Fertiliser use in Bangladesh reached 399 kg per hectare of arable land in 2024, up from 99 kg in 1990 and 158 kg in 2000, according to FAO data published through the World Bank.
99 → 399 kg per hectare
Fertiliser consumption per hectare of arable land, 1990 to 2024.
The increase came in steps: from 208 kg in 2010 to 323 kg in 2020, and then a jump to 392 kg in 2021. It also has a climate cost. Soils treated with nitrogen fertiliser release nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Agricultural nitrous oxide emissions in Bangladesh rose from 9.6 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent in 1990 to 17.9 million in 2024, after peaking at 19.8 million in 2021, according to the European Commission’s EDGAR database.
The two lines move together, but the emissions figure covers all agricultural sources, including manure, crop residues and rice cultivation, so it is not a measure of fertiliser alone. Both series are modelled estimates rather than direct measurements.
For policy, the question is efficiency: applying nitrogen in the right amount, at the right time and place, can protect yields while cutting both emissions and farmers’ input costs.
Source: FAO and EDGAR (European Commission JRC), via World Bank WDI.