Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -0.4173 Percentage change in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica, 1981–2024
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica is -0.4173 Percentage change, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 82.8% on the previous year and up 72.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica peaked at 4.16 Percentage change in 1981 and was at its lowest, -3.72 Percentage change, in 2019.
That places Costa Rica 84th out of 193 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 4.16 Percentage change | — |
| 1982 | -0.895 Percentage change | -121.5% |
| 1983 | -1.46 Percentage change | +63.4% |
| 1984 | -0.408 Percentage change | -72.1% |
| 1985 | -1.25 Percentage change | +206.3% |
| 1986 | -0.5734 Percentage change | -54.1% |
| 1987 | -0.7039 Percentage change | +22.8% |
| 1988 | 0.7069 Percentage change | -200.4% |
| 1989 | -0.8184 Percentage change | -215.8% |
| 1990 | -0.6815 Percentage change | -16.7% |
| 1991 | -1.69 Percentage change | +148.6% |
| 1992 | -2.98 Percentage change | +75.9% |
| 1993 | 0.8025 Percentage change | -126.9% |
| 1994 | -3.71 Percentage change | -562.7% |
| 1995 | 0.8149 Percentage change | -121.9% |
| 1996 | 1.96 Percentage change | +140.3% |
| 1997 | -1.9 Percentage change | -197.0% |
| 1998 | -3.08 Percentage change | +62.3% |
| 1999 | 2.49 Percentage change | -180.8% |
| 2000 | 0.3277 Percentage change | -86.8% |
| 2001 | -1.12 Percentage change | -441.7% |
| 2002 | -1.2 Percentage change | +7.4% |
| 2003 | 0.103 Percentage change | -108.6% |
| 2004 | 1.36 Percentage change | +1222.7% |
| 2005 | 1.66 Percentage change | +21.5% |
| 2006 | 1.31 Percentage change | -20.9% |
| 2007 | 1.35 Percentage change | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 0.5031 Percentage change | -62.7% |
| 2009 | 1.16 Percentage change | +131.0% |
| 2010 | 3.78 Percentage change | +225.1% |
| 2011 | 3.08 Percentage change | -18.5% |
| 2012 | 0.7755 Percentage change | -74.8% |
| 2013 | -0.0292 Percentage change | -103.8% |
| 2014 | -1.52 Percentage change | +5083.8% |
| 2015 | -0.1451 Percentage change | -90.4% |
| 2016 | 0.1584 Percentage change | -209.2% |
| 2017 | 1.43 Percentage change | +803.6% |
| 2018 | 0.4882 Percentage change | -65.9% |
| 2019 | -3.72 Percentage change | -861.8% |
| 2020 | -0.2533 Percentage change | -93.2% |
| 2021 | 1.29 Percentage change | -609.0% |
| 2022 | 0.1558 Percentage change | -87.9% |
| 2023 | -2.43 Percentage change | -1657.4% |
| 2024 | -0.4173 Percentage change | -82.8% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's -0.4173 Percentage change is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.775 Percentage change. (65 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's -0.4173 Percentage change is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is -0.8585 Percentage change, 49% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | -5083.8% | -0.0292 Percentage change | -1.52 Percentage change |
| 2023 | -1657.4% | 0.1558 Percentage change | -2.43 Percentage change |
| 2004 | +1222.7% | 0.103 Percentage change | 1.36 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | -0.1382 Percentage change | -1.46 Percentage change | 4.16 Percentage change | 9 |
| 1990s | -0.7983 Percentage change | -3.71 Percentage change | 2.49 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5449 Percentage change | -1.2 Percentage change | 1.66 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4302 Percentage change | -3.72 Percentage change | 3.78 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.3304 Percentage change | -2.43 Percentage change | 1.29 Percentage change | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 81 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 0.2512 Percentage change compare
- 82 Canada -0.2278 Percentage change compare
- 83 Holy See -0.3239 Percentage change compare
- 85 Mayotte -0.4497 Percentage change compare
- 86 Honduras -0.4768 Percentage change compare
- 87 French Southern Territories -0.6273 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3048 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica?
- Exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica was -0.4173 Percentage change in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 4.16 Percentage change in 1981.
- What is the lowest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was -3.72 Percentage change in 2019.
- How does Costa Rica rank for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Costa Rica ranks 84th out of 193 countries with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The dataset provides annual anomalies in land and cropland soil moisture content of the top soil layer 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 1981-2022 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 (ERA5). Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation