Insecticide use in Australia

Australia: Insecticide use was 11,511 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
11,511 tonnes
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
12th
of 211 countries
All-time high
14,196 tonnes
in 2016
All-time low
3,999 tonnes
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Insecticide use in Australia, 1990–2023

5.0k7.5k10.0k12.5k15.0k1990200620231990: 4.0k tonnes1991: 4.0k tonnes1992: 5.0k tonnes1993: 5.3k tonnes1994: 4.7k tonnes1995: 5.7k tonnes1996: 6.2k tonnes1997: 7.1k tonnes1998: 8.6k tonnes1999: 8.7k tonnes2000: 7.5k tonnes2001: 7.3k tonnes2002: 6.0k tonnes2003: 7.3k tonnes2004: 8.1k tonnes2005: 7.7k tonnes2006: 8.0k tonnes2007: 7.3k tonnes2008: 9.6k tonnes2009: 8.5k tonnes2010: 9.4k tonnes2011: 10.7k tonnes2012: 10.9k tonnes2013: 10.1k tonnes2014: 11.2k tonnes2015: 11.4k tonnes2016: 14.2k tonnes2017: 11.1k tonnes2018: 11.1k tonnes2019: 11.2k tonnes2020: 11.3k tonnes2021: 11.4k tonnes2022: 11.4k tonnes2023: 11.5k tonnes

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

Analysis

In 2023, insecticide use in Australia stood at 11,511 tonnes.

That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 13.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, insecticide use in Australia peaked at 14,196 tonnes in 2016 and was at its lowest, 3,999 tonnes, in 1990.

Australia ranks 12th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 5,947 tonnes 3,999 tonnes 8,700 tonnes 10
2000s 7,727 tonnes 5,966 tonnes 9,611 tonnes 10
2010s 11,127 tonnes 9,439 tonnes 14,196 tonnes 10
2020s 11,398 tonnes 11,285 tonnes 11,511 tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 9 Russia 14,274 tonnes compare
  2. 10 Japan 13,382 tonnes compare
  3. 11 Nigeria 13,227 tonnes compare
  4. 13 Spain 9,978 tonnes compare
  5. 14 South Africa 9,639 tonnes compare
  6. 15 Italy 9,206 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is insecticide use in Australia?
Insecticide use in Australia was 11,511 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 insecticide use recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 14,196 tonnes in 2016.
What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 3,999 tonnes in 1990.
How does Australia rank for insecticide use?
Australia ranks 12th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
Is insecticide use rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia 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 Insecticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Insecticide use
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
211 places, 7,015 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Annual quantity of insecticides used in agriculture, measured as the tonnes of active ingredient per year.