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Fertiliser use by country

How much fertiliser is applied to each hectare of cropland?

Of the 191 countries compared in 2023, Malaysia had the highest reading, 2,926.429, and 4 countries shared the lowest reading, 0.000. In the middle country the figure was 87.356. Among the 108 countries measured in every edition since 1961, the middle one moved from 15.312 to 109.099.

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Part ofEnvironment & SustainabilityFood & Agriculture

Fertiliser use · 2023

Context statistic

Highest of 191Malaysia

2,926.429

012023 · position · derived

The highest and the lowest

The three countries with the highest values of 191 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.

  1. 1

    Malaysia

    South-eastern Asia

    2,926.429

    1st of 191

  2. 2

    Kuwait

    Western Asia

    2,008.500

    2nd of 191

  3. 3

    New Zealand

    Australia and New Zealand

    1,291.131

    3rd of 191

Lowest in 2023

  1. =188Solomon Islands0.000
  2. =188Kiribati0.000
  3. =188Dominica0.000

Positions out of 191. This statistic has no better end: the two ends describe size, not success.

Highest on each continent

02Every measured country

Fertiliser use on a map

Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.

All regions

Darker is a higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.

  • 0.000–13.599
  • 14.683–51.090
  • 54.267–111.781
  • 112.579–199.141
  • 199.449–2,926.429
  • No reading in 2023 (9 measured in an earlier edition)
  • Asia

    165.251

    the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members

    Malaysia2,926.429

    Kazakhstan3.879

    Highest and lowest reading in Asia.

  • Europe

    114.623

    the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members

    Ireland895.870

    Russia28.729

    Highest and lowest reading in Europe.

  • Americas

    94.249

    the middle country, of 37 measured · 48 members

    Costa Rica1,024.547

    2 share 0.000

    Highest and lowest reading in Americas.

  • Oceania

    77.350

    the middle country, of 13 measured · 21 members

    New Zealand1,291.131

    2 share 0.000

    Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.

  • Africa

    17.362

    the middle country, of 53 measured · 55 members

    Seychelles573.333

    Central African Republic0.044

    Highest and lowest reading in Africa.

22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
  • Eastern Asia

    232.578

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members

    Hong Kong484.000

    North Korea14.683

    Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.

  • South-eastern Asia

    188.350

    the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members

    Malaysia2,926.429

    Myanmar24.721

    Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.

  • South America

    187.913

    the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members

    Colombia372.911

    Bolivia8.548

    Highest and lowest reading in South America.

  • Western Asia

    171.182

    the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members

    Kuwait2,008.500

    Yemen8.930

    Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.

  • Central America

    150.275

    the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members

    Costa Rica1,024.547

    Nicaragua64.218

    Highest and lowest reading in Central America.

  • Western Europe

    142.697

    the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members

    Netherlands238.020

    Austria106.416

    Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.

  • Southern Europe

    126.470

    the middle country, of 12 measured · 17 members

    Montenegro251.381

    North Macedonia54.267

    Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.

  • Melanesia

    103.138

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    New Caledonia248.911

    Solomon Islands0.000

    Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.

  • Eastern Europe

    98.944

    the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members

    Belarus198.942

    Russia28.729

    Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.

  • Northern Europe

    97.289

    the middle country, of 11 measured · 13 members

    Ireland895.870

    Estonia74.862

    Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.

  • Central Asia

    92.938

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    Turkmenistan347.310

    Kazakhstan3.879

    Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.

  • Southern Asia

    92.750

    the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members

    Bangladesh391.888

    Afghanistan6.595

    Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.

  • Southern Africa

    77.187

    the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members

    Botswana93.077

    Lesotho8.698

    Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.

  • Northern Africa

    35.969

    the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members

    Egypt532.775

    Sudan7.103

    Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.

  • Caribbean

    34.561

    the middle country, of 14 measured · 24 members

    Saint Lucia200.000

    2 share 0.000

    Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.

  • Eastern Africa

    28.333

    the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members

    Seychelles573.333

    South Sudan0.187

    Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.

  • Middle Africa

    10.336

    the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members

    São Tomé and Príncipe68.000

    Central African Republic0.044

    Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.

  • Western Africa

    10.108

    the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members

    Côte d’Ivoire43.785

    Niger0.772

    Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.

  • Australia and New Zealand

    2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.

    New Zealand1,291.131

    Australia102.689

    Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.

  • Micronesia

    3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau.

    Palau26.667

    Kiribati0.000

    Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.

  • Northern America

    3 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Bermuda, Canada, United States.

