Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies
Advanced economies: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -2.55 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies is -2.55 Percentage change, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1,096.0% on the previous year and down 104.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies peaked at 3.04 Percentage change in 1974 and was at its lowest, -5.06 Percentage change, in 1952.
That places Advanced economies 27th 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -2.25 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -3.13 Percentage change | +39.2% |
| 1952 | -5.06 Percentage change | +61.8% |
| 1953 | -3.47 Percentage change | -31.5% |
| 1954 | -2.71 Percentage change | -21.7% |
| 1955 | -0.8529 Percentage change | -68.6% |
| 1956 | -0.8796 Percentage change | +3.1% |
| 1957 | -1.1 Percentage change | +25.1% |
| 1958 | -0.0953 Percentage change | -91.3% |
| 1959 | -1.06 Percentage change | +1010.0% |
| 1960 | -0.747 Percentage change | -29.4% |
| 1961 | -2.33 Percentage change | +211.5% |
| 1962 | -1.21 Percentage change | -48.0% |
| 1963 | 0.3195 Percentage change | -126.4% |
| 1964 | -1.53 Percentage change | -579.1% |
| 1965 | -2.25 Percentage change | +47.1% |
| 1966 | -2.46 Percentage change | +9.4% |
| 1967 | -3 Percentage change | +21.8% |
| 1968 | -0.2904 Percentage change | -90.3% |
| 1969 | -3.05 Percentage change | +950.3% |
| 1970 | -2.4 Percentage change | -21.4% |
| 1971 | -0.3371 Percentage change | -85.9% |
| 1972 | -0.5684 Percentage change | +68.6% |
| 1973 | 1.51 Percentage change | -364.9% |
| 1974 | 3.04 Percentage change | +102.1% |
| 1975 | 0.9157 Percentage change | -69.9% |
| 1976 | -1.37 Percentage change | -250.1% |
| 1977 | -1.27 Percentage change | -7.8% |
| 1978 | 1.17 Percentage change | -192.6% |
| 1979 | 0.5668 Percentage change | -51.7% |
| 1980 | 0.5665 Percentage change | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 1.64 Percentage change | +189.7% |
| 1982 | 1.17 Percentage change | -28.5% |
| 1983 | 2.88 Percentage change | +145.3% |
| 1984 | 1.88 Percentage change | -34.5% |
| 1985 | 1.15 Percentage change | -39.0% |
| 1986 | 1.37 Percentage change | +18.7% |
| 1987 | 1.51 Percentage change | +10.3% |
| 1988 | -0.1329 Percentage change | -108.8% |
| 1989 | -0.56 Percentage change | +321.5% |
| 1990 | -1.79 Percentage change | +219.7% |
| 1991 | -1.42 Percentage change | -20.6% |
| 1992 | 1.02 Percentage change | -171.8% |
| 1993 | 0.6642 Percentage change | -35.0% |
| 1994 | -2.3 Percentage change | -445.8% |
| 1995 | -0.1681 Percentage change | -92.7% |
| 1996 | 1.52 Percentage change | -1005.2% |
| 1997 | 1.09 Percentage change | -28.4% |
| 1998 | 1.13 Percentage change | +3.8% |
| 1999 | -0.0393 Percentage change | -103.5% |
| 2000 | 0.0618 Percentage change | -257.5% |
| 2001 | -0.9672 Percentage change | -1665.0% |
| 2002 | -3.41 Percentage change | +252.7% |
| 2003 | -0.6357 Percentage change | -81.4% |
| 2004 | 1.4 Percentage change | -320.6% |
| 2005 | -1.46 Percentage change | -204.3% |
| 2006 | -1.26 Percentage change | -13.9% |
| 2007 | -2.2 Percentage change | +75.1% |
| 2008 | -2.58 Percentage change | +17.2% |
| 2009 | -1.3 Percentage change | -49.8% |
| 2010 | 1.74 Percentage change | -233.9% |
| 2011 | -1.48 Percentage change | -185.3% |
| 2012 | -2.6 Percentage change | +75.7% |
| 2013 | -0.7653 Percentage change | -70.6% |
| 2014 | -1.23 Percentage change | +60.2% |
| 2015 | -1.25 Percentage change | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 0.86 Percentage change | -168.9% |
| 2017 | -1.16 Percentage change | -234.6% |
| 2018 | -2.03 Percentage change | +75.5% |
| 2019 | -2.27 Percentage change | +12.0% |
| 2020 | -1.4 Percentage change | -38.4% |
| 2021 | -0.6099 Percentage change | -56.4% |
| 2022 | -0.3539 Percentage change | -42.0% |
| 2023 | -2.33 Percentage change | +558.9% |
| 2024 | 0.2562 Percentage change | -111.0% |
| 2025 | -2.55 Percentage change | -1096.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -2.06 Percentage change | -5.06 Percentage change | -0.0953 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.66 Percentage change | -3.05 Percentage change | 0.3195 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1258 Percentage change | -2.4 Percentage change | 3.04 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.15 Percentage change | -0.56 Percentage change | 2.88 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.0288 Percentage change | -2.3 Percentage change | 1.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.24 Percentage change | -3.41 Percentage change | 1.4 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.02 Percentage change | -2.6 Percentage change | 1.74 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.17 Percentage change | -2.55 Percentage change | 0.2562 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Advanced economies
More environment data for Advanced economies
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.22 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.42 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.5138 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 4.4 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Advanced economies was -2.55 Percentage change in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Advanced economies?
- The highest recorded value was 3.04 Percentage change in 1974.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Advanced economies?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.06 Percentage change in 1952.
- How does Advanced economies rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Advanced economies ranks 27th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Advanced economies?
- Over the last ten years it is down 104.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Advanced economies data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Historical exposure to drought — Land 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