Pesticide use in Italy

Italy: Pesticide use was 39,571 tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
39,571 tonnes
Change on year
down 10.9%
World rank
18th
of 211 countries
All-time high
100,596 tonnes
in 1990
All-time low
39,571 tonnes
in 2023
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Pesticide use in Italy, 1990–2023

025.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k1990200620231990: 100.6k tonnes1991: 88.9k tonnes1992: 88.2k tonnes1993: 89.3k tonnes1994: 81.2k tonnes1995: 84.2k tonnes1996: 74.6k tonnes1997: 84.8k tonnes1998: 84.1k tonnes1999: 81.6k tonnes2000: 79.4k tonnes2001: 76.0k tonnes2002: 94.2k tonnes2003: 86.1k tonnes2004: 83.8k tonnes2005: 84.6k tonnes2006: 74.3k tonnes2007: 80.5k tonnes2008: 79.6k tonnes2009: 74.2k tonnes2010: 71.6k tonnes2011: 70.3k tonnes2012: 61.6k tonnes2013: 55.5k tonnes2014: 59.2k tonnes2015: 63.1k tonnes2016: 60.0k tonnes2017: 56.5k tonnes2018: 54.0k tonnes2019: 48.4k tonnes2020: 56.4k tonnes2021: 50.2k tonnes2022: 44.4k tonnes2023: 39.6k tonnes

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for pesticide use in Italy is 39,571 tonnes, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of down 10.9% on the previous year and down 28.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, pesticide use in Italy peaked at 100,596 tonnes in 1990 and was at its lowest, 39,571 tonnes, in 2023.

That places Italy 18th out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 85,751 tonnes 74,617 tonnes 100,596 tonnes 10
2000s 81,277 tonnes 74,172 tonnes 94,211 tonnes 10
2010s 60,022 tonnes 48,405 tonnes 71,613 tonnes 10
2020s 47,636 tonnes 39,571 tonnes 56,373 tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 15 South Africa 42,041 tonnes compare
  2. 16 Germany 40,494 tonnes compare
  3. 17 India 40,094 tonnes compare
  4. 19 Philippines 37,660 tonnes compare
  5. 20 Mexico 37,298 tonnes compare
  6. 21 Ecuador 35,220 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is pesticide use in Italy?
Pesticide use in Italy was 39,571 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest pesticide use recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 100,596 tonnes in 1990.
What is the lowest pesticide use recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 39,571 tonnes in 2023.
How does Italy rank for pesticide use?
Italy ranks 18th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
Is pesticide use rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Pesticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Pesticide use
Unit
tonnes
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
211 places, 7,015 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

Total pesticide use measured in tonnes of pesticide consumption per year.