Fertilizer consumption (% of fertilizer production) by country
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...
What the numbers show
Fertilizer consumption (% of fertilizer production) is currently reported for 106 countries. The highest value is 23,434.6% in Costa Rica; the lowest is 0.1% in Bahrain.
The median across all reporting countries is 142.2%, and the mean is 1,254.2%.
Over the past decade 60 countries rose and 42 fell. The largest increase was in Iceland (up 11,726.9%), and the largest decrease in Bahrain (down 96.2%).
Fertilizer consumption: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica | 23,434.6% | 2001 | up 7,832.3% | volatile |
| 2 | Iceland | 20,896.6% | 2001 | up 11,726.9% | volatile |
| 3 | Estonia | 20,163.3% | 2023 | up 40.1% | volatile |
| 4 | Peru | 11,382.0% | 2001 | up 3,359.2% | volatile |
| 5 | Burkina Faso | 8,857.2% | 2000 | down 51.5% | falling |
| 6 | France | 7,180.7% | 2023 | up 1,613.4% | volatile |
| 7 | Kenya | 5,550.0% | 1967 | up 200.0% | rising |
| 8 | Zambia | 3,487.9% | 2000 | up 521.4% | volatile |
| 9 | Ecuador | 2,436.2% | 1984 | up 257.7% | volatile |
| 10 | Cote d'Ivoire | 2,160.0% | 1993 | up 100.5% | volatile |
| 11 | Mozambique | 2,100.0% | 1983 | up 1,404.7% | volatile |
| 12 | Uruguay | 1,885.2% | 2019 | down 17.7% | volatile |
| 13 | Finland | 1,716.0% | 2023 | up 4,855.0% | volatile |
| 14 | Tanzania | 1,550.8% | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 15 | Guatemala | 1,518.3% | 1992 | up 132.7% | volatile |
| 16 | Sri Lanka | 1,461.4% | 2023 | up 5.8% | falling |
| 17 | Mauritius | 1,030.8% | 2004 | up 443.4% | volatile |
| 18 | Brazil | 718.3% | 2023 | up 62.2% | volatile |
| 19 | Cuba | 684.6% | 2023 | up 2.0% | volatile |
| 20 | Bangladesh | 667.5% | 2023 | up 73.7% | volatile |
| 21 | Switzerland | 592.9% | 2000 | up 3.1% | rising |
| 22 | Romania | 544.2% | 2023 | up 717.5% | volatile |
| 23 | Albania | 530.0% | 1999 | up 418.6% | volatile |
| 24 | South Africa | 491.1% | 2023 | up 108.3% | volatile |
| 25 | North Korea | 472.4% | 2019 | up 127.1% | volatile |
| 26 | Myanmar | 467.7% | 2021 | up 120.6% | volatile |
| 27 | Philippines | 459.2% | 2023 | down 29.1% | volatile |
| 28 | El Salvador | 453.9% | 1992 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 29 | Thailand | 423.3% | 2023 | down 83.9% | volatile |
| 30 | Colombia | 411.6% | 2022 | down 26.5% | volatile |
| 31 | Australia | 409.5% | 2023 | up 84.1% | rising |
| 32 | Mexico | 405.7% | 2023 | up 131.2% | volatile |
| 33 | North Macedonia | 399.0% | 2000 | up 299.0% | rising |
| 34 | Eswatini | 346.0% | 1983 | — | falling |
| 35 | Argentina | 345.4% | 2023 | up 65.0% | volatile |
| 36 | Denmark | 327.6% | 2004 | up 65.2% | falling |
| 37 | Afghanistan | 324.3% | 2023 | up 47.0% | volatile |
| 38 | Czechia | 311.6% | 2023 | up 25.4% | rising |
| 39 | Ireland | 287.4% | 2002 | up 32.1% | falling |
| 40 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 265.5% | 2022 | up 38.7% | rising |
| 41 | Sweden | 264.4% | 2007 | up 0.7% | rising |
| 42 | Ukraine | 262.8% | 2021 | up 495.4% | volatile |
| 43 | Malaysia | 256.4% | 2023 | down 11.3% | volatile |
| 44 | Zimbabwe | 253.3% | 2022 | down 29.6% | volatile |
| 45 | Libya | 252.7% | 2023 | up 788.7% | volatile |
| 46 | United Kingdom | 238.4% | 2023 | down 43.3% | volatile |
| 47 | Serbia | 236.6% | 2023 | up 12.2% | falling |
| 48 | New Zealand | 235.3% | 2023 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 49 | Iraq | 228.5% | 2023 | up 60.6% | volatile |
| 50 | Croatia | 221.8% | 2023 | up 517.7% | volatile |
| 51 | Senegal | 208.6% | 2023 | down 72.5% | volatile |
| 52 | Turkey | 181.3% | 2023 | up 2.0% | falling |
| 53 | Japan | 143.8% | 2023 | up 10.9% | rising |
