To meet the growing food demand while addressing the multiple challenges of exacerbating phosphorus (P) pollution and depleting P rock reserves, P use efficiency (PUE, the ratio of productive P output to P input in a defined system) in crop production needs to be improved. Although many efforts have been devoted to improving nutrient management practices on farms, few studies have examined the historical trajectories of PUE and their socioeconomic and agronomic drivers on a national scale. Here we present a database of the P budget (the input and output of the crop production system) and PUE by country and by crop type for 1961–2019 and examine the substantial contribution of several drivers for PUE, such as economic development stages and crop portfolios. To address the P management challenges, we found that global PUE in crop production must increase to 68–81%, and recent trends indicate some meaningful progress towards this goal. However, P management challenges and opportunities in croplands vary widely among countries.