{"id":1207492,"name":"World Population fed by Haber-Bosch nitrogen","unit":"","createdAt":"2026-03-06T11:06:42.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-11T09:17:46.000Z","coverage":"","timespan":"1900-2015","datasetId":7654,"columnOrder":0,"shortName":"world_population_fed_by_haber_bosch_nitrogen","catalogPath":"grapher/agriculture/2017/population_fed_by_haber_bosch_fertilizers__fao__2017/population_fed_by_haber_bosch_fertilizers__fao__2017#world_population_fed_by_haber_bosch_nitrogen","type":"int","dataChecksum":"5976629960044470825","metadataChecksum":"-7855597807551861926","datasetName":"Population fed by Haber-Bosch fertilizers - FAO (2017)","datasetVersion":"2017","nonRedistributable":false,"display":{"name":"World population fed by synthetic fertilizer"},"schemaVersion":2,"presentation":{},"dimensions":{"years":{"values":[{"id":1900},{"id":1901},{"id":1902},{"id":1903},{"id":1904},{"id":1905},{"id":1906},{"id":1907},{"id":1908},{"id":1910},{"id":1930},{"id":1940},{"id":1950},{"id":1955},{"id":1960},{"id":1970},{"id":1980},{"id":1990},{"id":2000},{"id":2008},{"id":2015}]},"entities":{"values":[{"id":355,"name":"World","code":"OWID_WRL"}]}},"origins":[{"id":14701,"title":"How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world","description":"Estimates of population sustained with and without the production of Haber-Bosch nitrogen are derived based on Figure 1 in Erisman et al. (2008) and its sources.\n\nWorld population figures were sourced from Gapminder for the years 1900-1949, and from the UN Population Division from 1950 onwards.\n\nThe share of the world's population reliant on Haber-Bosch fertilizer production for food production was estimated based on Figure 1 in Erisman et al. (2008). These figures are based on approximation, although coincide with several published projections of these estimates. Erisman et al. estimate that by 2000, 44% of the global population were sustained by Haber-Bosch nitrogen, rising to 48% by 2008. This approximately coincides with Smil (2002) estimates of 40% by 2000. OWID have extrapolated these estimates to 2015, assuming that approximately 50% (±2%) rely on Haber-Bosch nitrogen.\n\nAdditional references:\n\nSmil, V. (2002). Nitrogen and food production: proteins for human diets. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 31(2), 126-131. Available at: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1579/0044-7447-31.2.126 [accessed 24th October 2017].\n\nStewart, W. M., Dibb, D. W., Johnston, A. E., & Smyth, T. J. (2005). The contribution of commercial fertilizer nutrients to food production. Agronomy Journal, 97(1), 1-6. Available at: https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/aj/abstracts/97/1/0001 [accessed 24th October 2017].","producer":"Erisman et al.","citationFull":"Erisman, J. W., Sutton, M. A., Galloway, J., Klimont, Z., and Winiwarter, W. (2008). How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world. Nature Geoscience, 1(10), 636-639.","urlMain":"https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo325","dateAccessed":"2017-10-24","datePublished":"2008"}]}