43.42	50.816	7.394	14.551	217
Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	43.32	50.100	6.780	13.533	35,133
Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	42.54	83.313	40.776	48.943	55,427
Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	42.50	101.621	59.117	58.174	535,143
Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	42.40	94.707	52.303	55.226	43,956
Guyana`GUY`South America	40.61	235.214	194.600	82.733	5,077
Panama`PAN`Central America	40.60	70.233	29.629	42.186	27,773
Peru`PER`South America	40.08	74.665	34.581	46.315	236,441
Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	38.27	85.045	46.771	54.995	123,489
Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	37.82	64.079	26.259	40.979	362
United States`USA`Northern America	37.39	125.795	88.405	70.277	5,956,080
Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	37.31	64.396	27.091	42.069	83,863
Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	37.20	62.693	25.490	40.658	142,823
Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	36.48	74.209	37.728	50.840	49,796
Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	36.02	135.282	99.262	73.374	51,841
Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	35.82	70.220	34.398	48.986	64,444
Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	35.53	96.781	61.250	63.287	55
Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	35.08	43.195	8.113	18.781	1,894
Canada`CAN`Northern America	34.37	97.267	62.893	64.660	1,335,779
Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	33.93	45.051	11.126	24.696	182,484
Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	33.57	81.881	48.313	59.004	778,110
Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	32.61	75.787	43.176	56.971	228
Paraguay`PRY`South America	32.01	205.849	173.837	84.449	139,340
New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	31.66	77.986	46.331	59.409	18,645
Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	30.47	49.953	19.484	39.005	45,856
Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	30.28	55.612	25.336	45.558	3,028
Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	28.76	78.718	49.961	63.469	5,406
Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	26.91	47.208	20.302	43.005	15,595
South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	25.54	61.198	35.661	58.271	316,989
Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	25.24	41.875	16.635	39.726	11,610
Argentina`ARG`South America	24.39	109.198	84.805	77.662	1,006,182
Bolivia`BOL`South America	23.34	74.859	51.522	68.826	121,363
South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	23.06	35.085	12.025	34.274	57,136
Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	22.49	70.010	47.523	67.880	98,008
Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	22.40	53.428	31.027	58.073	84,182
Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	22.19	96.766	74.580	77.073	202,464
Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	21.75	90.435	68.680	75.945	241,755
Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	20.06	66.442	46.382	69.809	38,434
Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	19.50	85.257	65.761	77.132	32,029
Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	18.86	32.064	13.205	41.183	13,201
Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	18.44	37.124	18.684	50.327	98,437
Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	17.65	33.739	16.089	47.687	30,870
Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	17.19	55.182	37.995	68.854	538,053
Togo`TGO`Western Africa	17.03	34.720	17.693	50.960	48,016
Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	16.68	29.215	12.531	42.893	85
Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	16.49	70.454	53.966	76.598	136,606
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	16.38	87.712	71.337	81.331	82
Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	16.14	28.734	12.593	43.825	79,906
Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	15.70	30.992	15.297	49.357	7,769
Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	15.00	24.972	9.974	39.943	10,378
Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	14.68	27.735	13.052	47.061	117,605
Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	14.57	34.883	20.310	58.224	59,410
Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	14.54	52.000	37.459	72.036	34,214
Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	14.20	20.646	6.451	31.243	6,345
Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	13.84	40.897	27.057	66.158	21,301
Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	12.76	29.194	16.436	56.301	27,836
Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	12.41	47.094	34.683	73.646	222,194
São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	12.27	22.557	10.286	45.600	503
Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	12.19	48.064	35.876	74.641	18,831
Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	12.05	29.334	17.284	58.921	72,345
Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	11.84	18.656	6.817	36.540	5,130
Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	11.45	41.223	29.772	72.222	83,476
Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	11.23	28.250	17.025	60.265	238,099
Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	11.18	36.274	25.096	69.185	1,379,820
Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	10.96	66.346	55.388	83.485	25,986
Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	10.49	36.550	26.055	71.287	37,781
Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	9.95	28.727	18.773	65.349	60,099
Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	9.18	15.797	6.621	41.912	18,812
Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	8.59	27.639	19.052	68.930	48,605
Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	8.12	31.075	22.952	73.862	73,915
Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	7.30	65.913	58.614	88.925	246,379
Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	6.92	34.573	27.655	79.991	24,638
Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	6.42	31.303	24.885	79.497	96,894
Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	4.57	37.302	32.731	87.745	196,090
Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	4.45	25.573	21.122	82.594	35,642
Benin`BEN`Western Africa	4.11	36.682	32.573	88.799	16,069
Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	3.79	27.196	23.405	86.058	87
Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	3.77	87.579	83.806	95.692	10,520
Mali`MLI`Western Africa	3.45	34.717	31.271	90.076	27,420
Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	3.04	32.665	29.630	90.708	28,914
Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	2.50	24.808	22.307	89.919	21,250
Syria`SYR`Western Asia	2.20	14.523	12.322	84.846	12,607
Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	2.14	19.467	17.325	89.001	1,352
Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	2.06	28.901	26.838	92.862	16,074
Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	1.83	15.970	14.141	88.548	2,656
Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	0.69	22.772	22.087	96.990	81
DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	-0.30	15.487	15.789	101.949	-4,652
Niger`NER`Western Africa	-1.20	11.788	12.987	110.168	-21,350
Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	-1.64	53.871	55.509	103.040	-230
Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	-2.81	15.869	18.682	117.724	-84,040
Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	-3.30	30.652	33.949	110.758	-23,853
Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	-4.46	13.392	17.850	133.296	-56,479
Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	-4.47	9.113	13.579	149.005	-447
Tonga`TON`Polynesia	-8.30	31.130	39.427	126.656	-257
Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	-9.07	37.696	46.763	124.052	-11,016
Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	-9.32	23.115	32.433	140.315	-441
Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	-16.06	27.656	43.713	158.063	-1,542
Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	-31.83	9.678	41.506	428.866	-4,615
Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	-42.19	53.752	95.946	178.497	-17
Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	-46.75	105.650	152.404	144.253	-3,694
Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	-56.13	63.504	119.638	188.396	-10,946
Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	-84.67	11.586	96.256	830.773	-2,879
Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	-551.10	200.232	751.330	375.229	-1,102

