Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Malawi
Malawi: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -0.8098 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Malawi, 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 Malawi stood at -0.8098 Percentage change.
The figure is up 58.9% on the previous year and up 70.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Malawi peaked at 8.1 Percentage change in 1986 and was at its lowest, -16.1 Percentage change, in 1951.
Malawi ranks 52nd 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3.39 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -16.1 Percentage change | -575.5% |
| 1952 | -14.58 Percentage change | -9.5% |
| 1953 | -10.26 Percentage change | -29.6% |
| 1954 | -14.32 Percentage change | +39.6% |
| 1955 | 4.91 Percentage change | -134.3% |
| 1956 | 4.81 Percentage change | -2.0% |
| 1957 | 0.2579 Percentage change | -94.6% |
| 1958 | -3.64 Percentage change | -1510.2% |
| 1959 | -2.44 Percentage change | -32.9% |
| 1960 | -8.24 Percentage change | +237.8% |
| 1961 | 1.34 Percentage change | -116.3% |
| 1962 | -1.97 Percentage change | -246.4% |
| 1963 | 3.83 Percentage change | -294.9% |
| 1964 | -4.07 Percentage change | -206.2% |
| 1965 | -10.1 Percentage change | +148.2% |
| 1966 | -12.71 Percentage change | +25.9% |
| 1967 | -3.99 Percentage change | -68.6% |
| 1968 | -6.78 Percentage change | +69.9% |
| 1969 | -3.24 Percentage change | -52.2% |
| 1970 | -5.92 Percentage change | +82.8% |
| 1971 | -5.19 Percentage change | -12.4% |
| 1972 | 6.14 Percentage change | -218.3% |
| 1973 | -1.81 Percentage change | -129.6% |
| 1974 | 7.01 Percentage change | -486.1% |
| 1975 | -4.46 Percentage change | -163.7% |
| 1976 | 0.7081 Percentage change | -115.9% |
| 1977 | 3.89 Percentage change | +449.5% |
| 1978 | 6.6 Percentage change | +69.7% |
| 1979 | 3.18 Percentage change | -51.8% |
| 1980 | -0.4601 Percentage change | -114.5% |
| 1981 | 8.04 Percentage change | -1846.8% |
| 1982 | 2.79 Percentage change | -65.3% |
| 1983 | -7.46 Percentage change | -367.7% |
| 1984 | -0.9822 Percentage change | -86.8% |
| 1985 | 3.31 Percentage change | -436.8% |
| 1986 | 8.1 Percentage change | +144.9% |
| 1987 | 0.7948 Percentage change | -90.2% |
| 1988 | 1.28 Percentage change | +61.6% |
| 1989 | 4.81 Percentage change | +274.8% |
| 1990 | -1.85 Percentage change | -138.4% |
| 1991 | 1.21 Percentage change | -165.7% |
| 1992 | -4.93 Percentage change | -506.4% |
| 1993 | -1.65 Percentage change | -66.5% |
| 1994 | -2.95 Percentage change | +78.5% |
| 1995 | -7.93 Percentage change | +168.8% |
| 1996 | -1.77 Percentage change | -77.7% |
| 1997 | 2.55 Percentage change | -244.1% |
| 1998 | -2.44 Percentage change | -195.7% |
| 1999 | -1.84 Percentage change | -24.8% |
| 2000 | 5.47 Percentage change | -397.7% |
| 2001 | -3.73 Percentage change | -168.2% |
| 2002 | -3.78 Percentage change | +1.3% |
| 2003 | -0.8893 Percentage change | -76.5% |
| 2004 | 7.27 Percentage change | -917.7% |
| 2005 | -1.9 Percentage change | -126.2% |
| 2006 | 0.5306 Percentage change | -127.9% |
| 2007 | 1.28 Percentage change | +141.8% |
| 2008 | -5.41 Percentage change | -521.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0443 Percentage change | -100.8% |
| 2010 | 2.04 Percentage change | +4497.1% |
| 2011 | -5.03 Percentage change | -346.9% |
| 2012 | -1.84 Percentage change | -63.4% |
| 2013 | -3.68 Percentage change | +100.1% |
| 2014 | -3.25 Percentage change | -11.8% |
| 2015 | -2.71 Percentage change | -16.4% |
| 2016 | -4.62 Percentage change | +70.1% |
| 2017 | 4.07 Percentage change | -188.2% |
| 2018 | 0.6274 Percentage change | -84.6% |
| 2019 | -1.37 Percentage change | -318.6% |
| 2020 | -6.91 Percentage change | +403.8% |
| 2021 | -0.7852 Percentage change | -88.6% |
| 2022 | -3.52 Percentage change | +348.3% |
| 2023 | 4.93 Percentage change | -240.2% |
| 2024 | -1.97 Percentage change | -139.9% |
| 2025 | -0.8098 Percentage change | -58.9% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's -0.8098 Percentage change is above the median for low income countries, which is -6.27 Percentage change, 13% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Malawi's -0.8098 Percentage change is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -5.06 Percentage change, 16% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Malawi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +4497.1% | 0.0443 Percentage change | 2.04 Percentage change |
| 1981 | +1846.8% | -0.4601 Percentage change | 8.04 Percentage change |
| 1958 | -1510.2% | 0.2579 Percentage change | -3.64 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -4.8 Percentage change | -16.1 Percentage change | 4.91 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -4.59 Percentage change | -12.71 Percentage change | 3.83 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.01 Percentage change | -5.92 Percentage change | 7.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.02 Percentage change | -7.46 Percentage change | 8.1 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -2.16 Percentage change | -7.93 Percentage change | 2.55 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.1114 Percentage change | -5.41 Percentage change | 7.27 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.58 Percentage change | -5.03 Percentage change | 4.07 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.51 Percentage change | -6.91 Percentage change | 4.93 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 49 Switzerland -0.4333 Percentage change compare
- 49 Micronesia 10.19 Percentage change compare
- 50 Portugal -0.5127 Percentage change compare
- 51 Puerto Rico -0.5906 Percentage change compare
- 52 Ethiopia -7.57 Percentage change compare
- 53 Solomon Islands -0.8823 Percentage change compare
- 54 Cabo Verde -7.95 Percentage change compare
- 54 Honduras -0.9224 Percentage change compare
- 55 Kazakhstan -0.9617 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % 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 Malawi?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Malawi was -0.8098 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 8.1 Percentage change in 1986.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -16.1 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Malawi rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Malawi ranks 52nd out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 70.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi 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