Qatar vs Saudi Arabia: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly over time
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Saudi Arabia currently reports -27.86 Percentage change against -51.99 Percentage change in Qatar, a difference of 24.13 Percentage change.
The two have swapped places 28 times across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Saudi Arabia ahead.
Qatar ranks 166th and Saudi Arabia ranks 163rd of 168 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Qatar averaged higher in 3 and Saudi Arabia in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.69 Percentage change | 45.31 Percentage change | 42.62 Percentage change | Saudi Arabia |
| 1960s | -22.64 Percentage change | -3.72 Percentage change | 18.91 Percentage change | Saudi Arabia |
| 1970s | -2.39 Percentage change | 11.9 Percentage change | 14.29 Percentage change | Saudi Arabia |
| 1980s | 0.3843 Percentage change | -3.43 Percentage change | 3.81 Percentage change | Qatar |
| 1990s | 37.11 Percentage change | 13.92 Percentage change | 23.19 Percentage change | Qatar |
| 2000s | -32.68 Percentage change | -7.99 Percentage change | 24.68 Percentage change | Saudi Arabia |
| 2010s | 28.64 Percentage change | 6.66 Percentage change | 21.99 Percentage change | Qatar |
| 2020s | -27.15 Percentage change | 1.76 Percentage change | 28.91 Percentage change | Saudi Arabia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly, Qatar or Saudi Arabia?
- Saudi Arabia, at -27.86 Percentage change against -51.99 Percentage change in Qatar as of 2025.
- What is the difference in historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly between Qatar and Saudi Arabia?
- 24.13 Percentage change, with Saudi Arabia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Qatar and Saudi Arabia?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Qatar and Saudi Arabia rank globally for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Qatar ranks 166th and Saudi Arabia ranks 163rd of 168 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The dataset provides annual anomalies in land and cropland soil moisture content of the top soil layer (0 to 7 cm) compared to the reference period 1981-2010. Exposure indicators to drought have been prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The datasets span the period 1981-2024 and is the result of the use of a variety of geospatial data sources, including the ERA5-Land averaged monthly data of volumetric soil moisture and ESA CCI land cover data. Average anomalies have been calculated for both land and cropland exposure to drought. The dataset has a global coverage on a national level; on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. A number of aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas and the LAC region. Data source(s): Copernicus Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Copernicus Climate Data Store monthly soil moisture data based on the ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org