Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was 2.71 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 2.71 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1,477.0% on the previous year and up 530.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica peaked at 5.54 Percentage change in 1970 and was at its lowest, -5.55 Percentage change, in 2019.
That places Costa Rica 22nd out of 168 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.07 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 3.44 Percentage change | -15.5% |
| 1952 | 1.24 Percentage change | -63.8% |
| 1953 | 1.52 Percentage change | +22.0% |
| 1954 | 2.37 Percentage change | +56.1% |
| 1955 | 3.38 Percentage change | +42.7% |
| 1956 | 2.14 Percentage change | -36.6% |
| 1957 | 0.3224 Percentage change | -84.9% |
| 1958 | 0.8386 Percentage change | +160.1% |
| 1959 | -3.14 Percentage change | -475.0% |
| 1960 | 2.25 Percentage change | -171.6% |
| 1961 | -2.59 Percentage change | -215.0% |
| 1962 | 1.39 Percentage change | -153.7% |
| 1963 | 1.88 Percentage change | +35.1% |
| 1964 | 0.0482 Percentage change | -97.4% |
| 1965 | -1.01 Percentage change | -2193.5% |
| 1966 | 2.6 Percentage change | -357.1% |
| 1967 | 1.67 Percentage change | -35.7% |
| 1968 | 1.94 Percentage change | +16.0% |
| 1969 | 1.56 Percentage change | -19.6% |
| 1970 | 5.54 Percentage change | +255.9% |
| 1971 | 3.9 Percentage change | -29.6% |
| 1972 | 1.42 Percentage change | -63.7% |
| 1973 | 2.11 Percentage change | +49.2% |
| 1974 | 2.94 Percentage change | +39.2% |
| 1975 | -0.8796 Percentage change | -129.9% |
| 1976 | 1.79 Percentage change | -304.0% |
| 1977 | -0.6072 Percentage change | -133.8% |
| 1978 | 4.29 Percentage change | -806.7% |
| 1979 | 1.02 Percentage change | -76.1% |
| 1980 | 1.73 Percentage change | +68.8% |
| 1981 | 4.48 Percentage change | +159.1% |
| 1982 | -2.14 Percentage change | -147.8% |
| 1983 | -1.54 Percentage change | -28.3% |
| 1984 | 2.11 Percentage change | -237.6% |
| 1985 | -0.5798 Percentage change | -127.4% |
| 1986 | -1.21 Percentage change | +108.0% |
| 1987 | -2.51 Percentage change | +108.4% |
| 1988 | -0.3706 Percentage change | -85.3% |
| 1989 | -2.23 Percentage change | +501.8% |
| 1990 | -1.27 Percentage change | -43.1% |
| 1991 | -0.6502 Percentage change | -48.7% |
| 1992 | -2.89 Percentage change | +344.9% |
| 1993 | 0.6245 Percentage change | -121.6% |
| 1994 | -2.02 Percentage change | -423.3% |
| 1995 | 1.13 Percentage change | -155.8% |
| 1996 | 3.33 Percentage change | +195.8% |
| 1997 | -0.9599 Percentage change | -128.8% |
| 1998 | -2.39 Percentage change | +149.3% |
| 1999 | 2.08 Percentage change | -187.1% |
| 2000 | -0.6096 Percentage change | -129.3% |
| 2001 | -1.83 Percentage change | +200.8% |
| 2002 | -0.9695 Percentage change | -47.1% |
| 2003 | 0.1062 Percentage change | -111.0% |
| 2004 | 1.99 Percentage change | +1771.3% |
| 2005 | -0.3203 Percentage change | -116.1% |
| 2006 | 1.14 Percentage change | -455.7% |
| 2007 | 1.06 Percentage change | -7.2% |
| 2008 | 0.1249 Percentage change | -88.2% |
| 2009 | 1.72 Percentage change | +1280.2% |
| 2010 | 4.6 Percentage change | +166.5% |
| 2011 | 3.37 Percentage change | -26.6% |
| 2012 | 0.0158 Percentage change | -99.5% |
| 2013 | 0.1358 Percentage change | +759.8% |
| 2014 | -2.24 Percentage change | -1750.9% |
| 2015 | -0.6296 Percentage change | -71.9% |
| 2016 | 1.58 Percentage change | -351.7% |
| 2017 | 1.46 Percentage change | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 1.42 Percentage change | -3.0% |
| 2019 | -5.55 Percentage change | -490.7% |
| 2020 | 0.2522 Percentage change | -104.5% |
| 2021 | 1.11 Percentage change | +339.2% |
| 2022 | 0.7241 Percentage change | -34.6% |
| 2023 | -2.34 Percentage change | -423.4% |
| 2024 | -0.1966 Percentage change | -91.6% |
| 2025 | 2.71 Percentage change | -1477.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 2.71 Percentage change is above the median for high income countries, which is -2.55 Percentage change. (55 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 2.71 Percentage change is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is -2.99 Percentage change. (28 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Cropland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | -2193.5% | 0.0482 Percentage change | -1.01 Percentage change |
| 2004 | +1771.3% | 0.1062 Percentage change | 1.99 Percentage change |
| 2014 | -1750.9% | 0.1358 Percentage change | -2.24 Percentage change |
| 2025 | +1477.0% | -0.1966 Percentage change | 2.71 Percentage change |
| 2009 | +1280.2% | 0.1249 Percentage change | 1.72 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.62 Percentage change | -3.14 Percentage change | 4.07 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.9731 Percentage change | -2.59 Percentage change | 2.6 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.15 Percentage change | -0.8796 Percentage change | 5.54 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.2255 Percentage change | -2.51 Percentage change | 4.48 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.3017 Percentage change | -2.89 Percentage change | 3.33 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2405 Percentage change | -1.83 Percentage change | 1.99 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4171 Percentage change | -5.55 Percentage change | 4.6 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3755 Percentage change | -2.34 Percentage change | 2.71 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 19 French Guiana 3.05 Percentage change compare
- 20 Isle of Man 2.92 Percentage change compare
- 21 North Korea 2.89 Percentage change compare
- 23 Italy 2.47 Percentage change compare
- 24 Nepal 2.41 Percentage change compare
- 25 Papua New Guinea 2.24 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Costa Rica was 2.71 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 Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 5.54 Percentage change in 1970.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.55 Percentage change in 2019.
- How does Costa Rica rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Costa Rica ranks 22nd out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 530.1%. 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 Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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