Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre was 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre in 2023. ▲ Rising
Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica, 1961–2023
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in tonnes per square kilometre.
Analysis
In 2023, nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica stood at 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre.
That represents a change of up 25.3% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica peaked at 2.04 tonnes per square kilometre in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.1219 tonnes per square kilometre, in 1961.
That places Costa Rica 35th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | tonnes per square kilometre | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.1219 tonnes per square kilometre | — |
| 1962 | 0.173 tonnes per square kilometre | +41.8% |
| 1963 | 0.4113 tonnes per square kilometre | +137.8% |
| 1964 | 0.47 tonnes per square kilometre | +14.3% |
| 1965 | 0.1958 tonnes per square kilometre | -58.3% |
| 1966 | 0.3271 tonnes per square kilometre | +67.0% |
| 1967 | 0.3075 tonnes per square kilometre | -6.0% |
| 1968 | 0.568 tonnes per square kilometre | +84.7% |
| 1969 | 0.783 tonnes per square kilometre | +37.9% |
| 1970 | 0.7318 tonnes per square kilometre | -6.5% |
| 1971 | 0.5249 tonnes per square kilometre | -28.3% |
| 1972 | 0.5072 tonnes per square kilometre | -3.4% |
| 1973 | 0.6659 tonnes per square kilometre | +31.3% |
| 1974 | 0.6639 tonnes per square kilometre | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 0.6091 tonnes per square kilometre | -8.3% |
| 1976 | 0.5579 tonnes per square kilometre | -8.4% |
| 1977 | 0.794 tonnes per square kilometre | +42.3% |
| 1978 | 0.8006 tonnes per square kilometre | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 0.7716 tonnes per square kilometre | -3.6% |
| 1980 | 0.7932 tonnes per square kilometre | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 0.8852 tonnes per square kilometre | +11.6% |
| 1982 | 0.9597 tonnes per square kilometre | +8.4% |
| 1983 | 1.06 tonnes per square kilometre | +10.2% |
| 1984 | 0.991 tonnes per square kilometre | -6.3% |
| 1985 | 0.9597 tonnes per square kilometre | -3.2% |
| 1986 | 1.02 tonnes per square kilometre | +6.1% |
| 1987 | 1.08 tonnes per square kilometre | +5.8% |
| 1988 | 1.15 tonnes per square kilometre | +7.2% |
| 1989 | 1.23 tonnes per square kilometre | +6.8% |
| 1990 | 1.09 tonnes per square kilometre | -11.7% |
| 1991 | 1.22 tonnes per square kilometre | +12.2% |
| 1992 | 1.27 tonnes per square kilometre | +4.2% |
| 1993 | 1.18 tonnes per square kilometre | -7.7% |
| 1994 | 1.37 tonnes per square kilometre | +16.7% |
| 1995 | 1.37 tonnes per square kilometre | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1.74 tonnes per square kilometre | +27.1% |
| 1997 | 1.96 tonnes per square kilometre | +12.4% |
| 1998 | 2.04 tonnes per square kilometre | +4.0% |
| 1999 | 1.57 tonnes per square kilometre | -23.1% |
| 2000 | 1.33 tonnes per square kilometre | -15.0% |
| 2001 | 1.04 tonnes per square kilometre | -21.7% |
| 2002 | 1.08 tonnes per square kilometre | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 1.52 tonnes per square kilometre | +40.9% |
| 2004 | 1.24 tonnes per square kilometre | -18.5% |
| 2005 | 1.33 tonnes per square kilometre | +7.8% |
| 2006 | 1.4 tonnes per square kilometre | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 1.45 tonnes per square kilometre | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 1.6 tonnes per square kilometre | +10.0% |
| 2009 | 0.8886 tonnes per square kilometre | -44.4% |
| 2010 | 1.2 tonnes per square kilometre | +34.9% |
| 2011 | 1.85 tonnes per square kilometre | +54.6% |
| 2012 | 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre | -7.1% |
| 2013 | 1.76 tonnes per square kilometre | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 1.53 tonnes per square kilometre | -13.4% |
| 2015 | 1.67 tonnes per square kilometre | +9.3% |
| 2016 | 1.94 tonnes per square kilometre | +16.2% |
| 2017 | 1.78 tonnes per square kilometre | -8.3% |
| 2018 | 1.88 tonnes per square kilometre | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 1.83 tonnes per square kilometre | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 1.86 tonnes per square kilometre | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 1.59 tonnes per square kilometre | -14.1% |
| 2022 | 1.37 tonnes per square kilometre | -13.9% |
| 2023 | 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre | +25.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.7098 tonnes per square kilometre, 2.4× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.3297 tonnes per square kilometre, 5.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +137.8% | 0.173 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.4113 tonnes per square kilometre |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.3731 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.1219 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.783 tonnes per square kilometre | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.6627 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.5072 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.8006 tonnes per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.01 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.7932 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.23 tonnes per square kilometre | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.48 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.09 tonnes per square kilometre | 2.04 tonnes per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.29 tonnes per square kilometre | 0.8886 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.6 tonnes per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.2 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.94 tonnes per square kilometre | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.64 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.37 tonnes per square kilometre | 1.86 tonnes per square kilometre | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 32 Italy 1.93 tonnes per square kilometre compare
- 33 Malta 1.83 tonnes per square kilometre compare
- 34 El Salvador 1.8 tonnes per square kilometre compare
- 36 Ukraine 1.71 tonnes per square kilometre compare
- 37 Guatemala 1.68 tonnes per square kilometre compare
- 38 Indonesia 1.58 tonnes per square kilometre compare
More agriculture & rural data for Costa Rica
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0337 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 672.15 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2027 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica?
- Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre in Costa Rica was 1.72 tonnes per square kilometre in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.04 tonnes per square kilometre in 1998.
- What is the lowest nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1219 tonnes per square kilometre in 1961.
- How does Costa Rica rank for nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre?
- Costa Rica ranks 35th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Nitrogen fertilizer use, per square kilometre. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Nitrogen fertilizer use divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Nitrogen fertilizer use ÷ Land area (sq. km)
Computed from
- Nitrogen fertilizer use Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
- Land area FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Nitrogen fertilizer use divided by Land area (sq. km), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.