Fertilizer consumption in United States

United States: Fertilizer consumption was 16.66 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
16.66 million tonnes
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
4th
of 200 countries
All-time high
18.60 million tonnes
in 1980
All-time low
6.67 million tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Fertilizer consumption in United States, 1961–2023

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for fertilizer consumption in United States is 16.66 million tonnes, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 8.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fertilizer consumption in United States peaked at 18.60 million tonnes in 1980 and was at its lowest, 6.67 million tonnes, in 1961.

United States ranks 4th of 200 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 9.79 million tonnes 6.67 million tonnes 12.72 million tonnes 9
1970s 15.61 million tonnes 13.41 million tonnes 18.20 million tonnes 10
1980s 16.27 million tonnes 15.18 million tonnes 18.60 million tonnes 10
1990s 16.91 million tonnes 16.15 million tonnes 17.50 million tonnes 10
2000s 16.70 million tonnes 13.68 million tonnes 18.34 million tonnes 10
2010s 17.48 million tonnes 16.93 million tonnes 18.20 million tonnes 10
2020s 17.08 million tonnes 16.66 million tonnes 17.86 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 1 China 42.72 million tonnes compare
  2. 2 India 30.64 million tonnes compare
  3. 3 Brazil 18.09 million tonnes compare
  4. 5 Indonesia 5.53 million tonnes compare
  5. 6 Pakistan 4.85 million tonnes compare
  6. 7 Canada 4.72 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 201 places →

More agriculture & rural data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is fertilizer consumption in United States?
Fertilizer consumption in United States was 16.66 million tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest fertilizer consumption recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 18.60 million tonnes in 1980.
What is the lowest fertilizer consumption recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 6.67 million tonnes in 1961.
How does United States rank for fertilizer consumption?
United States ranks 4th out of 200 countries with data for 2023.
Is fertilizer consumption rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertilizer consumption. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Fertilizer consumption
Unit
tonnes
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
201 places, 10,286 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

Agricultural use from all fertilizer products (including nitrogenous, potash, and phosphate fertilizers).