Inorganic fertilizers. 2002–2022

FAOSTAT provides statistics at the country, regional and global level on the production, trade and agricultural use of inorganic (mineral and chemical) fertilizers, by nutrient and by type, for the three primary plant nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (expressed as P2O5) and potassium (expressed as K2O). This brief discusses statistics of agricultural use, production and trade of inorganic fertilizers and related indicators from 2002 to 2022, both globally and by region.

Main findings:

• In 2022, the global use of inorganic fertilizers in agriculture was estimated at 185 million tonnes (Mt) of the three main nutrients, down 7 percent from 2021.
• Nitrogen fertilizer use in agriculture was 108 Mt, a 4 percent decrease from 2021 levels. Phosphorus use fell by 8 percent to nearly 42 Mt while potassium use dropped by 12 percent to 35 Mt.
• Potassium fertilizers production declined by 8 percent, phosphorus fertilizers by 5 percent and nitrogen fertilizers by 2 percent.
• Europe experienced the largest overall decrease (16 percent) in fertilizer use in 2022 compared to 2021. Phosphorus use fell by 21 percent, potassium use by 18 percent and nitrogen use by 14 percent.
  
• The five most important exporters of each nutrient accounted for 46–82 percent of global exports: 46 percent for nitrogen, 76 percent for phosphorus, and 82 percent for potassium.