Mapping The World's Major Earthquakes from 1956‒2022

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Mapped: The World’s Major Earthquakes from 1956‒2022

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This map highlights the epicenters of earthquakes on record between 1956 and 2022.

Mapping The World’s Major Earthquakes from 1956‒2022

Major earthquakes have occurred since time immemorial, but their observation and impact have not been evenly distributed around the globe.

On February 6, two earthquakes struck in Türkiye near the Syrian border. Both registered above a 7 on the Richter scale and have a combined death toll rapidly rising past 20,000 people.

And looking at the history of recent and ancient earthquakes, the location of these is no surprise. Using data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), creator PythonMaps mapped earthquake epicenters between 1956 and 2022 that registered a 4.5 or higher on the Richter scale.

Tectonic Plate Movement and Earthquakes

Looking at the map, it’s easy to spot the concentration of earthquakes along the boundaries of Earth’s tectonic plates.

These massive moving slabs of rock fit together almost like puzzle pieces, making up the lithosphere or the upper crust. But as the edges of tectonic plates collide, slide against, and move away from each other, the crust cracks and folds and causes earthquakes.

Most of the earthquakes visualized on this map follow the boundaries of the seven major tectonic plates, along with the Philippine Plate (south of Japan) and the Nazca Plate (west of South America).

Here’s a list of the most earthquake-prone areas on the planet, according to the USGS.

Earthquake ZonesTectonic PlatesLocations
Ring of FirePacific, North American, Philippine, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, NazcaRim of the Pacific Ocean.
Alpide BeltEurasian, African, Arabian, IndianJava to Sumatra, through the Himalayas, west to the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic.
Mid-Atlantic RidgeNorth American, Eurasian, South American, AfricanDeep underwater in the Atlantic, and directly underneath Iceland.

According to academics, the recent earthquakes in Türkiye (part of the Alpide Belt) happened on multiple faults. The Arabian Plate likely moved northwards into the Eurasian Plate, pushing the Anatolian Plate (which Türkiye sits on) westward.

The Worst Earthquakes in History

Though earthquakes are spread around the world, major earthquakes seem even more tightly confined to specific regions.

These major earthquakes register highly on magnitude scales, such as the Richter scale (ML) and the newer and more commonly-used moment magnitude scale (Mw). These scales are logarithmic and ramp up quickly, so for the Richter scale, each whole number increase roughly corresponds to a 31.6-fold increase in energy released.

The map above sees a concentration of these bigger magnitude earthquakes congregating heavily around both sides of the Pacific Ocean. This border is also known colloquially as the “Ring of Fire” for its persistent volcanic activity, also caused by tectonic plate movement.

But the red points representing major earthquakes registering 9+ on the Richter scale are far and few between. Here’s a list of the 20 worst earthquakes in history, based on magnitude.

RankNameMagnitudeLocationDate (Y-M-D)
1Valdivia Earthquake9.5Bio-Bio, Chile1960-05-22
2Good Friday Earthquake9.2Alaska, U.S.1964-03-28
32004 Indian Ocean Earthquake9.1Sumatra, Indonesia2004-12-26
4Tohoku Earthquake9.1Honshu, Japan2011-03-11
51952 Severo-Kurilsk Earthquake9.0Kamchatka, Russia1952-11-04
6Maule Earthquake8.8Bio-Bio, Chile2010-02-27
71906 Ecuador–Colombia Earthquake8.8Ecuador1906-01-31
8Rat Islands Earthquake8.7Alaska, U.S.1965-02-04
9Assam-Tibet Earthquake8.6Assam, Tibet1950-08-15
102012 Indian Ocean Earthquake8.6Sumatra, Indonesia2012-04-11
11Nias Earthquake8.6Sumatra, Indonesia2005-03-28
121957 Andreanof Islands Earthquake8.6Alaska, U.S.1957-03-09
13Unimak Island Earthquake, Alaska8.6Alaska, U.S.1946-04-01
141938 Banda Sea Earthquake8.5Banda Sea1938-02-01
151922 Vallenar Earthquake8.5Chile-Argentina Border1922-11-11
161963 Kuril Islands Earthquake8.5Kuril Islands, Russia1963-10-13
171923 Kamchatka Earthquake8.4Kamchatka, Russia1923-02-03
18September 2007 Sumatra Earthquakes8.4Sumatra, Indonesia2007-09-12
19Peru Earthquake8.4Southern Peru2001-06-23
201933 Sanriku Earthquake8.4Honshu, Japan1933-03-02

Areas near Indonesia, Russia, and Chile — all on tectonic plate boundaries — have seen half of the largest earthquakes recorded in history.

That said, there could have been earlier and larger earthquakes not recorded. Earlier civilizations lacked precise instruments to measure and document them and preserved written observations only, with some of the earliest records dating back nearly three millennia.

Can We Predict Major Earthquakes?

Despite the ability to measure both location and intensity of earthquakes (using a seismograph), scientists still cannot precisely predict exactly where, when, or at what magnitude an earthquake will occur.

However, they can measure the probability of an earthquake occurring, especially around fault zones. A famous example is “the big one” around the Cascadia subduction zone in North America which occurs every 200 to 800 years.

In areas that sit on fault lines between plates, earthquake preparedness can play a big role in mitigating risk.

