Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Central America and the Caribbean
Central America and the Caribbean: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -4.45 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Central America and the Caribbean, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Central America and the Caribbean recorded -4.45 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
The figure is up 5.3% on the previous year and down 225.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Central America and the Caribbean peaked at 8.21 Percentage change in 1978 and was at its lowest, -9.09 Percentage change, in 2023.
Central America and the Caribbean ranks 2114th of 3112 regions 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in Central America and the Caribbean, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -5.65 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -5.26 Percentage change | -6.8% |
| 1952 | -5.61 Percentage change | +6.6% |
| 1953 | -5.82 Percentage change | +3.7% |
| 1954 | -3.2 Percentage change | -45.1% |
| 1955 | -5.28 Percentage change | +65.1% |
| 1956 | -7.18 Percentage change | +36.0% |
| 1957 | -5.59 Percentage change | -22.2% |
| 1958 | 3.89 Percentage change | -169.7% |
| 1959 | 1.54 Percentage change | -60.4% |
| 1960 | -4.59 Percentage change | -397.4% |
| 1961 | -4.54 Percentage change | -1.0% |
| 1962 | -7.87 Percentage change | +73.2% |
| 1963 | -3.78 Percentage change | -52.0% |
| 1964 | -3.07 Percentage change | -18.7% |
| 1965 | -6.71 Percentage change | +118.2% |
| 1966 | -1.37 Percentage change | -79.5% |
| 1967 | -4.34 Percentage change | +216.3% |
| 1968 | -0.9549 Percentage change | -78.0% |
| 1969 | -0.9012 Percentage change | -5.6% |
| 1970 | -2.03 Percentage change | +125.2% |
| 1971 | -4.85 Percentage change | +138.8% |
| 1972 | -0.5687 Percentage change | -88.3% |
| 1973 | 3.34 Percentage change | -688.1% |
| 1974 | -2.3 Percentage change | -168.8% |
| 1975 | -2.73 Percentage change | +18.6% |
| 1976 | 0.9181 Percentage change | -133.6% |
| 1977 | 0.4371 Percentage change | -52.4% |
| 1978 | 8.21 Percentage change | +1778.6% |
| 1979 | -0.9338 Percentage change | -111.4% |
| 1980 | -0.0397 Percentage change | -95.8% |
| 1981 | 7.19 Percentage change | -18227.4% |
| 1982 | -0.9862 Percentage change | -113.7% |
| 1983 | 5.41 Percentage change | -648.4% |
| 1984 | 5.64 Percentage change | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 5.21 Percentage change | -7.6% |
| 1986 | 3.41 Percentage change | -34.5% |
| 1987 | 3.15 Percentage change | -7.7% |
| 1988 | 1.39 Percentage change | -55.8% |
| 1989 | -4.21 Percentage change | -402.6% |
| 1990 | 2.67 Percentage change | -163.4% |
| 1991 | 0.7415 Percentage change | -72.2% |
| 1992 | 6.37 Percentage change | +759.3% |
| 1993 | 3.88 Percentage change | -39.1% |
| 1994 | -5.07 Percentage change | -230.7% |
| 1995 | -0.8906 Percentage change | -82.4% |
| 1996 | -0.1964 Percentage change | -78.0% |
| 1997 | -2.8 Percentage change | +1327.3% |
| 1998 | -3.14 Percentage change | +12.2% |
| 1999 | -5.54 Percentage change | +76.1% |
| 2000 | -6.96 Percentage change | +25.7% |
| 2001 | -2.88 Percentage change | -58.6% |
| 2002 | -4.73 Percentage change | +64.0% |
| 2003 | -1.7 Percentage change | -64.0% |
| 2004 | 0.2307 Percentage change | -113.6% |
| 2005 | -4.67 Percentage change | -2125.3% |
| 2006 | -1.72 Percentage change | -63.2% |
| 2007 | 3.57 Percentage change | -307.5% |
| 2008 | -1.31 Percentage change | -136.6% |
| 2009 | -3.81 Percentage change | +191.8% |
| 2010 | 1.76 Percentage change | -146.2% |
| 2011 | -8.35 Percentage change | -574.0% |
| 2012 | -3.88 Percentage change | -53.5% |
| 2013 | -0.1821 Percentage change | -95.3% |
| 2014 | -0.0672 Percentage change | -63.1% |
| 2015 | 3.55 Percentage change | -5387.8% |
| 2016 | -1.34 Percentage change | -137.7% |
| 2017 | -2.12 Percentage change | +58.2% |
| 2018 | 0.4338 Percentage change | -120.4% |
| 2019 | -5.39 Percentage change | -1343.6% |
| 2020 | -3.84 Percentage change | -28.8% |
| 2021 | -3.5 Percentage change | -8.8% |
| 2022 | -1.98 Percentage change | -43.5% |
| 2023 | -9.09 Percentage change | +359.5% |
| 2024 | -4.7 Percentage change | -48.4% |
| 2025 | -4.45 Percentage change | -5.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -3.82 Percentage change | -7.18 Percentage change | 3.89 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.81 Percentage change | -7.87 Percentage change | -0.9012 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.0498 Percentage change | -4.85 Percentage change | 8.21 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.62 Percentage change | -4.21 Percentage change | 7.19 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.3981 Percentage change | -5.54 Percentage change | 6.37 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -2.4 Percentage change | -6.96 Percentage change | 3.57 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.56 Percentage change | -8.35 Percentage change | 3.55 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -4.59 Percentage change | -9.09 Percentage change | -1.98 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for Central America and the Caribbean
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.09 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.94 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 6.69 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 200,554 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Central America and the Caribbean?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Central America and the Caribbean was -4.45 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 Central America and the Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 8.21 Percentage change in 1978.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Central America and the Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was -9.09 Percentage change in 2023.
- How does Central America and the Caribbean rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Central America and the Caribbean ranks 2114th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Central America and the Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 225.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Central America and the Caribbean 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