Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in OECD
OECD: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -2.62 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in OECD, 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 OECD stood at -2.62 Percentage change.
That represents a change of down 413.8% on the previous year and down 268.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in OECD peaked at 2.81 Percentage change in 1983 and was at its lowest, -4.91 Percentage change, in 1952.
OECD ranks 83rd 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 OECD, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -2.56 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -3.05 Percentage change | +19.2% |
| 1952 | -4.91 Percentage change | +60.9% |
| 1953 | -3.54 Percentage change | -27.9% |
| 1954 | -2.74 Percentage change | -22.7% |
| 1955 | -1.19 Percentage change | -56.6% |
| 1956 | -1.32 Percentage change | +11.4% |
| 1957 | -1.64 Percentage change | +23.8% |
| 1958 | 0.0229 Percentage change | -101.4% |
| 1959 | -0.9753 Percentage change | -4349.9% |
| 1960 | -1.31 Percentage change | +34.6% |
| 1961 | -2.61 Percentage change | +98.7% |
| 1962 | -2.08 Percentage change | -20.3% |
| 1963 | 0.0287 Percentage change | -101.4% |
| 1964 | -1.94 Percentage change | -6847.3% |
| 1965 | -2.54 Percentage change | +30.7% |
| 1966 | -2.55 Percentage change | +0.4% |
| 1967 | -2.91 Percentage change | +14.2% |
| 1968 | -0.2911 Percentage change | -90.0% |
| 1969 | -2.81 Percentage change | +864.6% |
| 1970 | -2.32 Percentage change | -17.3% |
| 1971 | -0.3948 Percentage change | -83.0% |
| 1972 | -0.1269 Percentage change | -67.9% |
| 1973 | 1.38 Percentage change | -1188.1% |
| 1974 | 2.55 Percentage change | +84.5% |
| 1975 | 0.7302 Percentage change | -71.3% |
| 1976 | -1.01 Percentage change | -238.3% |
| 1977 | -1.19 Percentage change | +18.1% |
| 1978 | 1.57 Percentage change | -232.0% |
| 1979 | 0.3092 Percentage change | -80.4% |
| 1980 | 0.4091 Percentage change | +32.3% |
| 1981 | 1.82 Percentage change | +345.9% |
| 1982 | 1.07 Percentage change | -41.1% |
| 1983 | 2.81 Percentage change | +161.4% |
| 1984 | 2.13 Percentage change | -24.1% |
| 1985 | 1.27 Percentage change | -40.4% |
| 1986 | 1.44 Percentage change | +13.2% |
| 1987 | 1.76 Percentage change | +22.5% |
| 1988 | 0.0256 Percentage change | -98.5% |
| 1989 | -0.7112 Percentage change | -2878.3% |
| 1990 | -1.53 Percentage change | +114.7% |
| 1991 | -1.01 Percentage change | -34.1% |
| 1992 | 1.41 Percentage change | -239.9% |
| 1993 | 0.8123 Percentage change | -42.3% |
| 1994 | -2.33 Percentage change | -386.3% |
| 1995 | -0.2506 Percentage change | -89.2% |
| 1996 | 1.37 Percentage change | -645.4% |
| 1997 | 0.8501 Percentage change | -37.8% |
| 1998 | 0.7522 Percentage change | -11.5% |
| 1999 | -0.3624 Percentage change | -148.2% |
| 2000 | -0.2716 Percentage change | -25.1% |
| 2001 | -1.13 Percentage change | +316.3% |
| 2002 | -3.21 Percentage change | +184.2% |
| 2003 | -0.7616 Percentage change | -76.3% |
| 2004 | 1.19 Percentage change | -256.2% |
| 2005 | -1.6 Percentage change | -234.5% |
| 2006 | -1.24 Percentage change | -22.6% |
| 2007 | -1.95 Percentage change | +57.6% |
| 2008 | -2.5 Percentage change | +28.3% |
| 2009 | -1.36 Percentage change | -45.7% |
| 2010 | 1.5 Percentage change | -210.5% |
| 2011 | -1.78 Percentage change | -218.3% |
| 2012 | -2.62 Percentage change | +47.5% |
| 2013 | -0.9325 Percentage change | -64.4% |
| 2014 | -1.11 Percentage change | +19.3% |
| 2015 | -0.7117 Percentage change | -36.0% |
| 2016 | 0.4295 Percentage change | -160.3% |
| 2017 | -1.11 Percentage change | -359.6% |
| 2018 | -1.78 Percentage change | +60.0% |
| 2019 | -2.55 Percentage change | +42.7% |
| 2020 | -1.74 Percentage change | -31.7% |
| 2021 | -0.9265 Percentage change | -46.7% |
| 2022 | -0.725 Percentage change | -21.8% |
| 2023 | -2.92 Percentage change | +302.8% |
| 2024 | -0.51 Percentage change | -82.5% |
| 2025 | -2.62 Percentage change | +413.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in OECD 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | -6847.3% | 0.0287 Percentage change | -1.94 Percentage change |
| 1959 | -4349.9% | 0.0229 Percentage change | -0.9753 Percentage change |
| 1989 | -2878.3% | 0.0256 Percentage change | -0.7112 Percentage change |
| 1973 | +1188.1% | -0.1269 Percentage change | 1.38 Percentage change |
| 1969 | -864.6% | -0.2911 Percentage change | -2.81 Percentage change |
| 1996 | +645.4% | -0.2506 Percentage change | 1.37 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -2.19 Percentage change | -4.91 Percentage change | 0.0229 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.9 Percentage change | -2.91 Percentage change | 0.0287 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1497 Percentage change | -2.32 Percentage change | 2.55 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.2 Percentage change | -0.7112 Percentage change | 2.81 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.0284 Percentage change | -2.33 Percentage change | 1.41 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.28 Percentage change | -3.21 Percentage change | 1.19 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.07 Percentage change | -2.62 Percentage change | 1.5 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.57 Percentage change | -2.92 Percentage change | -0.51 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near OECD
- 80 France -2.44 Percentage change compare
- 81 Canada -2.52 Percentage change compare
- 82 Bangladesh -2.59 Percentage change compare
- 84 United States -2.64 Percentage change compare
- 85 Guinea-Bissau -2.65 Percentage change compare
- 86 Denmark -2.66 Percentage change compare
More environment data for OECD
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.17 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.312 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Cropland — Area 382,348 1000 ha (2024)
- Cropland — Share in Land area 11.21 % (2024)
- Agricultural land — Value of agricultural production (Int. $) per Area 915.76 USD_PPP/ha (2024)
- Agricultural land — Share in Land area 34.15 % (2024)
- Agricultural land — Area 1.16 million 1000 ha (2024)
- Country area — Area 4.23 million 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in OECD?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in OECD was -2.62 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 OECD?
- The highest recorded value was 2.81 Percentage change in 1983.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in OECD?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.91 Percentage change in 1952.
- How does OECD rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- OECD ranks 83rd out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in OECD?
- Over the last ten years it is down 268.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this OECD 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
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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