Nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya

Kenya: Nitrogen use efficiency was 62.0% in 2014. ▼ Falling

Latest (2014)
62.0%
Change on year
up 45.6%
World rank
69th
of 205 countries
All-time high
80.4%
in 1976
All-time low
34.3%
in 2008
Years of data
54
1961–2014

Nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya, 1961–2014

020406080196119872014

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

Analysis

Kenya recorded 62.0% for nitrogen use efficiency in 2014.

That represents a change of up 45.6% on the previous year and up 29.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya peaked at 80.4% in 1976 and was at its lowest, 34.3%, in 2008.

That places Kenya 69th out of 205 countries with data for 2014, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya, year by year

Annual values for Nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya, 1961 to 2014.
Year % Change
1961 71.0%
1962 72.4% +2.0%
1963 74.2% +2.4%
1964 68.1% -8.1%
1965 66.5% -2.5%
1966 62.6% -5.8%
1967 69.5% +10.9%
1968 77.6% +11.7%
1969 74.1% -4.5%
1970 63.6% -14.1%
1971 64.4% +1.2%
1972 66.7% +3.6%
1973 69.2% +3.8%
1974 74.0% +6.9%
1975 71.2% -3.9%
1976 80.4% +13.0%
1977 76.6% -4.8%
1978 68.8% -10.2%
1979 66.0% -4.1%
1980 62.7% -5.0%
1981 57.5% -8.2%
1982 72.0% +25.1%
1983 65.6% -8.8%
1984 48.8% -25.7%
1985 58.3% +19.4%
1986 65.0% +11.5%
1987 57.9% -10.9%
1988 56.2% -2.9%
1989 60.0% +6.8%
1990 57.1% -4.9%
1991 56.9% -0.3%
1992 58.9% +3.5%
1993 56.4% -4.3%
1994 63.5% +12.6%
1995 69.6% +9.7%
1996 49.5% -28.9%
1997 52.8% +6.6%
1998 57.1% +8.2%
1999 56.4% -1.2%
2000 48.2% -14.6%
2001 49.9% +3.6%
2002 52.5% +5.2%
2003 51.7% -1.5%
2004 47.8% -7.6%
2005 52.1% +9.1%
2006 56.8% +8.9%
2007 40.6% -28.5%
2008 34.3% -15.5%
2009 37.9% +10.7%
2010 46.1% +21.4%
2011 39.2% -14.9%
2012 45.9% +17.1%
2013 42.5% -7.3%
2014 62.0% +45.6%

Kenya compared with similar countries

  • Kenya's 62.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 55.2%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
  • Kenya's 62.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 62.2%, 100% of the median. (45 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 70.7% 62.6% 77.6% 9
1970s 70.1% 63.6% 80.4% 10
1980s 60.4% 48.8% 72.0% 10
1990s 57.8% 49.5% 69.6% 10
2000s 47.2% 34.3% 56.8% 10
2010s 47.1% 39.2% 62.0% 5

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 66 Uruguay 62.2% compare
  2. 67 American Samoa 62.1% compare
  3. 68 Australia 62.0% compare
  4. 70 Liberia 61.7% compare
  5. 71 Latvia 61.4% compare
  6. 72 Madagascar 61.3% compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya?
Nitrogen use efficiency in Kenya 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 Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 80.4% in 1976.
What is the lowest nitrogen use efficiency recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 34.3% in 2008.
How does Kenya rank for nitrogen use efficiency?
Kenya ranks 69th out of 205 countries with data for 2014.
Is nitrogen use efficiency rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is up 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Kenya 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 Kenya. 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/kenya/

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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.