Excerpt: Governments, industry and others concerned with economic development and agricultural production in both underdeveloped and developed countries are giving increased attention to the role of fertilizers in the process. The question of concern to many is the probable rate of expansion of fertilizer consumption in different regions of the world in the next ten to twenty years. This paper is addressed to that question and will consider a number of factors that will certainly influence the rate of increase in fertilizer use. Consideration will be given to both the developing and developed countries.