Insecticide use in United States
United States: Insecticide use was 7,489 tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling
Insecticide use in United States, 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 United States is 7,489 tonnes, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and down 88.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insecticide use in United States peaked at 111,584 tonnes in 1996 and was at its lowest, 7,412 tonnes, in 2022.
United States ranks 19th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Insecticide use in United States, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 86,182 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 88,904 tonnes | +3.2% |
| 1992 | 92,079 tonnes | +3.6% |
| 1993 | 91,172 tonnes | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 98,883 tonnes | +8.5% |
| 1995 | 104,326 tonnes | +5.5% |
| 1996 | 111,584 tonnes | +7.0% |
| 1997 | 100,697 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 1998 | 81,647 tonnes | -18.9% |
| 1999 | 94,347 tonnes | +15.6% |
| 2000 | 100,244 tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2001 | 79,379 tonnes | -20.8% |
| 2002 | 90,265 tonnes | +13.7% |
| 2003 | 79,379 tonnes | -12.1% |
| 2004 | 91,626 tonnes | +15.4% |
| 2005 | 83,234 tonnes | -9.2% |
| 2006 | 74,843 tonnes | -10.1% |
| 2007 | 78,471 tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 70,760 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2009 | 63,049 tonnes | -10.9% |
| 2010 | 63,956 tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 64,864 tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 65,771 tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 67,528 tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 66,635 tonnes | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 68,302 tonnes | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 72,849 tonnes | +6.7% |
| 2017 | 72,534 tonnes | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 73,772 tonnes | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 7,796 tonnes | -89.4% |
| 2020 | 7,664 tonnes | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 7,614 tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 7,412 tonnes | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 7,489 tonnes | +1.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 7,489 tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 90 tonnes, 83.2× the median. (73 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insecticide use in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | -89.4% | 73,772 tonnes | 7,796 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 94,982 tonnes | 81,647 tonnes | 111,584 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 81,125 tonnes | 63,049 tonnes | 100,244 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 62,401 tonnes | 7,796 tonnes | 73,772 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 7,545 tonnes | 7,412 tonnes | 7,664 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insecticide use in United States?
- Insecticide use in United States was 7,489 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 111,584 tonnes in 1996.
- What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,412 tonnes in 2022.
- How does United States rank for insecticide use?
- United States ranks 19th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is insecticide use rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 88.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 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.