World pesticide use

World pesticide amount used was approximately 5.2 billion pounds in both 2006 and 2007 (see Table 3.1). Herbicides accounted for the largest portion of total use, followed by other pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides. Total world pesticide amount used increased in 2007. U.S. pesticide amount used in both 2006 and 2007 exceeded 1.1 billion pounds, in proportions similar to those of world pesticide use, with herbicides and other pesticides representing a larger portion of total U.S. pesticide use (see Figure 3.1). U.S. pesticide amount used accounted for 22% of total world pesticide amount used, 25% of world herbicide amount used, 10% of world insecticide amount used, 14% of world fungicide amount used, and more than 25% of other pesticide amount used in both years. The Agency based its estimates of world and U.S. pesticide amount used on the estimated pesticide amount used and estimated changes in pesticide amount used from public and proprietary EPA databases. See Section 5.2 for historical data on U.S. pesticide amount used from 1988 to 2007. Data in this section were developed to compare world with U.S. pesticide use. For a more detailed look at U.S. pesticide use and a further breakout of the “other” pesticide category, see Table 3.3, Table 3.4, and Tables 3.11 through 3.13.