Pesticide use in Portugal

Portugal: Pesticide use was 7,857 tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
7,857 tonnes
Change on year
down 13.1%
World rank
50th
of 211 countries
All-time high
17,452 tonnes
in 2002
All-time low
6,117 tonnes
in 1992
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Pesticide use in Portugal, 1990–2023

05.0k10.0k15.0k1990200620231990: 9.4k tonnes1991: 9.4k tonnes1992: 6.1k tonnes1993: 9.0k tonnes1994: 9.6k tonnes1995: 11.8k tonnes1996: 12.5k tonnes1997: 12.8k tonnes1998: 14.4k tonnes1999: 15.4k tonnes2000: 15.5k tonnes2001: 15.5k tonnes2002: 17.5k tonnes2003: 17.0k tonnes2004: 16.9k tonnes2005: 16.4k tonnes2006: 15.7k tonnes2007: 16.7k tonnes2008: 17.1k tonnes2009: 14.0k tonnes2010: 13.8k tonnes2011: 14.0k tonnes2012: 12.4k tonnes2013: 10.1k tonnes2014: 12.9k tonnes2015: 10.0k tonnes2016: 9.8k tonnes2017: 8.1k tonnes2018: 8.1k tonnes2019: 9.9k tonnes2020: 9.7k tonnes2021: 9.6k tonnes2022: 9.0k tonnes2023: 7.9k 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 Portugal is 7,857 tonnes, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.1% on the previous year and down 22.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, pesticide use in Portugal peaked at 17,452 tonnes in 2002 and was at its lowest, 6,117 tonnes, in 1992.

That places Portugal 50th out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 11,022 tonnes 6,117 tonnes 15,411 tonnes 10
2000s 16,220 tonnes 13,985 tonnes 17,452 tonnes 10
2010s 10,905 tonnes 8,057 tonnes 14,024 tonnes 10
2020s 9,046 tonnes 7,857 tonnes 9,706 tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 47 Costa Rica 9,451 tonnes compare
  2. 48 Romania 9,157 tonnes compare
  3. 49 Kazakhstan 8,811 tonnes compare
  4. 51 Netherlands 7,263 tonnes compare
  5. 52 Benin 7,133 tonnes compare
  6. 53 Moldova 6,979 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is pesticide use in Portugal?
Pesticide use in Portugal was 7,857 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 Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 17,452 tonnes in 2002.
What is the lowest pesticide use recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 6,117 tonnes in 1992.
How does Portugal rank for pesticide use?
Portugal ranks 50th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
Is pesticide use rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is down 22.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Portugal 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.