Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Africa
Africa: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -7.93 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Africa, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Africa recorded -7.93 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
That represents a change of up 8.6% on the previous year and down 216.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Africa peaked at 6.49 Percentage change in 1957 and was at its lowest, -8.67 Percentage change, in 2024.
That places Africa 50th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -0.278 Percentage change | -7.57 Percentage change | 6.49 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.0131 Percentage change | -8.37 Percentage change | 4.13 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.49 Percentage change | -0.1327 Percentage change | 6.3 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.56 Percentage change | -4.47 Percentage change | 4.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6057 Percentage change | -2.55 Percentage change | 2.76 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.81 Percentage change | -4.25 Percentage change | 0.8147 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.42 Percentage change | -5.54 Percentage change | -0.9846 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -6.45 Percentage change | -8.67 Percentage change | -3.54 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Africa
- 47 Guadeloupe 0.493 Percentage change compare
- 48 Chinese Taipei 0.4698 Percentage change compare
- 49 Peru 0.4511 Percentage change compare
- 50 Colombia 0.4233 Percentage change compare
- 51 Greenland 0.3961 Percentage change compare
- 52 Ecuador 0.3767 Percentage change compare
- 53 Samoa 0.3482 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.32 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.213 °C (2025)
- Primary wood and paper products (export/import) — Export value 5.54 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood, coniferous — Production 32.26 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Export value 714,851 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood — Export quantity 3.78 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Import value 182,147 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood — Import quantity 2.09 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Africa?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Africa was -7.93 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 Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 6.49 Percentage change in 1957.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -8.67 Percentage change in 2024.
- How does Africa rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Africa ranks 50th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 216.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Africa 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