Country with the most earthquakes (current)

Based on the most recent annual data, the most earthquake-prone country is Indonesia, which experienced 2,212 earthquake events (magnitude 4 or above) in 2023. This placed it above Mexico (with 1,834 earthquakes) and the Philippines (1,386) in that same year.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which tracks global seismic activity, Indonesia also experienced the greatest number of major quakes in eight out of the 10 years from 2014 to 2023, peaking in 2019 when it experienced 2,907 significant events, the most powerful of which registered a magnitude of 7.2.

However, in terms of the most catastrophic earthquakes, China ranks above Indonesia according to a survey by the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Between 1990 and 2024, China experienced 186 earthquakes “with at least $1m in damages, 10 deaths, a magnitude of 7.5 or a tsunami”. During the same period, Indonesia registered 166 such quakes.

Historically, Indonesia has borne witness to some of the superlative seismic events in modern history, including the largest volcanic eruption by volume on record: Tambora, on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, which ejected some 150–180 km3 (36–43 cubic miles) of material on 5–10 April 1815.

Both Indonesia and China are affected by Earth’s most seismically active region, the “Ring of Fire”. This 40,000-km-long (24,850-mile) belt surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean and seismic activity here affects a number of countries, including many in South America, along with the USA and Canada, Japan, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Around 90% of all earthquakes take place in this zone and some 75% of all volcanic eruptions; indeed, most of Earth’s active volcanoes are located within the region.

Along much of this stretch, Earth’s tectonic plates meet. When they slide past each other, the action increases and releases tension in the Earth’s crust, giving rise to earthquakes of varying strengths. Most of the world’s volcanoes are also located within the Ring of Fire. When tectonic plates overlap at boundaries known as “subduction zones”, one plate is pushed down by the other and its rock melts to form magma, creating prime conditions for seismic and volcanic activity.