Precipitation - Regions — Extreme precipitation days by country
<p style="text-align: justify;">This dataset provides indicators on total precipitation and the number of extreme precipitation days, in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions.</p> <p><strong>Data definition and source</strong></p> <p>Precipitation is the sum of all liquid and frozen water - such as rain and snow -...
What the numbers show
Precipitation - Regions — Extreme precipitation days is currently reported for 48 countries. The highest value is 49.7 Days per year in Costa Rica; the lowest is 0.7 Days per year in Tunisia.
The median across all reporting countries is 6.15 Days per year, and the mean is 10.08 Days per year.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 71.
Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 21 fell. The largest increase was in Denmark (up 131.2%), and the largest decrease in Serbia (down 59.8%).
Precipitation - Regions — Extreme precipitation days: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica | 49.7 Days per year | 2024 | up 33.2% | rising |
| 2 | Indonesia | 46.4 Days per year | 2024 | up 40.2% | rising |
| 3 | Colombia | 33.4 Days per year | 2024 | down 7.0% | rising |
| 4 | Japan | 27.1 Days per year | 2024 | up 17.8% | rising |
| 5 | Chile | 20.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 14.0% | flat |
| 6 | India | 18.9 Days per year | 2024 | up 26.8% | rising |
| 7 | Peru | 18.8 Days per year | 2024 | down 6.9% | rising |
| 8 | New Zealand | 18.6 Days per year | 2024 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 9 | Slovenia | 16.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 19.1% | rising |
| 10 | Switzerland | 16.5 Days per year | 2024 | up 12.2% | falling |
| 11 | Brazil | 15.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 3.6% | rising |
| 12 | Italy | 13.9 Days per year | 2024 | up 6.9% | rising |
| 13 | Norway | 13.4 Days per year | 2024 | up 38.1% | rising |
| 14 | Croatia | 12.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 25.0% | rising |
| 15 | Austria | 11.7 Days per year | 2024 | up 9.3% | rising |
| 16 | France | 10 Days per year | 2024 | up 49.3% | rising |
| 17 | Iceland | 8.8 Days per year | 2024 | down 20.7% | rising |
| 18 | United States | 8.7 Days per year | 2024 | up 16.0% | flat |
| 19 | Luxembourg | 8.5 Days per year | 2024 | up 102.4% | rising |
| 20 | Mexico | 8.2 Days per year | 2024 | up 12.3% | flat |
| 21 | Portugal | 7.6 Days per year | 2024 | down 33.3% | flat |
| 22 | Argentina | 7.5 Days per year | 2024 | down 31.8% | falling |
| 23 | Greece | 6.8 Days per year | 2024 | down 20.0% | rising |
| 24 | Australia | 6.2 Days per year | 2024 | up 24.0% | rising |
| 25 | Spain | 6.1 Days per year | 2024 | up 27.1% | rising |
| 26 | United Kingdom | 5.4 Days per year | 2024 | up 35.0% | rising |
| 27 | Czechia | 5.1 Days per year | 2024 | up 54.5% | rising |
| 28 | Belgium | 5 Days per year | 2024 | up 51.5% | rising |
| 29 | Germany | 4.2 Days per year | 2024 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 30 | Bulgaria | 4.1 Days per year | 2024 | down 55.4% | rising |
| 31 | Romania | 3.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 32.8% | flat |
| 32 | Canada | 3.7 Days per year | 2024 | down 9.8% | rising |
| 32 | Denmark | 3.7 Days per year | 2024 | up 131.2% | rising |
| 34 | South Africa | 3.5 Days per year | 2024 | down 27.1% | flat |
| 34 | Hungary | 3.5 Days per year | 2024 | down 36.4% | rising |
| 36 | Ireland | 3.4 Days per year | 2024 | up 9.7% | rising |
| 37 | Serbia | 3.3 Days per year | 2024 | down 59.8% | rising |
| 38 | Sweden | 3.1 Days per year | 2024 | up 63.2% | rising |
| 39 | Netherlands | 3 Days per year | 2024 | up 57.9% | volatile |
| 39 | Malta | 3 Days per year | 2024 | unchanged | volatile |
| 41 | Lithuania | 2.3 Days per year | 2024 | unchanged | volatile |
| 42 | Poland | 2.1 Days per year | 2024 | down 30.0% | rising |
| 43 | Russia | 1.8 Days per year | 2024 | unchanged | rising |
| 43 | Latvia | 1.8 Days per year | 2024 | down 28.0% | rising |
| 45 | Finland | 1.5 Days per year | 2024 | up 15.4% | rising |
| 46 | Estonia | 1.1 Days per year | 2024 | down 31.2% | flat |
| 47 | Israel | 1 Days per year | 2024 | down 33.3% | falling |
| 48 | Tunisia | 0.7 Days per year | 2024 | down 22.2% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 19.3 Days per year
- China (People's Republic of) 8 Days per year
- Slovak Republic 4.4 Days per year
About this data
<p style="text-align: justify;">This dataset provides indicators on total precipitation and the number of extreme precipitation days, in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions.</p> <p><strong>Data definition and source</strong></p> <p>Precipitation is the sum of all liquid and frozen water - such as rain and snow - that reaches the Earth's surface each year. It excludes fog, dew and any precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground. Extreme precipitation days are defined as days with more than 20 mm of total precipitation. Changes in precipitation and extreme precipitation days are referenced to the 1981-2010 baseline average. The estimates rely on the <a href="https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/ECMWF_ERA5_LAND_DAILY_AGGR">ERA5-Land reanalysis</a> dataset.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">ERA5-Land is used as it provides harmonised, globally consistent coverage at fine spatial resolution (0.1 degree), enabling the production of comparable subnational indicators also where national meteorological data are not available at the required scale. </p> <p style="text-align: justify;">These estimates may differ from official subnational climate statistics due to differences in methodological approaches, such as the use of reanalysis based top down modelling versus in situ observations, along with variations in input data sources, spatial resolution, and the models and algorithms used to generate temperature estimates.</p> <p><strong>Definition of regions</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). For more information, see the OECD Territorial grid <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD_territorial-grid_TL2024.pdf">(pdf)</a> and the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD%20Territorial%20correspondence%20-%20TL2024c.xlsx">(xlsx)</a>. </p> <p><strong>Cite this dataset</strong></p> <p>OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database <a href="http://oe.cd/geostats">http://oe.cd/geostats</a>.</p> <p><strong>Further information</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://localdataportal.oecd.org/">OECD Local Data Portal</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html">OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance</a></li> </ul> <p>For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:RegionStat@oecd.org">RegionStat@oecd.org</a>.</p>