Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -5.87 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
In 2025, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand stood at -5.87 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 255.3% on the previous year and down 22.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand peaked at 14.21 Percentage change in 2022 and was at its lowest, -16.42 Percentage change, in 2019.
Australia and New Zealand ranks 112th of 168 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -2.46 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -12.83 Percentage change | +422.6% |
| 1952 | -7.63 Percentage change | -40.5% |
| 1953 | -6.95 Percentage change | -9.0% |
| 1954 | -12 Percentage change | +72.8% |
| 1955 | 3.05 Percentage change | -125.4% |
| 1956 | 6.93 Percentage change | +127.0% |
| 1957 | -14.94 Percentage change | -315.7% |
| 1958 | -2.94 Percentage change | -80.3% |
| 1959 | -3.52 Percentage change | +19.5% |
| 1960 | -3.58 Percentage change | +1.8% |
| 1961 | -6.02 Percentage change | +68.3% |
| 1962 | -5.87 Percentage change | -2.6% |
| 1963 | 13.06 Percentage change | -322.5% |
| 1964 | -0.2342 Percentage change | -101.8% |
| 1965 | -11.18 Percentage change | +4673.9% |
| 1966 | -4.01 Percentage change | -64.1% |
| 1967 | -14.42 Percentage change | +259.3% |
| 1968 | -1.72 Percentage change | -88.1% |
| 1969 | -2.49 Percentage change | +45.0% |
| 1970 | -7.29 Percentage change | +192.4% |
| 1971 | 4.58 Percentage change | -162.9% |
| 1972 | -11.04 Percentage change | -341.0% |
| 1973 | 10.19 Percentage change | -192.3% |
| 1974 | 13.12 Percentage change | +28.7% |
| 1975 | 1.86 Percentage change | -85.8% |
| 1976 | -0.2309 Percentage change | -112.4% |
| 1977 | -5.27 Percentage change | +2181.2% |
| 1978 | 8.02 Percentage change | -252.2% |
| 1979 | -2.92 Percentage change | -136.4% |
| 1980 | -6.94 Percentage change | +137.7% |
| 1981 | 4.62 Percentage change | -166.6% |
| 1982 | -12.07 Percentage change | -361.1% |
| 1983 | 10.24 Percentage change | -184.8% |
| 1984 | 6.85 Percentage change | -33.1% |
| 1985 | -3.12 Percentage change | -145.6% |
| 1986 | -0.1871 Percentage change | -94.0% |
| 1987 | 5.29 Percentage change | -2924.9% |
| 1988 | 4.51 Percentage change | -14.6% |
| 1989 | 11.58 Percentage change | +156.6% |
| 1990 | 4.44 Percentage change | -61.7% |
| 1991 | -4.59 Percentage change | -203.4% |
| 1992 | 9.03 Percentage change | -296.7% |
| 1993 | 1.98 Percentage change | -78.1% |
| 1994 | -9.31 Percentage change | -569.6% |
| 1995 | -0.4799 Percentage change | -94.8% |
| 1996 | 8.43 Percentage change | -1857.4% |
| 1997 | -5.37 Percentage change | -163.7% |
| 1998 | 1.11 Percentage change | -120.6% |
| 1999 | 3.72 Percentage change | +236.5% |
| 2000 | 3.04 Percentage change | -18.3% |
| 2001 | -3.59 Percentage change | -217.9% |
| 2002 | -15.05 Percentage change | +319.8% |
| 2003 | 1.82 Percentage change | -112.1% |
| 2004 | -6.11 Percentage change | -435.4% |
| 2005 | -4.32 Percentage change | -29.3% |
| 2006 | -10.97 Percentage change | +153.8% |
| 2007 | -2.46 Percentage change | -77.6% |
| 2008 | -2.22 Percentage change | -9.9% |
| 2009 | -5.45 Percentage change | +146.1% |
| 2010 | 8.64 Percentage change | -258.4% |
| 2011 | 0.9939 Percentage change | -88.5% |
| 2012 | 0.6634 Percentage change | -33.2% |
| 2013 | -0.4254 Percentage change | -164.1% |
| 2014 | -3.7 Percentage change | +768.9% |
| 2015 | -4.77 Percentage change | +29.2% |
| 2016 | 7.83 Percentage change | -263.9% |
| 2017 | -6.24 Percentage change | -179.7% |
| 2018 | -12.67 Percentage change | +103.2% |
| 2019 | -16.42 Percentage change | +29.6% |
| 2020 | -1.51 Percentage change | -90.8% |
| 2021 | 3.93 Percentage change | -360.1% |
| 2022 | 14.21 Percentage change | +261.2% |
| 2023 | -4.42 Percentage change | -131.1% |
| 2024 | -1.65 Percentage change | -62.7% |
| 2025 | -5.87 Percentage change | +255.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -5.33 Percentage change | -14.94 Percentage change | 6.93 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.65 Percentage change | -14.42 Percentage change | 13.06 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.1 Percentage change | -11.04 Percentage change | 13.12 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.08 Percentage change | -12.07 Percentage change | 11.58 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8966 Percentage change | -9.31 Percentage change | 9.03 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -4.53 Percentage change | -15.05 Percentage change | 3.04 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.61 Percentage change | -16.42 Percentage change | 8.64 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7825 Percentage change | -5.87 Percentage change | 14.21 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia and New Zealand
More environment data for Australia and New Zealand
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.39 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.335 °C (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 4.99 million t (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 2.98 million t (2024)
- Agricultural land — Value of agricultural production (Int. $) per Area 187.5 USD_PPP/ha (2024)
- Arable land — Area 31,787 1000 ha (2024)
- Cropland — Area per capita 1.01 ha/cap (2024)
- Cropland — Share in Land area 4.06 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia and New Zealand was -5.87 Percentage change in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Australia and New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 14.21 Percentage change in 2022.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Australia and New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was -16.42 Percentage change in 2019.
- How does Australia and New Zealand rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Australia and New Zealand ranks 112th out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Australia and New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia and New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Historical exposure to drought — Cropland 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 (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