Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Zambia
Zambia: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -3.03 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Zambia, 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 Zambia stood at -3.03 Percentage change.
The figure is up 62.3% on the previous year and down 177.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Zambia peaked at 13.69 Percentage change in 1986 and was at its lowest, -23.34 Percentage change, in 1951.
Zambia ranks 79th 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -4.58 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -23.34 Percentage change | +409.9% |
| 1952 | -21.01 Percentage change | -10.0% |
| 1953 | -8.68 Percentage change | -58.7% |
| 1954 | -21.57 Percentage change | +148.6% |
| 1955 | 10.32 Percentage change | -147.8% |
| 1956 | 5.63 Percentage change | -45.4% |
| 1957 | 2.92 Percentage change | -48.1% |
| 1958 | 5.09 Percentage change | +74.5% |
| 1959 | -5.47 Percentage change | -207.5% |
| 1960 | -12.75 Percentage change | +133.0% |
| 1961 | 2.47 Percentage change | -119.4% |
| 1962 | 3.31 Percentage change | +34.2% |
| 1963 | 4.91 Percentage change | +48.3% |
| 1964 | -3.18 Percentage change | -164.8% |
| 1965 | -13.43 Percentage change | +322.1% |
| 1966 | -16.24 Percentage change | +20.9% |
| 1967 | -2.14 Percentage change | -86.8% |
| 1968 | -9.14 Percentage change | +327.2% |
| 1969 | 6.01 Percentage change | -165.7% |
| 1970 | -4.66 Percentage change | -177.6% |
| 1971 | -3.67 Percentage change | -21.2% |
| 1972 | 7.17 Percentage change | -295.2% |
| 1973 | -1.3 Percentage change | -118.2% |
| 1974 | 7.3 Percentage change | -659.9% |
| 1975 | -0.4234 Percentage change | -105.8% |
| 1976 | 2.27 Percentage change | -637.3% |
| 1977 | 5.6 Percentage change | +146.2% |
| 1978 | 8.02 Percentage change | +43.2% |
| 1979 | 2.95 Percentage change | -63.2% |
| 1980 | 4.59 Percentage change | +55.7% |
| 1981 | 7.38 Percentage change | +60.9% |
| 1982 | -0.0776 Percentage change | -101.1% |
| 1983 | -9.75 Percentage change | +12465.2% |
| 1984 | -1.84 Percentage change | -81.1% |
| 1985 | 1.87 Percentage change | -201.7% |
| 1986 | 13.69 Percentage change | +630.5% |
| 1987 | 0.6889 Percentage change | -95.0% |
| 1988 | 1.61 Percentage change | +133.3% |
| 1989 | 2.19 Percentage change | +36.1% |
| 1990 | -0.5506 Percentage change | -125.2% |
| 1991 | -1.6 Percentage change | +191.4% |
| 1992 | -3.31 Percentage change | +106.6% |
| 1993 | 3.8 Percentage change | -214.7% |
| 1994 | -1.55 Percentage change | -140.7% |
| 1995 | -6.78 Percentage change | +338.6% |
| 1996 | -2.88 Percentage change | -57.5% |
| 1997 | 1.25 Percentage change | -143.3% |
| 1998 | -1.96 Percentage change | -257.3% |
| 1999 | -1.05 Percentage change | -46.4% |
| 2000 | 3.42 Percentage change | -425.4% |
| 2001 | 0.878 Percentage change | -74.3% |
| 2002 | -6.7 Percentage change | -862.9% |
| 2003 | 1.22 Percentage change | -118.2% |
| 2004 | 2.62 Percentage change | +114.6% |
| 2005 | -1.76 Percentage change | -167.1% |
| 2006 | -0.4016 Percentage change | -77.2% |
| 2007 | -1.03 Percentage change | +155.7% |
| 2008 | -3.31 Percentage change | +221.8% |
| 2009 | 0.4496 Percentage change | -113.6% |
| 2010 | 3.47 Percentage change | +671.8% |
| 2011 | 0.9408 Percentage change | -72.9% |
| 2012 | 1.86 Percentage change | +97.5% |
| 2013 | -7.12 Percentage change | -483.0% |
| 2014 | -2.47 Percentage change | -65.3% |
| 2015 | 3.93 Percentage change | -259.1% |
| 2016 | -1.86 Percentage change | -147.3% |
| 2017 | 7.48 Percentage change | -502.5% |
| 2018 | 1.33 Percentage change | -82.2% |
| 2019 | -6.84 Percentage change | -615.2% |
| 2020 | -3.26 Percentage change | -52.4% |
| 2021 | -1.88 Percentage change | -42.2% |
| 2022 | -0.0168 Percentage change | -99.1% |
| 2023 | 1.34 Percentage change | -8057.1% |
| 2024 | -8.05 Percentage change | -702.1% |
| 2025 | -3.03 Percentage change | -62.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's -3.03 Percentage change is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -4.58 Percentage change, 66% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Zambia's -3.03 Percentage change is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -5.06 Percentage change, 60% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | -12465.2% | -0.0776 Percentage change | -9.75 Percentage change |
| 2023 | +8057.1% | -0.0168 Percentage change | 1.34 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -6.07 Percentage change | -23.34 Percentage change | 10.32 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -4.02 Percentage change | -16.24 Percentage change | 6.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.32 Percentage change | -4.66 Percentage change | 8.02 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.04 Percentage change | -9.75 Percentage change | 13.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.46 Percentage change | -6.78 Percentage change | 3.8 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.4602 Percentage change | -6.7 Percentage change | 3.42 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.072 Percentage change | -7.12 Percentage change | 7.48 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -2.48 Percentage change | -8.05 Percentage change | 1.34 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More environment data for Zambia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.11 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.74 % 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 3.49 % 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 Zambia?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Zambia was -3.03 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 13.69 Percentage change in 1986.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was -23.34 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Zambia rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Zambia ranks 79th out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 177.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia 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
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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