India vs United States: Fertilizer use by nutrient
India
20.46 million tonnes
in 2023
United States
11.43 million tonnes
in 2023
India rank
2nd
United States rank
3rd
Fertilizer use by nutrient over time
- India
- United States
How they compare
India currently reports 20.46 million tonnes against 11.43 million tonnes in United States, a difference of 9.03 million tonnes.
That makes India's figure about 1.8 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 63 shared years of data; in 1961 it was United States ahead.
India ranks 2nd and United States ranks 3rd of 201 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, India averaged higher in 3 and United States in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | India | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 714,067 tonnes | 4.78 million tonnes | 4.06 million tonnes | United States |
| 1970s | 2.37 million tonnes | 8.53 million tonnes | 6.16 million tonnes | United States |
| 1980s | 5.41 million tonnes | 9.76 million tonnes | 4.35 million tonnes | United States |
| 1990s | 9.63 million tonnes | 10.87 million tonnes | 1.24 million tonnes | United States |
| 2000s | 12.68 million tonnes | 11.12 million tonnes | 1.56 million tonnes | India |
| 2010s | 17.19 million tonnes | 11.87 million tonnes | 5.32 million tonnes | India |
| 2020s | 20.14 million tonnes | 11.63 million tonnes | 8.51 million tonnes | India |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fertilizer use by nutrient, India or United States?
- India, at 20.46 million tonnes against 11.43 million tonnes in United States as of 2023.
- What is the difference in fertilizer use by nutrient between India and United States?
- 9.03 million tonnes, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for India and United States?
- 63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
- How do India and United States rank globally for fertilizer use by nutrient?
- India ranks 2nd and United States ranks 3rd of 201 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 by nutrient. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Fertilizer use in the agricultural sector, which includes use for crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture.