Nitrogen use efficiency in Australia
Australia: Nitrogen use efficiency was 62.0% in 2014. ▲ Rising
Nitrogen use efficiency in Australia, 1961–2014
Source: Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 62.0% for nitrogen use efficiency in 2014.
That represents a change of up 7.6% on the previous year and up 16.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, nitrogen use efficiency in Australia peaked at 85.6% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 35.0%, in 1972.
Australia ranks 68th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.4% | 40.6% | 73.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 50.6% | 35.0% | 72.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 64.1% | 43.9% | 85.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 58.8% | 41.4% | 65.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 55.1% | 38.7% | 67.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.7% | 55.9% | 70.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.4864 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8615 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.13 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.0026 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.4713 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 148.46 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is nitrogen use efficiency in Australia?
- Nitrogen use efficiency in Australia was 62.0% in 2014, according to Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 85.6% in 1983.
- What is the lowest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.0% in 1972.
- How does Australia rank for nitrogen use efficiency?
- Australia ranks 68th out of 204 countries with data for 2014.
- Is nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Nitrogen use efficiency. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is the ratio between nitrogen inputs and output. A NUE of 40% means that only 40% of nitrogen inputs are converted into nitrogen in the form of crops.