Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South Africa
South Africa: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 5.46 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South Africa, 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 South Africa is 5.46 Percentage change, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 148.3% on the previous year and up 214.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South Africa peaked at 24.98 Percentage change in 1974 and was at its lowest, -32.16 Percentage change, in 1951.
That places South Africa 11th out of 191 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
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 South Africa, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 11.51 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -32.16 Percentage change | -379.3% |
| 1952 | -28.38 Percentage change | -11.8% |
| 1953 | -26.58 Percentage change | -6.3% |
| 1954 | -18.49 Percentage change | -30.4% |
| 1955 | 15.03 Percentage change | -181.3% |
| 1956 | -12.61 Percentage change | -183.9% |
| 1957 | 9.41 Percentage change | -174.6% |
| 1958 | -3.95 Percentage change | -142.0% |
| 1959 | -6.23 Percentage change | +57.7% |
| 1960 | -6.85 Percentage change | +9.9% |
| 1961 | 5 Percentage change | -173.0% |
| 1962 | -4.13 Percentage change | -182.6% |
| 1963 | 0.6924 Percentage change | -116.8% |
| 1964 | -9.77 Percentage change | -1510.9% |
| 1965 | -9.88 Percentage change | +1.2% |
| 1966 | -13.02 Percentage change | +31.8% |
| 1967 | 4.26 Percentage change | -132.7% |
| 1968 | -8.97 Percentage change | -310.7% |
| 1969 | -0.4443 Percentage change | -95.0% |
| 1970 | -2.29 Percentage change | +415.8% |
| 1971 | -2.04 Percentage change | -11.0% |
| 1972 | -3.46 Percentage change | +69.5% |
| 1973 | 2.69 Percentage change | -177.7% |
| 1974 | 24.98 Percentage change | +829.6% |
| 1975 | 3.97 Percentage change | -84.1% |
| 1976 | 22.74 Percentage change | +473.3% |
| 1977 | 17.44 Percentage change | -23.3% |
| 1978 | -1.31 Percentage change | -107.5% |
| 1979 | -2.08 Percentage change | +58.8% |
| 1980 | -6.25 Percentage change | +200.6% |
| 1981 | 8.96 Percentage change | -243.4% |
| 1982 | -5.71 Percentage change | -163.7% |
| 1983 | -10.7 Percentage change | +87.5% |
| 1984 | 4.39 Percentage change | -141.1% |
| 1985 | -0.4399 Percentage change | -110.0% |
| 1986 | 3.15 Percentage change | -815.1% |
| 1987 | 2.93 Percentage change | -6.8% |
| 1988 | 6.3 Percentage change | +114.8% |
| 1989 | 6.92 Percentage change | +9.8% |
| 1990 | 0.1034 Percentage change | -98.5% |
| 1991 | -4.08 Percentage change | -4046.8% |
| 1992 | -11.03 Percentage change | +170.3% |
| 1993 | -7.76 Percentage change | -29.7% |
| 1994 | -5.73 Percentage change | -26.1% |
| 1995 | 0.9902 Percentage change | -117.3% |
| 1996 | 4.71 Percentage change | +375.3% |
| 1997 | 14.13 Percentage change | +200.3% |
| 1998 | -2.75 Percentage change | -119.5% |
| 1999 | -3.67 Percentage change | +33.1% |
| 2000 | 15.58 Percentage change | -525.1% |
| 2001 | 16.67 Percentage change | +7.0% |
| 2002 | 1.98 Percentage change | -88.1% |
| 2003 | -15.37 Percentage change | -877.5% |
| 2004 | -6.83 Percentage change | -55.6% |
| 2005 | -2.04 Percentage change | -70.0% |
| 2006 | 10.05 Percentage change | -591.6% |
| 2007 | -0.8152 Percentage change | -108.1% |
| 2008 | -11.69 Percentage change | +1334.0% |
| 2009 | -0.4292 Percentage change | -96.3% |
| 2010 | -7.8 Percentage change | +1718.5% |
| 2011 | 7.5 Percentage change | -196.1% |
| 2012 | -2.54 Percentage change | -133.8% |
| 2013 | -3.66 Percentage change | +44.3% |
| 2014 | -6.47 Percentage change | +76.8% |
| 2015 | -4.76 Percentage change | -26.4% |
| 2016 | -17.89 Percentage change | +276.0% |
| 2017 | -16.06 Percentage change | -10.3% |
| 2018 | -11.49 Percentage change | -28.5% |
| 2019 | -19.17 Percentage change | +66.8% |
| 2020 | -5.77 Percentage change | -69.9% |
| 2021 | 1.29 Percentage change | -122.4% |
| 2022 | 7.04 Percentage change | +443.8% |
| 2023 | 2.66 Percentage change | -62.1% |
| 2024 | -11.31 Percentage change | -524.6% |
| 2025 | 5.46 Percentage change | -148.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -9.25 Percentage change | -32.16 Percentage change | 15.03 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -4.31 Percentage change | -13.02 Percentage change | 5 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.06 Percentage change | -3.46 Percentage change | 24.98 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.955 Percentage change | -10.7 Percentage change | 8.96 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.51 Percentage change | -11.03 Percentage change | 14.13 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7103 Percentage change | -15.37 Percentage change | 16.67 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -8.23 Percentage change | -19.17 Percentage change | 7.5 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.1048 Percentage change | -11.31 Percentage change | 7.04 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 20.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.012 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate 3.25 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per capita 0.0126 1000 USD per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South Africa?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South Africa was 5.46 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 24.98 Percentage change in 1974.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -32.16 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does South Africa rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- South Africa ranks 11th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 214.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South 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