    Bermuda160.000

    United States127.797

    Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.

  • Polynesia

    3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: French Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga.

    French Polynesia130.400

    Samoa1.027

    Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.

03The whole field at once

The spread

191 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 87.356; a quarter are above 173.252, and a quarter below 21.373. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.

05001,0001,5002,0002,500Africa53 comparedSeychelles: 573.333Egypt: 532.775Mauritius: 101.160Botswana: 93.077Malawi: 87.356Eswatini: 80.949Zambia: 77.271South Africa: 77.187São Tomé and Príncipe: 68.000Morocco: 55.054Kenya: 50.461Gabon: 50.268Tunisia: 49.897Ethiopia: 45.322Côte d’Ivoire: 43.785Burundi: 38.955Benin: 33.171Rwanda: 31.835Ghana: 28.890Djibouti: 28.333Namibia: 27.065Zimbabwe: 26.213Libya: 22.041Tanzania: 20.706Algeria: 20.675Burkina Faso: 17.772Togo: 17.362Cameroon: 16.403Gambia: 15.575Mozambique: 15.130Guinea-Bissau: 13.599Equatorial Guinea: 12.226Liberia: 11.676Republic of the Congo: 10.336Lesotho: 8.698Mali: 8.539Mauritania: 8.524Senegal: 8.497Madagascar: 7.283Sudan: 7.103Chad: 6.526Angola: 6.000Nigeria: 4.239Comoros: 4.031Cabo Verde: 3.540Uganda: 3.329Guinea: 2.909DR Congo: 2.788Sierra Leone: 2.666Eritrea: 1.874Niger: 0.772South Sudan: 0.187Central African Republic: 0.044Central African Republic 0.044 · Seychelles 573.333Americas37 comparedCosta Rica: 1,024.547Colombia: 372.911Brazil: 344.086Belize: 337.540Suriname: 285.641Chile: 249.516Ecuador: 216.911Guyana: 201.443Saint Lucia: 200.000Guatemala: 196.647Honduras: 187.971Uruguay: 174.383Bermuda: 160.000Trinidad and Tobago: 155.360Paraguay: 137.652Canada: 132.841United States: 127.797Panama: 112.579Mexico: 94.249Peru: 93.465Dominican Republic: 89.551El Salvador: 74.596Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 69.500Grenada: 64.667Nicaragua: 64.218Jamaica: 59.192Venezuela: 50.886Argentina: 50.189Puerto Rico: 36.693Barbados: 32.429Bolivia: 8.548Aruba: 8.500Saint Kitts and Nevis: 5.400Haiti: 4.406Cuba: 3.783Dominica: 0.000Antigua and Barbuda: 0.000Dominica 0.000 · Costa Rica 1,024.547Asia48 comparedMalaysia: 2,926.429Kuwait: 2,008.500Hong Kong: 484.000Vietnam: 419.950China: 394.020Bangladesh: 391.888Turkmenistan: 347.310United Arab Emirates: 326.889Indonesia: 311.072Uzbekistan: 303.042Oman: 301.458Thailand: 287.332South Korea: 262.313Israel: 248.257Qatar: 240.238Jordan: 231.132Japan: 202.844Palestine: 199.523Philippines: 199.449India: 199.141Lebanon: 190.092Brunei: 177.250Cyprus: 172.120Georgia: 170.243Pakistan: 160.258Sri Lanka: 153.938Türkiye: 139.557Singapore: 137.500Saudi Arabia: 122.423Tajikistan: 92.938Maldives: 92.750Laos: 77.406Iran: 68.289Nepal: 67.843Cambodia: 51.090Iraq: 50.531Mongolia: 47.432Bahrain: 46.667Azerbaijan: 43.844Armenia: 40.202Kyrgyzstan: 25.656Myanmar: 24.721Syria: 17.318North Korea: 14.683Bhutan: 9.810Yemen: 8.930Afghanistan: 6.595Kazakhstan: 3.879Kazakhstan 3.879Malaysia 2,926.429Europe40 comparedIreland: 895.870Faroe Islands: 614.286Montenegro: 251.381Netherlands: 238.020Slovenia: 221.030Norway: 205.144Belarus: 198.942Belgium: 191.662United Kingdom: 191.439Portugal: 179.157Luxembourg: 171.102Croatia: 169.020Poland: 155.601Switzerland: 142.697Greece: 142.180Serbia: 137.801France: 131.323Germany: 128.576Bulgaria: 128.295Spain: 115.139Italy: 114.107Denmark: 113.645Czechia: 113.435Malta: 111.781Bosnia and Herzegovina: 108.397Austria: 106.416Slovakia: 106.321Iceland: 97.289Latvia: 94.504Lithuania: 93.803Sweden: 93.520Romania: 91.567Hungary: 89.525Finland: 87.168Estonia: 74.862Albania: 66.084North Macedonia: 54.267Moldova: 51.083Ukraine: 42.522Russia: 28.729Russia 28.729 · Ireland 895.870Oceania13 comparedNew Zealand: 1,291.131New Caledonia: 248.911French Polynesia: 130.400Papua New Guinea: 123.658Fiji: 103.138Australia: 102.689Vanuatu: 77.350Palau: 26.667Micronesia: 7.500Tonga: 4.550Samoa: 1.027Kiribati: 0.000Solomon Islands: 0.000Kiribati 0.000New Zealand 1,291.131middle country 87.356

