Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia
Malaysia: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -1.65 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
In 2025, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia stood at -1.65 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 431.7% on the previous year and down 369.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia peaked at 3.99 Percentage change in 2017 and was at its lowest, -4.79 Percentage change, in 1953.
Malaysia ranks 71st of 191 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2.92 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -4.63 Percentage change | -258.6% |
| 1952 | -2.16 Percentage change | -53.3% |
| 1953 | -4.79 Percentage change | +121.3% |
| 1954 | 3.56 Percentage change | -174.3% |
| 1955 | 0.847 Percentage change | -76.2% |
| 1956 | 2.61 Percentage change | +208.0% |
| 1957 | 0.5313 Percentage change | -79.6% |
| 1958 | -2.45 Percentage change | -560.4% |
| 1959 | -0.4938 Percentage change | -79.8% |
| 1960 | -0.7795 Percentage change | +57.9% |
| 1961 | -3.57 Percentage change | +358.4% |
| 1962 | -0.4003 Percentage change | -88.8% |
| 1963 | -1.18 Percentage change | +195.0% |
| 1964 | -1.48 Percentage change | +25.6% |
| 1965 | -1.08 Percentage change | -27.3% |
| 1966 | 2.61 Percentage change | -342.2% |
| 1967 | -0.1867 Percentage change | -107.1% |
| 1968 | -1.87 Percentage change | +901.1% |
| 1969 | -0.014 Percentage change | -99.3% |
| 1970 | 2.05 Percentage change | -14765.4% |
| 1971 | 1.18 Percentage change | -42.8% |
| 1972 | -0.9763 Percentage change | -183.1% |
| 1973 | 0.6052 Percentage change | -162.0% |
| 1974 | -0.2513 Percentage change | -141.5% |
| 1975 | 0.7875 Percentage change | -413.4% |
| 1976 | -1.89 Percentage change | -339.7% |
| 1977 | -2.11 Percentage change | +11.6% |
| 1978 | -3.56 Percentage change | +68.8% |
| 1979 | -1.69 Percentage change | -52.5% |
| 1980 | 0.1056 Percentage change | -106.3% |
| 1981 | -1.76 Percentage change | -1771.1% |
| 1982 | -3.17 Percentage change | +79.4% |
| 1983 | -3.8 Percentage change | +20.0% |
| 1984 | 3.69 Percentage change | -197.2% |
| 1985 | 0.5354 Percentage change | -85.5% |
| 1986 | 0.0139 Percentage change | -97.4% |
| 1987 | -1.2 Percentage change | -8764.8% |
| 1988 | 2.56 Percentage change | -313.4% |
| 1989 | 1.92 Percentage change | -25.0% |
| 1990 | -2.88 Percentage change | -250.1% |
| 1991 | 0.7061 Percentage change | -124.5% |
| 1992 | -2.97 Percentage change | -520.1% |
| 1993 | 1.19 Percentage change | -140.0% |
| 1994 | -0.3839 Percentage change | -132.3% |
| 1995 | 2.64 Percentage change | -786.9% |
| 1996 | 0.5638 Percentage change | -78.6% |
| 1997 | -2.88 Percentage change | -611.6% |
| 1998 | -2.38 Percentage change | -17.5% |
| 1999 | 2.21 Percentage change | -192.7% |
| 2000 | 2.8 Percentage change | +26.8% |
| 2001 | 2.78 Percentage change | -0.7% |
| 2002 | -2.17 Percentage change | -178.2% |
| 2003 | -2.88 Percentage change | +32.8% |
| 2004 | -3.22 Percentage change | +11.9% |
| 2005 | -3.36 Percentage change | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 1.9 Percentage change | -156.6% |
| 2007 | 2.4 Percentage change | +26.3% |
| 2008 | 3.84 Percentage change | +60.0% |
| 2009 | 0.7085 Percentage change | -81.5% |
| 2010 | 2.62 Percentage change | +269.6% |
| 2011 | 2.78 Percentage change | +6.2% |
| 2012 | 2.16 Percentage change | -22.2% |
| 2013 | 1.91 Percentage change | -11.6% |
| 2014 | -0.7914 Percentage change | -141.4% |
| 2015 | -0.3506 Percentage change | -55.7% |
| 2016 | -1.77 Percentage change | +406.3% |
| 2017 | 3.99 Percentage change | -324.7% |
| 2018 | 2.61 Percentage change | -34.5% |
| 2019 | -1.21 Percentage change | -146.2% |
| 2020 | 0.0542 Percentage change | -104.5% |
| 2021 | 0.3954 Percentage change | +629.8% |
| 2022 | 2.44 Percentage change | +516.3% |
| 2023 | 1.3 Percentage change | -46.5% |
| 2024 | 0.4967 Percentage change | -61.9% |
| 2025 | -1.65 Percentage change | -431.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's -1.65 Percentage change is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is -3.73 Percentage change, 44% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's -1.65 Percentage change is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1661 Percentage change. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +14765.4% | -0.014 Percentage change | 2.05 Percentage change |
| 1987 | -8764.8% | 0.0139 Percentage change | -1.2 Percentage change |
| 1981 | -1771.1% | 0.1056 Percentage change | -1.76 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -0.4055 Percentage change | -4.79 Percentage change | 3.56 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.7953 Percentage change | -3.57 Percentage change | 2.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.5844 Percentage change | -3.56 Percentage change | 2.05 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.1099 Percentage change | -3.8 Percentage change | 3.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.4199 Percentage change | -2.97 Percentage change | 2.64 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2785 Percentage change | -3.36 Percentage change | 3.84 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2 Percentage change | -1.77 Percentage change | 3.99 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5065 Percentage change | -1.65 Percentage change | 2.44 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 68 Andorra -1.28 Percentage change compare
- 68 Mauritania -15.19 Percentage change compare
- 69 Bulgaria -1.39 Percentage change compare
- 70 Trinidad and Tobago -1.54 Percentage change compare
- 72 Spain -1.67 Percentage change compare
- 73 Singapore -1.71 Percentage change compare
- 74 Russia -1.76 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Malaysia
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -2.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.33 % 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 0.9114 % 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 — land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Malaysia was -1.65 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.99 Percentage change in 2017.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.79 Percentage change in 1953.
- How does Malaysia rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Malaysia ranks 71st out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 369.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.
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