Nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Nitrogen use efficiency was 85.3% in 2014. ▲ Rising

Latest (2014)
85.3%
Change on year
down 3.0%
World rank
38th
of 205 countries
All-time high
87.9%
in 2013
All-time low
57.1%
in 1978
Years of data
54
1961–2014

Nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia, 1961–2014

020406080196119872014

Source: Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia is 85.3%, measured in 2014.

That represents a change of down 3.0% on the previous year and up 16.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia peaked at 87.9% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 57.1%, in 1978.

Ethiopia ranks 38th of 205 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.

Nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia, year by year

Annual values for Nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia, 1961 to 2014.
Year % Change
1961 59.9%
1962 59.7% -0.3%
1963 59.8% +0.1%
1964 60.8% +1.8%
1965 60.8% -0.0%
1966 61.5% +1.2%
1967 62.3% +1.3%
1968 61.6% -1.2%
1969 64.1% +4.0%
1970 65.3% +1.9%
1971 66.8% +2.3%
1972 65.9% -1.3%
1973 60.1% -8.8%
1974 60.7% +1.0%
1975 57.2% -5.8%
1976 63.1% +10.3%
1977 62.9% -0.3%
1978 57.1% -9.2%
1979 65.8% +15.2%
1980 76.4% +16.2%
1981 70.9% -7.3%
1982 70.1% -1.1%
1983 76.3% +8.9%
1984 69.9% -8.5%
1985 60.2% -13.9%
1986 61.2% +1.7%
1987 66.5% +8.6%
1988 66.8% +0.5%
1989 60.5% -9.5%
1990 62.6% +3.6%
1991 64.7% +3.3%
1992 57.2% -11.5%
1993 68.7% +19.9%
1994 62.6% -8.9%
1995 72.1% +15.2%
1996 76.4% +6.0%
1997 82.6% +8.1%
1998 63.2% -23.4%
1999 67.7% +7.1%
2000 69.0% +1.9%
2001 80.1% +16.0%
2002 65.3% -18.4%
2003 83.3% +27.5%
2004 73.0% -12.3%
2005 84.5% +15.7%
2006 82.5% -2.3%
2007 73.2% -11.3%
2008 74.8% +2.1%
2009 81.2% +8.6%
2010 79.6% -2.0%
2011 83.8% +5.3%
2012 82.3% -1.9%
2013 87.9% +6.8%
2014 85.3% -3.0%

Ethiopia compared with similar countries

  • Ethiopia's 85.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 62.0%, 1.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
  • Ethiopia's 85.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 62.2%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 61.2% 59.7% 64.1% 9
1970s 62.5% 57.1% 66.8% 10
1980s 67.9% 60.2% 76.4% 10
1990s 67.8% 57.2% 82.6% 10
2000s 76.7% 65.3% 84.5% 10
2010s 83.8% 79.6% 87.9% 5

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 35 Chad 87.6% compare
  2. 36 Ireland 86.9% compare
  3. 37 Austria 86.0% compare
  4. 39 Angola 83.7% compare
  5. 40 Niger 83.7% compare
  6. 41 Paraguay 82.5% compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia?
Nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia was 85.3% in 2014, according to Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 87.9% in 2013.
What is the lowest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 57.1% in 1978.
How does Ethiopia rank for nitrogen use efficiency?
Ethiopia ranks 38th out of 205 countries with data for 2014.
Is nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ethiopia 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.

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Nitrogen use efficiency in Ethiopia. Statizoid, drawing on Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/nitrogen-use-efficiency/ethiopia/

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About this data

Indicator
Nitrogen use efficiency
Unit
%
Source
Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
205 places, 10,031 data points, 1961–2014
Last refreshed

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.