04All 200 ever measured

Every country

In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. Neither end is better, so this carries no good-or-bad colouring on the site. The extreme top of the table is territories with almost no arable land to divide by — the denominator is what is unusual there, not the fertiliser.

The raw table

Showing 25 of 200 countries

  1. 1 of 191MalaysiaSouth-eastern Asia2,926.429
  2. 2 of 191KuwaitWestern Asia2,008.500
  3. 3 of 191New ZealandAustralia and New Zealand1,291.131
  4. 4 of 191Costa RicaCentral America1,024.547
  5. 5 of 191IrelandNorthern Europe895.870
  6. 6 of 191Faroe IslandsNorthern Europe614.286
  7. 7 of 191SeychellesEastern Africa573.333
  8. 8 of 191EgyptNorthern Africa532.775
  9. 9 of 191Hong KongEastern Asia484.000
  10. 10 of 191VietnamSouth-eastern Asia419.950
  11. 11 of 191ChinaEastern Asia394.020
  12. 12 of 191BangladeshSouthern Asia391.888
  13. 13 of 191ColombiaSouth America372.911
  14. 14 of 191TurkmenistanCentral Asia347.310
  15. 15 of 191BrazilSouth America344.086
  16. 16 of 191BelizeCentral America337.540
  17. 17 of 191United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia326.889
  18. 18 of 191IndonesiaSouth-eastern Asia311.072
  19. 19 of 191UzbekistanCentral Asia303.042
  20. 20 of 191OmanWestern Asia301.458
  21. 21 of 191ThailandSouth-eastern Asia287.332
  22. 22 of 191SurinameSouth America285.641
  23. 23 of 191South KoreaEastern Asia262.313
  24. 24 of 191MontenegroSouthern Europe251.381
  25. 25 of 191ChileSouth America249.516

Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.

051961–2023 · 63 reference years

Over time

Each point is one reference year from 1961.

50100150200250196119691977198519932001200920172023AsiaEuropeAmericasOceaniaAfrica
  • the middle country
  • the middle half of countries
  • the middle of the 108 countries measured every time
  • each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
YearCountriesMiddle countryMiddle halfMeasured every time
202319187.35621.373 – 173.252109.099
202219372.70020.314 – 160.681109.464
202119491.69018.920 – 177.234124.986
202019992.79221.420 – 181.125129.794
201919984.49022.631 – 176.730115.607
201819988.38821.638 – 179.785118.604
201719993.38520.881 – 180.270128.560
201619994.10318.863 – 188.527125.897
201519992.39915.261 – 185.614116.993
201419985.34118.587 – 191.594107.362
201319984.67218.380 – 181.599111.046
201219885.52215.134 – 177.535107.292
201119380.95913.054 – 159.16597.164
201019473.01912.065 – 151.27897.715
200919463.19212.063 – 122.55489.040
200819269.42411.321 – 153.88491.964
200719269.79313.278 – 161.74599.481
200619367.94011.000 – 143.57998.819
200519166.5949.933 – 141.91594.982
200419167.13810.234 – 145.85198.506
200319155.8768.078 – 147.76497.475
200218865.21810.267 – 154.17396.542
200116674.09513.048 – 155.106104.429
200016673.86413.831 – 162.695103.134
199916675.73712.953 – 169.795103.246
199816675.99713.314 – 172.117102.506
199716573.15513.158 – 184.77898.548
199616572.03412.537 – 193.36896.826
199516266.62116.481 – 178.01184.137
199416166.35115.183 – 174.81981.545
199316466.64912.092 – 169.15586.938
199215972.05014.424 – 177.34278.964
199114066.69211.161 – 198.09979.807
199014176.4328.494 – 192.44798.405
198914379.87910.202 – 198.03294.585
198814374.4689.015 – 209.90188.682
198714573.4618.974 – 196.22289.900
198614266.38512.851 – 220.80086.841
198514359.07810.603 – 213.69072.054
198414361.30412.547 – 216.30674.390
198314361.13211.802 – 216.72471.578
198214457.91011.668 – 211.66764.685
198114451.42012.510 – 195.64669.958
198014649.4397.368 – 192.63569.800
197914350.3959.734 – 204.33568.911
197814454.6158.242 – 189.87464.127
197714350.5057.492 – 178.82562.764
197614345.9325.182 – 168.61465.567
197514230.5804.601 – 145.94857.091
197413933.3964.578 – 143.08757.782
197313830.8375.255 – 146.16055.580
197213338.1885.166 – 156.55253.336
197113032.2374.211 – 151.09549.413
197013132.9553.824 – 147.49744.967
196913127.9673.685 – 123.82940.473
196813026.3782.919 – 120.59735.311
196713022.7103.048 – 103.21130.397
196612820.7382.751 – 98.07928.996
196512417.9512.613 – 86.07326.119
196412415.4812.155 – 92.22018.692
196312213.9452.035 – 87.48320.646
196212112.3901.469 – 73.09018.267
196112111.4271.453 – 72.41415.312

