Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -7.11 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa stood at -7.11 Percentage change.
That represents a change of up 15.7% on the previous year and down 179.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 6.32 Percentage change in 1957 and was at its lowest, -9.64 Percentage change, in 1951.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 47th out of 72 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -7.95 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -9.64 Percentage change | +21.2% |
| 1952 | -6.54 Percentage change | -32.2% |
| 1953 | 1.93 Percentage change | -129.6% |
| 1954 | -2.59 Percentage change | -233.7% |
| 1955 | 2.78 Percentage change | -207.4% |
| 1956 | 0.404 Percentage change | -85.4% |
| 1957 | 6.32 Percentage change | +1464.0% |
| 1958 | 1.53 Percentage change | -75.8% |
| 1959 | -0.7132 Percentage change | -146.5% |
| 1960 | -0.9426 Percentage change | +32.2% |
| 1961 | 3.88 Percentage change | -511.1% |
| 1962 | 2.13 Percentage change | -45.1% |
| 1963 | 3.88 Percentage change | +82.4% |
| 1964 | -4.05 Percentage change | -204.3% |
| 1965 | -5.83 Percentage change | +43.9% |
| 1966 | -7.51 Percentage change | +28.9% |
| 1967 | 3.77 Percentage change | -150.2% |
| 1968 | 1.91 Percentage change | -49.4% |
| 1969 | 3.38 Percentage change | +77.2% |
| 1970 | -0.0631 Percentage change | -101.9% |
| 1971 | 0.5953 Percentage change | -1044.2% |
| 1972 | 4.88 Percentage change | +720.3% |
| 1973 | 0.2803 Percentage change | -94.3% |
| 1974 | 4.13 Percentage change | +1372.8% |
| 1975 | 2.15 Percentage change | -48.0% |
| 1976 | 4.96 Percentage change | +130.8% |
| 1977 | 5.33 Percentage change | +7.5% |
| 1978 | 4.13 Percentage change | -22.6% |
| 1979 | 4.25 Percentage change | +2.9% |
| 1980 | 1.75 Percentage change | -58.8% |
| 1981 | 3.38 Percentage change | +93.4% |
| 1982 | 3.2 Percentage change | -5.5% |
| 1983 | -4.18 Percentage change | -230.9% |
| 1984 | 0.3507 Percentage change | -108.4% |
| 1985 | 2.54 Percentage change | +624.0% |
| 1986 | 4.43 Percentage change | +74.4% |
| 1987 | 0.1873 Percentage change | -95.8% |
| 1988 | 2.09 Percentage change | +1016.9% |
| 1989 | 1.52 Percentage change | -27.5% |
| 1990 | 0.9048 Percentage change | -40.3% |
| 1991 | 1.24 Percentage change | +36.9% |
| 1992 | -2.67 Percentage change | -315.6% |
| 1993 | 1.27 Percentage change | -147.7% |
| 1994 | 2.09 Percentage change | +63.7% |
| 1995 | -0.0626 Percentage change | -103.0% |
| 1996 | -0.4366 Percentage change | +597.6% |
| 1997 | 2.11 Percentage change | -584.3% |
| 1998 | -1.05 Percentage change | -149.8% |
| 1999 | 1.5 Percentage change | -242.1% |
| 2000 | -0.195 Percentage change | -113.0% |
| 2001 | 0.415 Percentage change | -312.9% |
| 2002 | -3.45 Percentage change | -931.8% |
| 2003 | -1.95 Percentage change | -43.5% |
| 2004 | -1.85 Percentage change | -5.0% |
| 2005 | -1.81 Percentage change | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 0.5538 Percentage change | -130.5% |
| 2007 | -1.94 Percentage change | -450.4% |
| 2008 | -4.71 Percentage change | +142.7% |
| 2009 | -2.7 Percentage change | -42.6% |
| 2010 | -0.7503 Percentage change | -72.2% |
| 2011 | -1.48 Percentage change | +97.9% |
| 2012 | -1.67 Percentage change | +12.8% |
| 2013 | -3.83 Percentage change | +128.9% |
| 2014 | -2.52 Percentage change | -34.2% |
| 2015 | -2.55 Percentage change | +0.9% |
| 2016 | -5.09 Percentage change | +100.0% |
| 2017 | -1.94 Percentage change | -61.9% |
| 2018 | -1.46 Percentage change | -24.6% |
| 2019 | -2.24 Percentage change | +52.9% |
| 2020 | -2.97 Percentage change | +32.6% |
| 2021 | -6.07 Percentage change | +104.5% |
| 2022 | -5.69 Percentage change | -6.2% |
| 2023 | -4.1 Percentage change | -27.9% |
| 2024 | -8.43 Percentage change | +105.5% |
| 2025 | -7.11 Percentage change | -15.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -1.45 Percentage change | -9.64 Percentage change | 6.32 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.0608 Percentage change | -7.51 Percentage change | 3.88 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.06 Percentage change | -0.0631 Percentage change | 5.33 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.53 Percentage change | -4.18 Percentage change | 4.43 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4894 Percentage change | -2.67 Percentage change | 2.11 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.77 Percentage change | -4.71 Percentage change | 0.5538 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.35 Percentage change | -5.09 Percentage change | -0.7503 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -5.73 Percentage change | -8.43 Percentage change | -2.97 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 44 Albania 0.6356 Percentage change compare
- 45 Guam 0.5909 Percentage change compare
- 46 Cambodia 0.5487 Percentage change compare
- 47 Guadeloupe 0.493 Percentage change compare
- 48 Taiwan, China 0.4698 Percentage change compare
- 49 Peru 0.4511 Percentage change compare
- 50 Colombia 0.4233 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
- Land area equipped for irrigation — Area 7,505 1000 ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Sub-Saharan Africa was -7.11 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 6.32 Percentage change in 1957.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was -9.64 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 47th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 179.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan 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