Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 1.56 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Papua New Guinea, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Papua New Guinea is 1.56 Percentage change, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 33.0% on the previous year and up 257.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Papua New Guinea peaked at 3.03 Percentage change in 2017 and was at its lowest, -5.51 Percentage change, in 1997.
That places Papua New Guinea 34th out of 191 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.94 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -0.4915 Percentage change | -125.3% |
| 1952 | 1.3 Percentage change | -364.7% |
| 1953 | -1.7 Percentage change | -230.5% |
| 1954 | 0.5738 Percentage change | -133.8% |
| 1955 | -0.3808 Percentage change | -166.4% |
| 1956 | -0.0732 Percentage change | -80.8% |
| 1957 | 1.14 Percentage change | -1653.4% |
| 1958 | 0.3259 Percentage change | -71.3% |
| 1959 | -0.1882 Percentage change | -157.7% |
| 1960 | 0.3957 Percentage change | -310.3% |
| 1961 | 1.77 Percentage change | +347.5% |
| 1962 | 1.85 Percentage change | +4.6% |
| 1963 | -3 Percentage change | -262.1% |
| 1964 | 0.5684 Percentage change | -118.9% |
| 1965 | -3.45 Percentage change | -707.8% |
| 1966 | -0.8839 Percentage change | -74.4% |
| 1967 | 1.31 Percentage change | -247.9% |
| 1968 | -0.0192 Percentage change | -101.5% |
| 1969 | 1.17 Percentage change | -6190.2% |
| 1970 | 1.15 Percentage change | -1.8% |
| 1971 | 2.46 Percentage change | +114.6% |
| 1972 | -3.65 Percentage change | -248.0% |
| 1973 | 0.4189 Percentage change | -111.5% |
| 1974 | -0.5077 Percentage change | -221.2% |
| 1975 | 1.61 Percentage change | -417.2% |
| 1976 | 0.4137 Percentage change | -74.3% |
| 1977 | 1.11 Percentage change | +167.2% |
| 1978 | 1.36 Percentage change | +22.6% |
| 1979 | -1.07 Percentage change | -178.9% |
| 1980 | -1.59 Percentage change | +48.7% |
| 1981 | 1.44 Percentage change | -190.4% |
| 1982 | -2.6 Percentage change | -280.7% |
| 1983 | 1.35 Percentage change | -151.9% |
| 1984 | 1.4 Percentage change | +3.9% |
| 1985 | 1.75 Percentage change | +24.7% |
| 1986 | -0.5636 Percentage change | -132.2% |
| 1987 | -3.09 Percentage change | +448.1% |
| 1988 | 0.577 Percentage change | -118.7% |
| 1989 | 1.64 Percentage change | +184.0% |
| 1990 | -0.0293 Percentage change | -101.8% |
| 1991 | -0.9721 Percentage change | +3222.0% |
| 1992 | -1.86 Percentage change | +91.6% |
| 1993 | -2.85 Percentage change | +53.1% |
| 1994 | -1.37 Percentage change | -51.9% |
| 1995 | 1.3 Percentage change | -194.6% |
| 1996 | 1.48 Percentage change | +14.0% |
| 1997 | -5.51 Percentage change | -472.8% |
| 1998 | 1.25 Percentage change | -122.8% |
| 1999 | 0.4051 Percentage change | -67.7% |
| 2000 | 1.02 Percentage change | +152.4% |
| 2001 | -0.1374 Percentage change | -113.4% |
| 2002 | -0.78 Percentage change | +467.7% |
| 2003 | -0.8442 Percentage change | +8.2% |
| 2004 | -0.1399 Percentage change | -83.4% |
| 2005 | 0.2135 Percentage change | -252.6% |
| 2006 | 0.7747 Percentage change | +262.8% |
| 2007 | 1.48 Percentage change | +91.0% |
| 2008 | 2.01 Percentage change | +35.8% |
| 2009 | 0.8017 Percentage change | -60.1% |
| 2010 | 1.86 Percentage change | +131.9% |
| 2011 | 2.43 Percentage change | +30.6% |
| 2012 | 0.7957 Percentage change | -67.2% |
| 2013 | 2.23 Percentage change | +180.4% |
| 2014 | 1.05 Percentage change | -52.9% |
| 2015 | -0.9894 Percentage change | -194.2% |
| 2016 | 1.61 Percentage change | -262.9% |
| 2017 | 3.03 Percentage change | +87.7% |
| 2018 | 0.4189 Percentage change | -86.2% |
| 2019 | 1.14 Percentage change | +172.8% |
| 2020 | 2.48 Percentage change | +116.8% |
| 2021 | 2.34 Percentage change | -5.7% |
| 2022 | -0.1818 Percentage change | -107.8% |
| 2023 | 0.7461 Percentage change | -510.5% |
| 2024 | 1.17 Percentage change | +57.2% |
| 2025 | 1.56 Percentage change | +33.0% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 1.56 Percentage change is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is -5.73 Percentage change. (41 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 1.56 Percentage change is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1661 Percentage change, 9.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Papua New Guinea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | +6190.2% | -0.0192 Percentage change | 1.17 Percentage change |
| 1991 | -3222.0% | -0.0293 Percentage change | -0.9721 Percentage change |
| 1957 | +1653.4% | -0.0732 Percentage change | 1.14 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.2449 Percentage change | -1.7 Percentage change | 1.94 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.0297 Percentage change | -3.45 Percentage change | 1.85 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3292 Percentage change | -3.65 Percentage change | 2.46 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0313 Percentage change | -3.09 Percentage change | 1.75 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.8164 Percentage change | -5.51 Percentage change | 1.48 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4401 Percentage change | -0.8442 Percentage change | 2.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.36 Percentage change | -0.9894 Percentage change | 3.03 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.35 Percentage change | -0.1818 Percentage change | 2.48 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 31 North Macedonia 2.21 Percentage change compare
- 32 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2.19 Percentage change compare
- 33 Italy 2.04 Percentage change compare
- 33 Madagascar -3.85 Percentage change compare
- 35 French Guiana 1.45 Percentage change compare
- 35 Equatorial Guinea -4.05 Percentage change compare
- 36 French Southern Territories 1.44 Percentage change compare
- 36 Caribbean -4.29 Percentage change compare
- 37 Thailand 1.44 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Papua New Guinea
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.183 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.834 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9266 % 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 0.6032 % 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Papua New Guinea was 1.56 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.03 Percentage change in 2017.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.51 Percentage change in 1997.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 34th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 257.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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