02In 2018

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

Singapore1,391.47
Hong Kong524.80
Kuwait510.20
Brunei421.00
Montenegro390.01

Lowest

Micronesia-551.10
Kiribati-84.67
Eswatini-56.13
Mauritius-46.75
Nauru-42.19

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 37.82. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Nitrogen inputs (kg per hectare)
HighestSingapore1,613.178
LowestEquatorial Guinea9.113
Middle country: 83.313
Nitrogen removed in harvests (kg per hectare)
HighestMicronesia751.330
LowestIceland0.813
Middle country: 37.995
Nitrogen use efficiency (%)
HighestKiribati830.773
LowestIceland0.714
Middle country: 48.943
Nitrogen balance, whole country (tonnes)
HighestChina23,359,047
LowestKazakhstan-84,040
Middle country: 47,210

032017 → 2018

Since 2017

+0 / −0countries joined / left
187values changed, of 187 in both
94 · 93rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Guyana-47.26 → 40.61+87.88
Bahamas180.23 → 214.34+34.10
Qatar137.71 → 168.58+30.87
Denmark75.17 → 105.55+30.37
Ireland222.98 → 252.34+29.36

Fell most

Micronesia-389.36 → -551.10−161.74
Mauritius36.30 → -46.75−83.05
Kuwait570.91 → 510.20−60.71
Serbia64.23 → 3.77−60.46
Armenia111.75 → 53.41−58.33

04Caveats

Read before you use

How values are stored

One year of the 2025 release
Every year in this series comes from FAO’s 2025 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 2018.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 187 countries has every column.

05The files

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FAO’s own file, on its own site.
Environment_Cropland_nutrient_budget_E_All_Data_(Normalized).zip

What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2018). Cropland Nitrogen Balance, 2018 [data set], describing 2018. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/cropland-nitrogen-balance/2018

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