Nitrogen use efficiency in France

France: Nitrogen use efficiency was 73.9% in 2014. ▲ Rising

Latest (2014)
73.9%
Change on year
up 14.6%
World rank
47th
of 205 countries
All-time high
73.9%
in 2014
All-time low
30.6%
in 1976
Years of data
54
1961–2014

Nitrogen use efficiency in France, 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 France is 73.9%, measured in 2014. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.

That represents a change of up 14.6% on the previous year and up 14.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nitrogen use efficiency in France peaked at 73.9% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 30.6%, in 1976.

That places France 47th out of 205 countries with data for 2014, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Nitrogen use efficiency in France, year by year

Annual values for Nitrogen use efficiency in France, 1961 to 2014.
Year % Change
1961 37.9%
1962 42.8% +13.0%
1963 39.4% -8.1%
1964 39.0% -0.9%
1965 42.3% +8.4%
1966 36.4% -14.1%
1967 39.0% +7.4%
1968 37.8% -3.2%
1969 37.8% -0.1%
1970 33.4% -11.6%
1971 37.2% +11.5%
1972 38.5% +3.5%
1973 37.6% -2.6%
1974 40.0% +6.5%
1975 34.1% -14.6%
1976 30.6% -10.5%
1977 36.1% +18.1%
1978 38.2% +5.9%
1979 35.7% -6.6%
1980 39.0% +9.2%
1981 37.7% -3.4%
1982 39.9% +5.8%
1983 37.6% -5.7%
1984 44.7% +18.6%
1985 47.2% +5.7%
1986 42.0% -11.1%
1987 45.9% +9.3%
1988 46.3% +1.0%
1989 44.2% -4.4%
1990 45.6% +3.1%
1991 48.8% +7.0%
1992 56.0% +14.8%
1993 52.7% -5.9%
1994 51.3% -2.7%
1995 51.0% -0.5%
1996 54.6% +6.9%
1997 57.5% +5.3%
1998 62.9% +9.4%
1999 61.1% -2.7%
2000 63.4% +3.7%
2001 56.3% -11.2%
2002 66.0% +17.4%
2003 52.9% -20.0%
2004 64.4% +21.9%
2005 61.6% -4.3%
2006 59.2% -4.0%
2007 53.1% -10.3%
2008 65.2% +22.9%
2009 71.0% +8.9%
2010 63.7% -10.4%
2011 65.5% +2.8%
2012 67.5% +3.1%
2013 64.4% -4.5%
2014 73.9% +14.6%

France compared with similar countries

  • France's 73.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 36.0%, 2.1× the median. (69 countries reporting)
  • France's 73.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 54.4%, 1.4× the median. (49 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 39.2% 36.4% 42.8% 9
1970s 36.1% 30.6% 40.0% 10
1980s 42.4% 37.6% 47.2% 10
1990s 54.1% 45.6% 62.9% 10
2000s 61.3% 52.9% 71.0% 10
2010s 67.0% 63.7% 73.9% 5

Countries ranked near France

  1. 44 Indonesia 80.4% compare
  2. 45 Sierra Leone 78.9% compare
  3. 46 Denmark 74.3% compare
  4. 48 Comoros 72.6% compare
  5. 49 Guinea 72.1% compare
  6. 50 United States 71.6% compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for France

All data for France →

Frequently asked questions

What is nitrogen use efficiency in France?
Nitrogen use efficiency in France was 73.9% in 2014, according to Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in France?
The highest recorded value was 73.9% in 2014.
What is the lowest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in France?
The lowest recorded value was 30.6% in 1976.
How does France rank for nitrogen use efficiency?
France ranks 47th out of 205 countries with data for 2014.
Is nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in France?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this France 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Nitrogen use efficiency in France. Statizoid, drawing on Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/nitrogen-use-efficiency/france/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/nitrogen-use-efficiency/france/">Nitrogen use efficiency in France</a> — Statizoid

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.