062022 → 2023

Who rose and fell

The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.

Rose most

before → after
  1. Malaysia1,612.105 → 2,926.429 · 2nd → 1st+1,314.324
  2. Kuwait1,358.500 → 2,008.500 · 3rd → 2nd+650.000
  3. Faroe Islands171.429 → 614.286 · 47th → 6th+442.857
  4. Belize126.230 → 337.540 · 68th → 16th+211.310
  5. Costa Rica898.665 → 1,024.547 · 5th → 4th+125.881

Fell most

before → after
  1. New Zealand1,633.433 → 1,291.131 · 1st → 3rd−342.303
  2. Ireland1,056.159 → 895.870 · 4th → 5th−160.289
  3. Ecuador325.921 → 216.911 · 17th → 32nd−109.010
  4. French Polynesia226.000 → 130.400 · 27th → 66th−95.600
  5. Philippines285.425 → 199.449 · 20th → 38th−85.976

191 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023. The field changed from 193 to 191 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.

07Across every edition

Fertiliser use in records

The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.

08The measure

About fertiliser use

Fertilizer consumption is the nitrogen, phosphate and potash applied per hectare of arable land. It is a problem at both ends: too little is a yield problem across much of Africa, and too much is a runoff, algal-bloom and emissions problem across much of Asia and Europe.

What the number is: Fertilizer consumption (kg per hectare of arable land).

09Where it fits

Connections

Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.

All statistics

In the Country Index

Context, with no vote

This statistic is published in full under Environment & Sustainability and Food & Agriculture, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.

Environment & SustainabilityFood & AgricultureWhich statistics vote, and why

Moves with

Where fertiliser use is higher, these tend to be higher too.

Moves against

Where fertiliser use is higher, these tend to be lower.

Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 381 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.

On the same subject

10Keep reading

Explore further

More from FAO

11Questions

Fertiliser use: questions and answers

Which country has the highest fertiliser use?

Malaysia, at 2,926.429, among the 191 countries compared in 2023.

Which country has the lowest fertiliser use?

4 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000, among the 191 compared in 2023, so no single country is named.

How many countries does the Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare cover?

191 in 2023, and 200 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 121 to 199 between editions.

What is the world average fertiliser use?

This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 191 compared in 2023, the figure was 87.356.

Is this Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s own ranking?

No. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.

How often is the Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare published?

This site holds 63 reference years, 1961–2023, all recalculated in Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s 2026 report on one method — not 63 separate publications.

Where does the data come from, and can I download it?

From Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under CC BY 4.0. From FAOSTAT via the World Bank’s indicator API (AG.CON.FERT.ZS). Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.

12Method

Sources, method and citation

Source

Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

From FAOSTAT via the World Bank’s indicator API (AG.CON.FERT.ZS).

Newest edition

Report year 2023Data year 2023

Cite the source as: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAOSTAT. Rome: FAO.

Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-06.

The full 2023 table, row for row

How this page reads the numbers

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
  • This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
  • A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
  • Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.

The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Fertiliser use by country: Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare, data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/fertilizer-use

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