What is the difference in fertilizer use per capita between Costa Rica and United States?

0.61 Kilograms per capita, with Costa Rica ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States?

63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Fertilizer use per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Costa Rica vs United States: Fertilizer use per capita

Costa Rica

13.04 Kilograms per capita

in 2023

United States

12.43 Kilograms per capita

in 2023

Costa Rica rank

14th

United States rank

15th

Fertilizer use per capita over time

Costa Rica
United States

How they compare

Costa Rica currently reports 13.04 Kilograms per capita against 12.43 Kilograms per capita in United States, a difference of 0.61 Kilograms per capita.

The two have swapped places 7 times across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was United States ahead.

Costa Rica ranks 14th and United States ranks 15th of 205 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 1 and United States in 6.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Costa Rica	United States	Difference	Ahead
1960s	4.46 Kilograms per capita	14.47 Kilograms per capita	10.02 Kilograms per capita	United States
1970s	8.57 Kilograms per capita	21.13 Kilograms per capita	12.56 Kilograms per capita	United States
1980s	8.09 Kilograms per capita	20.23 Kilograms per capita	12.14 Kilograms per capita	United States
1990s	12.41 Kilograms per capita	17.57 Kilograms per capita	5.17 Kilograms per capita	United States
2000s	14.94 Kilograms per capita	14.71 Kilograms per capita	0.231 Kilograms per capita	Costa Rica
2010s	8.76 Kilograms per capita	13.62 Kilograms per capita	4.86 Kilograms per capita	United States
2020s	11 Kilograms per capita	12.98 Kilograms per capita	1.97 Kilograms per capita	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher fertilizer use per capita, Costa Rica or United States?: Costa Rica, at 13.04 Kilograms per capita against 12.43 Kilograms per capita in United States as of 2023.
What is the difference in fertilizer use per capita between Costa Rica and United States?: 0.61 Kilograms per capita, with Costa Rica ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States?: 63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do Costa Rica and United States rank globally for fertilizer use per capita?: Costa Rica ranks 14th and United States ranks 15th of 205 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Fertilizer use per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Costa Rica vs United States: Fertilizer use per capita. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/compare/fertilizer-per-capita/costa-rica/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator: Fertilizer use per capita
Unit: Kilograms per capita
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 205 places, 9,850 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Fertilizer use is the sum of synthetic inputs of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous, plus organic nitrogen inputs. This is given in kilograms per person per year.