Are high-income countries vulnerable to drought?

Drought is a hazard that impacts millions of people globally each year and that can have significant impacts on societies, economies, and ecosystems.

Limited research has been focused on drought vulnerability in high-income countries partly because many are located in traditionally water-rich regions. However, recent droughts in 2022 and 2023 demonstrate that these countries can also be adversely impacted.

This paper reviews current research on drought vulnerability in high-income countries with the aim of assessing the state-of-the-art and identifying research gaps.

A systematic literature search identified 144 records, of which 71 studies were retained for full-text review.

Of these, 33 had a global scope, 31 focused on Europe or European subregions, and only 6 focused on North America. Oceania and Asia were only represented in global studies.

The literature was strongly sectoral, with agriculture being the most studied sector (17 studies), followed by trees/forestry (12 studies), while only a small number of studies assessed vulnerability across multiple sectors.

A main finding of the review is that there are substantial differences in drought vulnerability within countries, which are not necessarily related to physical water scarcity, but to differences social, economic, and local and/or regional governance and policies.

The findings also highlight the fact that there is no standardized concept for drought vulnerability, making assessments challenging to compare.

In addition, the review highlights the lack of cross-sectoral drought vulnerability studies and a limited understanding of cascading impacts and gives recommendations for further research to aid a more comprehensive understanding of the impacts of drought.

Engström, J., Ash, K., Mariotti, E., & Mao, L. (2026). Are high-income countries vulnerable to drought? A review. Environmental Research Letters 21, 138001.

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