Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 5.24 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka stood at 5.24 Percentage change.
The figure is up 82.6% on the previous year and down 56.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Sri Lanka peaked at 13.16 Percentage change in 1955 and was at its lowest, -16.09 Percentage change, in 1950.
That places Sri Lanka 12th 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -2.89 Percentage change | -16.09 Percentage change | 13.16 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 6.55 Percentage change | -0.0095 Percentage change | 10.06 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -1.13 Percentage change | -6.74 Percentage change | 4.46 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.9176 Percentage change | -9.76 Percentage change | 10.45 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.65 Percentage change | -8.23 Percentage change | 5.78 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4 Percentage change | -3.34 Percentage change | 5.81 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.71 Percentage change | -3.87 Percentage change | 12.05 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.4 Percentage change | -5.5 Percentage change | 10.37 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import 46.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import 0.0001 t per person (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.79 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.72 Percentage change (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value 11.98 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard, not elsewhere specified — Import value 0.0003 1000 USD per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Sri Lanka?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Sri Lanka was 5.24 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 13.16 Percentage change in 1955.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was -16.09 Percentage change in 1950.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Sri Lanka ranks 12th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 56.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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