Insecticide use in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Insecticide use was 216 tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling
Insecticide use in Bulgaria, 1990–2023
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 insecticide use in Bulgaria is 216 tonnes, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 30.8% on the previous year and up 96.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insecticide use in Bulgaria peaked at 727 tonnes in 2019 and was at its lowest, 83 tonnes, in 2012.
That places Bulgaria 111th out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Insecticide use in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 486 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 486 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 486 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 466 tonnes | -4.1% |
| 1994 | 446 tonnes | -4.3% |
| 1995 | 426 tonnes | -4.5% |
| 1996 | 405 tonnes | -4.9% |
| 1997 | 385 tonnes | -4.9% |
| 1998 | 365 tonnes | -5.2% |
| 1999 | 345 tonnes | -5.5% |
| 2000 | 325 tonnes | -5.8% |
| 2001 | 305 tonnes | -6.2% |
| 2002 | 285 tonnes | -6.6% |
| 2003 | 264 tonnes | -7.4% |
| 2004 | 244 tonnes | -7.6% |
| 2005 | 224 tonnes | -8.2% |
| 2006 | 204 tonnes | -8.9% |
| 2007 | 184 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2008 | 164 tonnes | -10.9% |
| 2009 | 143 tonnes | -12.8% |
| 2010 | 123 tonnes | -14.0% |
| 2011 | 103 tonnes | -16.3% |
| 2012 | 83 tonnes | -19.4% |
| 2013 | 110 tonnes | +32.5% |
| 2014 | 163 tonnes | +48.2% |
| 2015 | 286 tonnes | +75.5% |
| 2016 | 703 tonnes | +145.8% |
| 2017 | 374 tonnes | -46.8% |
| 2018 | 622 tonnes | +66.3% |
| 2019 | 727 tonnes | +16.9% |
| 2020 | 503 tonnes | -30.8% |
| 2021 | 342 tonnes | -32.0% |
| 2022 | 312 tonnes | -8.8% |
| 2023 | 216 tonnes | -30.8% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 216 tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 90 tonnes, 2.4× the median. (73 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 216 tonnes is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 198 tonnes, 1.1× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insecticide use in Bulgaria 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +145.8% | 286 tonnes | 703 tonnes |
| 2015 | +75.5% | 163 tonnes | 286 tonnes |
| 2018 | +66.3% | 374 tonnes | 622 tonnes |
| 2014 | +48.2% | 110 tonnes | 163 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 429.6 tonnes | 345 tonnes | 486 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 234.2 tonnes | 143 tonnes | 325 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 329.4 tonnes | 83 tonnes | 727 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 343.25 tonnes | 216 tonnes | 503 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More reference data data for Bulgaria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3067 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2728 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.36 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insecticide use in Bulgaria?
- Insecticide use in Bulgaria was 216 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 Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 727 tonnes in 2019.
- What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 83 tonnes in 2012.
- How does Bulgaria rank for insecticide use?
- Bulgaria ranks 111th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is insecticide use rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 96.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria 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
Annual quantity of insecticides used in agriculture, measured as the tonnes of active ingredient per year.