Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Botswana
Botswana: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was 6.49 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Botswana, 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 Botswana stood at 6.49 Percentage change.
The figure is up 124.8% on the previous year and up 621.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Botswana peaked at 22.22 Percentage change in 1950 and was at its lowest, -38.63 Percentage change, in 1951.
That places Botswana 9th out of 168 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
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 Botswana, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 22.22 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -38.63 Percentage change | -273.9% |
| 1952 | -34.73 Percentage change | -10.1% |
| 1953 | -24.08 Percentage change | -30.7% |
| 1954 | -30.65 Percentage change | +27.3% |
| 1955 | 14.95 Percentage change | -148.8% |
| 1956 | -4.48 Percentage change | -130.0% |
| 1957 | 18.09 Percentage change | -504.0% |
| 1958 | 20.44 Percentage change | +13.0% |
| 1959 | -11.25 Percentage change | -155.0% |
| 1960 | -20.29 Percentage change | +80.3% |
| 1961 | -8.25 Percentage change | -59.4% |
| 1962 | -2.76 Percentage change | -66.5% |
| 1963 | 16.52 Percentage change | -698.6% |
| 1964 | -22.62 Percentage change | -236.9% |
| 1965 | -20.1 Percentage change | -11.1% |
| 1966 | -15.97 Percentage change | -20.6% |
| 1967 | 0.6315 Percentage change | -104.0% |
| 1968 | -13.02 Percentage change | -2161.1% |
| 1969 | 1.8 Percentage change | -113.9% |
| 1970 | -20.94 Percentage change | -1261.4% |
| 1971 | 3.14 Percentage change | -115.0% |
| 1972 | 5.14 Percentage change | +63.8% |
| 1973 | -5.6 Percentage change | -208.8% |
| 1974 | 9.18 Percentage change | -264.1% |
| 1975 | 1.62 Percentage change | -82.4% |
| 1976 | 11.66 Percentage change | +620.6% |
| 1977 | 15.65 Percentage change | +34.3% |
| 1978 | 16.61 Percentage change | +6.1% |
| 1979 | -8.43 Percentage change | -150.8% |
| 1980 | -4.84 Percentage change | -42.6% |
| 1981 | 11.59 Percentage change | -339.3% |
| 1982 | -11.61 Percentage change | -200.2% |
| 1983 | -22.01 Percentage change | +89.6% |
| 1984 | 2.46 Percentage change | -111.2% |
| 1985 | -9.84 Percentage change | -500.7% |
| 1986 | 13.47 Percentage change | -236.9% |
| 1987 | -13.07 Percentage change | -197.0% |
| 1988 | 1.35 Percentage change | -110.3% |
| 1989 | 8.06 Percentage change | +496.9% |
| 1990 | -8.89 Percentage change | -210.2% |
| 1991 | -8.59 Percentage change | -3.3% |
| 1992 | -15.55 Percentage change | +81.0% |
| 1993 | -3.65 Percentage change | -76.5% |
| 1994 | 2.67 Percentage change | -173.1% |
| 1995 | 7.24 Percentage change | +171.4% |
| 1996 | 0.9904 Percentage change | -86.3% |
| 1997 | 9.24 Percentage change | +833.0% |
| 1998 | -4.16 Percentage change | -145.0% |
| 1999 | 0.3542 Percentage change | -108.5% |
| 2000 | 19.77 Percentage change | +5483.1% |
| 2001 | 21.87 Percentage change | +10.6% |
| 2002 | -10.83 Percentage change | -149.5% |
| 2003 | -13.38 Percentage change | +23.5% |
| 2004 | 0.8722 Percentage change | -106.5% |
| 2005 | -6.47 Percentage change | -842.2% |
| 2006 | 11.01 Percentage change | -270.0% |
| 2007 | 4.39 Percentage change | -60.1% |
| 2008 | -5.24 Percentage change | -219.2% |
| 2009 | 11.78 Percentage change | -324.8% |
| 2010 | 6.18 Percentage change | -47.6% |
| 2011 | 0.3906 Percentage change | -93.7% |
| 2012 | -6.26 Percentage change | -1703.6% |
| 2013 | -20.29 Percentage change | +223.9% |
| 2014 | 9.7 Percentage change | -147.8% |
| 2015 | -1.25 Percentage change | -112.8% |
| 2016 | -16.05 Percentage change | +1188.1% |
| 2017 | 15.44 Percentage change | -196.2% |
| 2018 | 3.32 Percentage change | -78.5% |
| 2019 | -19.31 Percentage change | -682.2% |
| 2020 | -12.29 Percentage change | -36.4% |
| 2021 | 9.09 Percentage change | -174.0% |
| 2022 | -3.97 Percentage change | -143.7% |
| 2023 | -12.6 Percentage change | +217.3% |
| 2024 | -26.2 Percentage change | +107.9% |
| 2025 | 6.49 Percentage change | -124.8% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 6.49 Percentage change is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is -3.12 Percentage change. (42 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 6.49 Percentage change is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -5.06 Percentage change. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Botswana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +5483.1% | 0.3542 Percentage change | 19.77 Percentage change |
| 1968 | -2161.1% | 0.6315 Percentage change | -13.02 Percentage change |
| 2012 | -1703.6% | 0.3906 Percentage change | -6.26 Percentage change |
| 1970 | -1261.4% | 1.8 Percentage change | -20.94 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -6.81 Percentage change | -38.63 Percentage change | 22.22 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -8.4 Percentage change | -22.62 Percentage change | 16.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.8 Percentage change | -20.94 Percentage change | 16.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -2.44 Percentage change | -22.01 Percentage change | 13.47 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -2.03 Percentage change | -15.55 Percentage change | 9.24 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.38 Percentage change | -13.38 Percentage change | 21.87 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.81 Percentage change | -20.29 Percentage change | 15.44 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -6.58 Percentage change | -26.2 Percentage change | 9.09 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
- 6 Panama 7.64 Percentage change compare
- 7 Philippines 7.07 Percentage change compare
- 8 San Marino 6.82 Percentage change compare
- 10 Faroe Islands 5.94 Percentage change compare
- 10 Fiji 0.8816 Percentage change compare
- 11 Sri Lanka 5.49 Percentage change compare
- 12 Martinique 4.63 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Botswana
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 6.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.381 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.443 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -4.05 % 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 0.3323 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Botswana?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Botswana was 6.49 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 22.22 Percentage change in 1950.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was -38.63 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Botswana rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Botswana ranks 9th out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 621.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Botswana 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