Nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland

Ireland: Nitrogen use efficiency was 86.9% in 2014. ▲ Rising

Latest (2014)
86.9%
Change on year
up 41.4%
World rank
36th
of 205 countries
All-time high
86.9%
in 2014
All-time low
24.1%
in 1978
Years of data
54
1961–2014

Nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland, 1961–2014

20406080196119872014

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

Analysis

In 2014, nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland stood at 86.9%. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.

That represents a change of up 41.4% on the previous year and up 30.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland peaked at 86.9% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 24.1%, in 1978.

That places Ireland 36th 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 Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland, 1961 to 2014.
Year % Change
1961 77.0%
1962 75.4% -2.1%
1963 66.4% -11.9%
1964 66.1% -0.5%
1965 63.7% -3.7%
1966 48.8% -23.4%
1967 51.0% +4.5%
1968 49.6% -2.9%
1969 44.7% -9.8%
1970 39.4% -11.8%
1971 40.6% +2.9%
1972 29.8% -26.5%
1973 29.1% -2.4%
1974 30.3% +4.0%
1975 28.2% -7.0%
1976 25.7% -8.9%
1977 27.4% +6.6%
1978 24.1% -12.0%
1979 28.0% +16.2%
1980 28.4% +1.5%
1981 30.7% +8.0%
1982 33.3% +8.3%
1983 28.9% -13.2%
1984 39.5% +36.7%
1985 37.2% -5.7%
1986 34.0% -8.6%
1987 43.3% +27.2%
1988 45.6% +5.3%
1989 44.7% -1.8%
1990 51.6% +15.3%
1991 52.8% +2.3%
1992 53.9% +2.2%
1993 41.4% -23.2%
1994 41.5% +0.1%
1995 46.1% +11.0%
1996 55.5% +20.4%
1997 50.9% -8.3%
1998 46.3% -9.0%
1999 50.3% +8.6%
2000 58.8% +17.0%
2001 56.7% -3.6%
2002 45.6% -19.7%
2003 54.7% +20.1%
2004 66.8% +22.1%
2005 52.5% -21.4%
2006 54.7% +4.1%
2007 54.5% -0.4%
2008 65.4% +20.0%
2009 51.2% -21.8%
2010 55.5% +8.4%
2011 69.5% +25.1%
2012 53.6% -22.9%
2013 61.5% +14.7%
2014 86.9% +41.4%

Ireland compared with similar countries

  • Ireland's 86.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 36.0%, 2.4× the median. (69 countries reporting)
  • Ireland's 86.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 54.4%, 1.6× the median. (49 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 60.3% 44.7% 77.0% 9
1970s 30.2% 24.1% 40.6% 10
1980s 36.5% 28.4% 45.6% 10
1990s 49.0% 41.4% 55.5% 10
2000s 56.1% 45.6% 66.8% 10
2010s 65.4% 53.6% 86.9% 5

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 33 Guam 93.5% compare
  2. 34 Hungary 93.0% compare
  3. 35 Chad 87.6% compare
  4. 37 Austria 86.0% compare
  5. 38 Ethiopia 85.3% compare
  6. 39 Angola 83.7% compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland?
Nitrogen use efficiency in Ireland was 86.9% in 2014, according to Lassaletta et al. (2014) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 86.9% in 2014.
What is the lowest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 24.1% in 1978.
How does Ireland rank for nitrogen use efficiency?
Ireland ranks 36th out of 205 countries with data for 2014.
Is nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 30.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland 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 Ireland. 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/ireland/

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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.