Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -6.36 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa stood at -6.36 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and down 126.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 7.6 Percentage change in 1957 and was at its lowest, -7.29 Percentage change, in 1966.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 45th out of 72 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -2.92 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -5.15 Percentage change | +76.5% |
| 1952 | -3.2 Percentage change | -37.9% |
| 1953 | 2.14 Percentage change | -166.8% |
| 1954 | 0.6591 Percentage change | -69.2% |
| 1955 | 3 Percentage change | +354.5% |
| 1956 | 1.55 Percentage change | -48.4% |
| 1957 | 7.6 Percentage change | +391.7% |
| 1958 | 1.23 Percentage change | -83.8% |
| 1959 | -0.946 Percentage change | -177.0% |
| 1960 | -1.75 Percentage change | +85.1% |
| 1961 | 1.87 Percentage change | -206.9% |
| 1962 | 1.58 Percentage change | -15.4% |
| 1963 | 3.18 Percentage change | +101.2% |
| 1964 | -2.99 Percentage change | -194.0% |
| 1965 | -5 Percentage change | +67.1% |
| 1966 | -7.29 Percentage change | +45.9% |
| 1967 | 2.14 Percentage change | -129.3% |
| 1968 | 3.72 Percentage change | +73.8% |
| 1969 | 4.65 Percentage change | +25.1% |
| 1970 | 0.5533 Percentage change | -88.1% |
| 1971 | 1.69 Percentage change | +204.8% |
| 1972 | 5.56 Percentage change | +229.6% |
| 1973 | 0.289 Percentage change | -94.8% |
| 1974 | 3.47 Percentage change | +1101.5% |
| 1975 | 2.32 Percentage change | -33.1% |
| 1976 | 4.63 Percentage change | +99.6% |
| 1977 | 4.8 Percentage change | +3.6% |
| 1978 | 5.33 Percentage change | +11.1% |
| 1979 | 5.49 Percentage change | +2.9% |
| 1980 | 3.37 Percentage change | -38.6% |
| 1981 | 3.87 Percentage change | +14.7% |
| 1982 | 3.11 Percentage change | -19.6% |
| 1983 | -4.03 Percentage change | -229.6% |
| 1984 | 0.5735 Percentage change | -114.2% |
| 1985 | 3.36 Percentage change | +485.5% |
| 1986 | 4.26 Percentage change | +26.7% |
| 1987 | 0.2175 Percentage change | -94.9% |
| 1988 | 2.86 Percentage change | +1213.5% |
| 1989 | 1.18 Percentage change | -58.7% |
| 1990 | 0.7533 Percentage change | -36.2% |
| 1991 | 1.68 Percentage change | +123.6% |
| 1992 | -2.67 Percentage change | -258.5% |
| 1993 | 0.5505 Percentage change | -120.6% |
| 1994 | 1.82 Percentage change | +231.1% |
| 1995 | -0.0715 Percentage change | -103.9% |
| 1996 | 0.7876 Percentage change | -1200.9% |
| 1997 | 1.79 Percentage change | +127.4% |
| 1998 | -1.21 Percentage change | -167.6% |
| 1999 | 1.55 Percentage change | -228.4% |
| 2000 | -1.32 Percentage change | -184.7% |
| 2001 | -0.806 Percentage change | -38.7% |
| 2002 | -4.69 Percentage change | +482.3% |
| 2003 | -1.3 Percentage change | -72.2% |
| 2004 | -1.97 Percentage change | +51.4% |
| 2005 | -1 Percentage change | -49.3% |
| 2006 | -0.7221 Percentage change | -27.9% |
| 2007 | -2.09 Percentage change | +189.0% |
| 2008 | -3.67 Percentage change | +75.8% |
| 2009 | -2.89 Percentage change | -21.2% |
| 2010 | 0.0772 Percentage change | -102.7% |
| 2011 | -2.56 Percentage change | -3414.2% |
| 2012 | -1.01 Percentage change | -60.7% |
| 2013 | -2.73 Percentage change | +171.3% |
| 2014 | -2.18 Percentage change | -20.1% |
| 2015 | -2.81 Percentage change | +28.7% |
| 2016 | -4.14 Percentage change | +47.3% |
| 2017 | -1.74 Percentage change | -58.0% |
| 2018 | -0.2974 Percentage change | -82.9% |
| 2019 | -0.4068 Percentage change | +36.8% |
| 2020 | -2.42 Percentage change | +494.0% |
| 2021 | -6.69 Percentage change | +176.9% |
| 2022 | -4.69 Percentage change | -30.0% |
| 2023 | -4.17 Percentage change | -11.1% |
| 2024 | -6.48 Percentage change | +55.4% |
| 2025 | -6.36 Percentage change | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.3952 Percentage change | -5.15 Percentage change | 7.6 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.0104 Percentage change | -7.29 Percentage change | 4.65 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.41 Percentage change | 0.289 Percentage change | 5.56 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.88 Percentage change | -4.03 Percentage change | 4.26 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4992 Percentage change | -2.67 Percentage change | 1.82 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -2.05 Percentage change | -4.69 Percentage change | -0.7221 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.78 Percentage change | -4.14 Percentage change | 0.0772 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -5.13 Percentage change | -6.69 Percentage change | -2.42 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 42 Liechtenstein 0.1032 Percentage change compare
- 43 Angola -0.076 Percentage change compare
- 44 Luxembourg -0.1872 Percentage change compare
- 45 Montenegro -0.1974 Percentage change compare
- 46 Belarus -0.1993 Percentage change compare
- 47 Chile -0.3357 Percentage change compare
- 48 Guadeloupe -0.4134 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
- Land area equipped for irrigation — Area 7,505 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa was -6.36 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.6 Percentage change in 1957.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -7.29 Percentage change in 1966.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 45th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 126.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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