Fertilizer use by nutrient in India
India: Fertilizer use by nutrient was 20.46 million tonnes in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2023)
20.46 million tonnes
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
2nd
of 202 countries
All-time high
20.46 million tonnes
in 2023
All-time low
249,800 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023
Fertilizer use by nutrient in India, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
India recorded 20.46 million tonnes for fertilizer use by nutrient in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 22.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertilizer use by nutrient in India peaked at 20.46 million tonnes in 2023 and was at its lowest, 249,800 tonnes, in 1961.
That places India 2nd out of 202 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Fertilizer use by nutrient in India, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 249,800 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 333,000 tonnes | +33.3% |
| 1963 | 376,800 tonnes | +13.2% |
| 1964 | 555,200 tonnes | +47.3% |
| 1965 | 574,800 tonnes | +3.5% |
| 1966 | 737,800 tonnes | +28.4% |
| 1967 | 1.03 million tonnes | +40.2% |
| 1968 | 1.21 million tonnes | +16.8% |
| 1969 | 1.36 million tonnes | +12.2% |
| 1970 | 1.48 million tonnes | +9.1% |
| 1971 | 1.80 million tonnes | +21.6% |
| 1972 | 1.84 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 1.83 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 1.77 million tonnes | -3.5% |
| 1975 | 2.75 million tonnes | +55.7% |
| 1976 | 2.46 million tonnes | -10.6% |
| 1977 | 2.91 million tonnes | +18.6% |
| 1978 | 3.42 million tonnes | +17.4% |
| 1979 | 3.50 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 3.68 million tonnes | +5.1% |
| 1981 | 4.07 million tonnes | +10.6% |
| 1982 | 4.04 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 4.64 million tonnes | +14.7% |
| 1984 | 5.33 million tonnes | +15.0% |
| 1985 | 5.75 million tonnes | +7.8% |
| 1986 | 6.53 million tonnes | +13.5% |
| 1987 | 5.70 million tonnes | -12.6% |
| 1988 | 7.16 million tonnes | +25.5% |
| 1989 | 7.15 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 7.57 million tonnes | +5.8% |
| 1991 | 8.05 million tonnes | +6.4% |
| 1992 | 8.43 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 1993 | 8.78 million tonnes | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 9.51 million tonnes | +8.3% |
| 1995 | 9.82 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 1996 | 10.32 million tonnes | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 10.90 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 1998 | 11.35 million tonnes | +4.1% |
| 1999 | 11.59 million tonnes | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 10.92 million tonnes | -5.7% |
| 2001 | 11.31 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 10.47 million tonnes | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 11.08 million tonnes | +5.8% |
| 2004 | 11.71 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 12.72 million tonnes | +8.6% |
| 2006 | 13.76 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 2007 | 14.42 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 14.86 million tonnes | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 15.56 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2010 | 16.45 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 17.37 million tonnes | +5.6% |
| 2012 | 16.82 million tonnes | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 16.75 million tonnes | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 16.95 million tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 17.37 million tonnes | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 16.74 million tonnes | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 16.96 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 17.63 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 18.86 million tonnes | +7.0% |
| 2020 | 20.40 million tonnes | +8.2% |
| 2021 | 19.49 million tonnes | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 20.21 million tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2023 | 20.46 million tonnes | +1.2% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 20.46 million tonnes is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 47,552 tonnes, 430.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- India's 20.46 million tonnes is above the median for South Asia, which is 99,610 tonnes, 205.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Fertilizer use by nutrient in India changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +55.7% | 1.77 million tonnes | 2.75 million tonnes |
| 1964 | +47.3% | 376,800 tonnes | 555,200 tonnes |
| 1967 | +40.2% | 737,800 tonnes | 1.03 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 714,067 tonnes | 249,800 tonnes | 1.36 million tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.37 million tonnes | 1.48 million tonnes | 3.50 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.41 million tonnes | 3.68 million tonnes | 7.16 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.63 million tonnes | 7.57 million tonnes | 11.59 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.68 million tonnes | 10.47 million tonnes | 15.56 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.19 million tonnes | 16.45 million tonnes | 18.86 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.14 million tonnes | 19.49 million tonnes | 20.46 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More agriculture & rural data for India
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -2.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1623 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 438.73 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4067 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6431 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 16.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 16.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertilizer use by nutrient in India?
- Fertilizer use by nutrient in India was 20.46 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 use by nutrient recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 20.46 million tonnes in 2023.
- What is the lowest fertilizer use by nutrient recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 249,800 tonnes in 1961.
- How does India rank for fertilizer use by nutrient?
- India ranks 2nd out of 202 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fertilizer use by nutrient rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this India 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 use by nutrient. 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
Fertilizer use in the agricultural sector, which includes use for crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture.