Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Africa
Eastern Africa: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -7.18 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Africa, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Eastern Africa recorded -7.18 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
That represents a change of down 151.9% on the previous year and down 3,170.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Africa peaked at 12.31 Percentage change in 1950 and was at its lowest, -8.39 Percentage change, in 1966.
Eastern Africa ranks 48th of 72 groups 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 Eastern Africa, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 12.31 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 4.01 Percentage change | -67.4% |
| 1952 | 6.94 Percentage change | +72.9% |
| 1953 | 11.26 Percentage change | +62.3% |
| 1954 | -1.92 Percentage change | -117.1% |
| 1955 | 4.03 Percentage change | -309.7% |
| 1956 | 3.23 Percentage change | -19.8% |
| 1957 | 6.02 Percentage change | +86.5% |
| 1958 | 1.77 Percentage change | -70.6% |
| 1959 | 2.05 Percentage change | +15.7% |
| 1960 | 1.18 Percentage change | -42.3% |
| 1961 | 6.49 Percentage change | +449.0% |
| 1962 | 2.86 Percentage change | -56.0% |
| 1963 | 7.79 Percentage change | +172.6% |
| 1964 | -1.57 Percentage change | -120.2% |
| 1965 | -6.5 Percentage change | +313.7% |
| 1966 | -8.39 Percentage change | +29.0% |
| 1967 | 4.01 Percentage change | -147.8% |
| 1968 | 0.7864 Percentage change | -80.4% |
| 1969 | 0.0033 Percentage change | -99.6% |
| 1970 | -3.69 Percentage change | -112907.1% |
| 1971 | -1.99 Percentage change | -46.1% |
| 1972 | 8.82 Percentage change | -543.7% |
| 1973 | -0.5334 Percentage change | -106.0% |
| 1974 | 3.09 Percentage change | -679.3% |
| 1975 | 0.7295 Percentage change | -76.4% |
| 1976 | 1.24 Percentage change | +70.3% |
| 1977 | 10.59 Percentage change | +752.7% |
| 1978 | 7.45 Percentage change | -29.6% |
| 1979 | 5.66 Percentage change | -24.0% |
| 1980 | 0.4961 Percentage change | -91.2% |
| 1981 | 6.47 Percentage change | +1203.6% |
| 1982 | 5.76 Percentage change | -10.9% |
| 1983 | -2.41 Percentage change | -141.9% |
| 1984 | -0.6711 Percentage change | -72.2% |
| 1985 | 4.59 Percentage change | -783.3% |
| 1986 | 6.85 Percentage change | +49.4% |
| 1987 | -0.0266 Percentage change | -100.4% |
| 1988 | -1.43 Percentage change | +5281.9% |
| 1989 | 4.34 Percentage change | -403.5% |
| 1990 | 0.9111 Percentage change | -79.0% |
| 1991 | -1.31 Percentage change | -243.3% |
| 1992 | -4.76 Percentage change | +264.9% |
| 1993 | 1.3 Percentage change | -127.2% |
| 1994 | -0.5057 Percentage change | -139.0% |
| 1995 | -3.44 Percentage change | +580.5% |
| 1996 | -0.3202 Percentage change | -90.7% |
| 1997 | 5.16 Percentage change | -1712.5% |
| 1998 | -1.32 Percentage change | -125.6% |
| 1999 | -1.85 Percentage change | +39.7% |
| 2000 | -2.04 Percentage change | +10.5% |
| 2001 | 0.1284 Percentage change | -106.3% |
| 2002 | -6.09 Percentage change | -4845.4% |
| 2003 | -0.4175 Percentage change | -93.1% |
| 2004 | 0.3896 Percentage change | -193.3% |
| 2005 | -1.63 Percentage change | -519.2% |
| 2006 | 1.53 Percentage change | -194.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4951 Percentage change | -67.7% |
| 2008 | -5.91 Percentage change | -1292.8% |
| 2009 | -4.59 Percentage change | -22.3% |
| 2010 | 0.7977 Percentage change | -117.4% |
| 2011 | -3.12 Percentage change | -491.5% |
| 2012 | -1.83 Percentage change | -41.5% |
| 2013 | -2.34 Percentage change | +28.0% |
| 2014 | -3.95 Percentage change | +69.0% |
| 2015 | 0.234 Percentage change | -105.9% |
| 2016 | -3.87 Percentage change | -1751.8% |
| 2017 | 2.52 Percentage change | -165.2% |
| 2018 | -0.0357 Percentage change | -101.4% |
| 2019 | -1.17 Percentage change | +3181.2% |
| 2020 | 1.11 Percentage change | -194.4% |
| 2021 | -4.77 Percentage change | -530.6% |
| 2022 | -5.23 Percentage change | +9.7% |
| 2023 | 0.614 Percentage change | -111.7% |
| 2024 | -2.85 Percentage change | -564.5% |
| 2025 | -7.18 Percentage change | +151.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.97 Percentage change | -1.92 Percentage change | 12.31 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.6655 Percentage change | -8.39 Percentage change | 7.79 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.14 Percentage change | -3.69 Percentage change | 10.59 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.4 Percentage change | -2.41 Percentage change | 6.85 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.6136 Percentage change | -4.76 Percentage change | 5.16 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.81 Percentage change | -6.09 Percentage change | 1.53 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.28 Percentage change | -3.95 Percentage change | 2.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -3.05 Percentage change | -7.18 Percentage change | 1.11 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eastern Africa
- 45 Guam 0.5909 Percentage change compare
- 46 Cambodia 0.5487 Percentage change compare
- 47 Guadeloupe 0.493 Percentage change compare
- 48 Taiwan, China 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
More environment data for Eastern Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.229 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value -0.3367 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.69 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.99 Percentage change (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import -0.5287 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate 1.18 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Africa?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Africa was -7.18 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 Eastern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 12.31 Percentage change in 1950.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Eastern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -8.39 Percentage change in 1966.
- How does Eastern Africa rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Eastern Africa ranks 48th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Eastern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3,170.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Eastern 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