| 54 | Portugal | 140.7% | 2023 | down 1.8% | rising |
| 55 | India | 139.4% | 2023 | down 6.8% | falling |
| 56 | Indonesia | 121.9% | 2023 | down 4.4% | volatile |
| 57 | Pakistan | 121.8% | 2023 | down 13.8% | falling |
| 58 | Vietnam | 120.9% | 2023 | down 44.3% | volatile |
| 59 | Chile | 117.4% | 2023 | up 224.8% | volatile |
| 60 | Spain | 111.2% | 2023 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 61 | Uganda | 110.0% | 1977 | up 52.9% | volatile |
| 62 | United States | 100.8% | 2023 | down 20.7% | rising |
| 63 | China | 92.0% | 2023 | down 0.7% | falling |
| 64 | Poland | 89.5% | 2023 | up 16.2% | falling |
| 65 | Uzbekistan | 87.7% | 2023 | up 4.4% | falling |
| 66 | Italy | 86.2% | 2023 | down 55.4% | volatile |
| 67 | Bulgaria | 82.7% | 2023 | down 35.5% | falling |
| 68 | Tajikistan | 77.3% | 2008 | down 91.6% | volatile |
| 69 | Austria | 75.2% | 2001 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 70 | Syria | 73.4% | 2014 | down 54.5% | volatile |
| 71 | Greece | 72.7% | 2023 | down 57.0% | volatile |
| 72 | Venezuela | 67.9% | 2023 | down 35.2% | volatile |
| 73 | Turkmenistan | 67.7% | 2023 | down 50.3% | falling |
| 74 | Cyprus | 64.8% | 1989 | down 80.5% | volatile |
| 75 | Hungary | 59.0% | 2023 | down 64.6% | falling |
| 76 | Slovakia | 58.7% | 2023 | up 31.1% | rising |
| 77 | Iran | 58.7% | 2023 | up 17.3% | volatile |
| 78 | Lebanon | 58.2% | 2023 | up 26.6% | volatile |
| 79 | South Korea | 57.1% | 2023 | down 22.7% | volatile |
| 80 | Azerbaijan | 55.0% | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 81 | Lithuania | 51.0% | 2023 | up 116.4% | flat |
| 82 | Germany | 47.2% | 2023 | down 15.6% | falling |
| 83 | Kazakhstan | 45.5% | 2023 | down 12.6% | volatile |
| 84 | Egypt | 41.5% | 2023 | down 11.3% | volatile |
| 85 | Canada | 37.4% | 2023 | up 40.0% | falling |
| 86 | Tunisia | 32.7% | 2023 | up 141.2% | rising |
| 87 | Georgia | 28.9% | 2023 | up 52.9% | volatile |
| 88 | Bolivia | 21.4% | 2022 | — | volatile |
| 89 | Belgium | 21.0% | 2023 | down 11.1% | falling |
| 90 | Norway | 15.7% | 2023 | down 4.1% | falling |
| 91 | Netherlands | 14.6% | 2023 | up 11.4% | volatile |
| 92 | Algeria | 14.5% | 2023 | down 91.8% | volatile |
| 93 | Russia | 13.5% | 2023 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 94 | Belarus | 12.7% | 2023 | down 53.0% | falling |
| 95 | Nigeria | 12.5% | 2023 | down 95.6% | volatile |
| 96 | Laos | 7.1% | 2023 | down 64.9% | falling |
| 97 | Saudi Arabia | 7.1% | 2023 | down 13.4% | volatile |
| 98 | Morocco | 5.3% | 2023 | down 73.8% | volatile |
| 99 | Kuwait | 3.5% | 2018 | up 155.5% | volatile |
| 100 | Oman | 2.8% | 2023 | up 158.9% | volatile |
| 101 | Israel | 2.4% | 2023 | down 33.2% | volatile |
| 102 | Jordan | 2.2% | 2023 | up 11.1% | volatile |
| 103 | United Arab Emirates | 1.8% | 2023 | down 46.5% | volatile |
| 104 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1.0% | 2023 | down 18.4% | volatile |
| 105 | Qatar | 0.2% | 2023 | up 24.2% | volatile |
| 106 | Bahrain | 0.1% | 2022 | down 96.2% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Other small states 41,591.8%
- Low income 12,271.6%
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 6,941.2%
- Africa Eastern and Southern 1,716.7%
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 636.1%
- Latin America & Caribbean 561.3%
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 561.3%
- IDA only 392.8%
- Least developed countries: UN classification 351.7%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 317.6%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 317.6%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 317.5%
About this data
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.