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 205 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.
Nitrogen use efficiency in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 48.4% | — |
| 1962 | 54.7% | +13.1% |
| 1963 | 54.0% | -1.4% |
| 1964 | 58.8% | +9.0% |
| 1965 | 44.9% | -23.7% |
| 1966 | 73.6% | +63.9% |
| 1967 | 40.6% | -44.7% |
| 1968 | 70.6% | +73.8% |
| 1969 | 53.1% | -24.8% |
| 1970 | 46.5% | -12.5% |
| 1971 | 49.4% | +6.3% |
| 1972 | 35.0% | -29.1% |
| 1973 | 51.5% | +47.2% |
| 1974 | 47.7% | -7.4% |
| 1975 | 50.4% | +5.5% |
| 1976 | 47.0% | -6.8% |
| 1977 | 41.6% | -11.4% |
| 1978 | 72.8% | +75.1% |
| 1979 | 64.5% | -11.5% |
| 1980 | 48.9% | -24.1% |
| 1981 | 68.5% | +40.1% |
| 1982 | 43.9% | -35.9% |
| 1983 | 85.6% | +94.7% |
| 1984 | 74.8% | -12.6% |
| 1985 | 69.6% | -6.9% |
| 1986 | 69.7% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 59.2% | -15.0% |
| 1988 | 62.3% | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 58.2% | -6.5% |
| 1990 | 57.8% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 53.2% | -8.0% |
| 1992 | 64.8% | +21.9% |
| 1993 | 62.4% | -3.8% |
| 1994 | 41.4% | -33.6% |
| 1995 | 59.0% | +42.4% |
| 1996 | 65.0% | +10.2% |
| 1997 | 60.4% | -7.1% |
| 1998 | 61.2% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 62.6% | +2.3% |
| 2000 | 61.3% | -2.0% |
| 2001 | 62.9% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 38.7% | -38.4% |
| 2003 | 67.7% | +74.9% |
| 2004 | 53.2% | -21.5% |
| 2005 | 65.5% | +23.2% |
| 2006 | 38.8% | -40.7% |
| 2007 | 44.7% | +15.1% |
| 2008 | 58.7% | +31.3% |
| 2009 | 59.4% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 55.9% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 62.9% | +12.5% |
| 2012 | 70.0% | +11.3% |
| 2013 | 57.6% | -17.7% |
| 2014 | 62.0% | +7.6% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 62.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 36.0%, 1.7× the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Australia's 62.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 44.5%, 1.4× the median. (32 countries reporting)
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
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
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 205 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.