Interested in tectonic plate shifts? Here’s an animated video which shows one billion years of tectonic plate movement in 40 seconds.
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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Maps

Mapped: Top 100 Countries Hit by Earthquakes in 2024

Countries along tectonic plate boundaries are most often hit by earthquakes. We visualize the top 100 nations that see the most activity.

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Mapped: Top 100 Countries Hit by Earthquakes in 2024

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Ranked first, Mexico saw nearly 2,000 earthquakes (magnitude 4.0+) in 2024.
  • For reference, the U.S. only saw 168 earthquakes in the same time period.
  • Japan saw the strongest earthquake (magnitude 7.5) in 2024.

Most people have a fair idea of how tectonic plates work, and how their movement causes earthquakes.

But how does that impact countries in these seismic zones? We map data from Earthquakeslist.org, which ranks the top 100 countries hit by earthquakes in 2024.

Only earthquakes above a 4.0 magnitude and whose epicenters were within 300 km (186 miles) of the country were counted.

Ranked: Top 100 Countries Hit by Earthquakes in 2024

Mexico saw 1,971 earthquakes (with a magnitude above 4.0) in 2024, the most worldwide.

Ranked second, Indonesia witnessed 1,872 the same year. The strongest earthquake for both countries registered a 6.4 in magnitude.

RankCountry# of Earthquakes (2024)Strongest Magnitude
1🇲🇽 Mexico1,9716.4
2🇮🇩 Indonesia1,8726.4
3🇯🇵 Japan1,5637.5
4🇵🇭 The Philippines9977.1
5🇨🇱 Chile8757.4
6🇬🇹 Guatemala7046.4
7🇹🇼 Taiwan6557.4
8🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea6376.9
9🇵🇪 Peru6245.8
10🇨🇳 China5917.0
11🇦🇷 Argentina3987.4
12🇸🇻 El Salvador3676.2
13🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan3627.0
14🇦🇫 Afghanistan3136.4
15🇹🇴 Tonga3096.9
16🇹🇯 Tajikistan3096.4
17🇷🇺 Russia2927.0
18🇳🇮 Nicaragua2836.2
19🇻🇺 Vanuatu2737.3
20🇭🇳 Honduras2716.2
21🇰🇿 Kazakhstan2687.0
22🇵🇰 Pakistan2526.4
23🇹🇱 Timor-Leste2516.1
24🇨🇷 Costa Rica2416.2
25🇮🇳 India2075.7
26🇹🇷 Türkiye2056.0
27🇬🇷 Greece2055.8
28🇮🇷 Iran1985.4
29🇫🇯 Fiji1965.7
30🇧🇴 Bolivia1905.7
31🇬🇺 Guam1695.5
32🇺🇸 U.S.1687.0
33🇲🇵 Northern
Mariana Islands
1586.3
34🇵🇦 Panama1535.8
35🇺🇿 Uzbekistan1525.2
36🇨🇴 Colombia1375.6
37🇪🇹 Ethiopia1275.4
38🇳🇿 New Zealand1245.8
39🇪🇨 Ecuador1245.5
40🇼🇸 Samoa1125.7
41🇻🇪 Venezuela1056.0
42🇲🇲 Myanmar895.7
43🇵🇷 Puerto Rico735.6
44🇸🇾 Syria676.0
45🇦🇸 American Samoa675.4
46🇸🇧 Solomon Islands645.8
47🇨🇦 Canada635.7
48🇮🇶 Iraq605.4
49🇩🇴 Dominican Republic585.6
50🇧🇩 Bangladesh574.9
51🇦🇱 Albania565.4
52🇮🇹 Italy555.4
53🇦🇿 Azerbaijan544.9
54🇲🇰 North Macedonia485.4
55🇧🇬 Bulgaria445.2
56🇦🇲 Armenia434.9
57🇱🇾 Libya425.3
58🇬🇪 Georgia424.9
59🇧🇷 Brazil406.6
60🇳🇵 Nepal385.0
61🇴🇲 Oman375.0
62🇲🇫 Saint Martin365.0
62🇦🇮 Anguilla365.0
64🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands345.6
65🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia344.9
66🇲🇳 Mongolia335.0
67🇼🇫 Wallis and Futuna325.5
68🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands315.0
69🇨🇽 Christmas Island305.2
70🇦🇪 UAE305.1
71🇧🇱 Saint Barthelemy305.0
72🇹🇿 Tanzania285.0
73🇳🇺 Niue265.6
74🇭🇷 Croatia265.4
75🇹🇲 Turkmenistan264.8
76🇬🇩 Grenada246.0
77🇰🇼 Kuwait244.9
78🇪🇷 Eritrea235.4
79🇨🇾 Cyprus234.9
80🇽🇰 Kosovo225.4
81🇶🇦 Qatar225.1
82🇲🇸 Montserrat225.0
82🇲🇾 Malaysia225.0
82🇰🇳 Saint Kitts
and Nevis
225.0
85🇻🇨 Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines
224.9
86🇹🇹 Trinidad
and Tobago
216.0
87🇧🇹 Bhutan214.5
88🇲🇪 Montenegro205.4
89🇬🇵 Guadeloupe205.0
89🇦🇬 Antigua
and Barbuda
205.0
89🇩🇲 Dominica205.0
92🇭🇹 Haiti195.9
93🇾🇪 Yemen195.4
94🇨🇺 Cuba186.8
95🇱🇦 Laos185.1
95🇻🇳 Vietnam185.1
97🇩🇿 Algeria185.0
97🇸🇯 Svalbard and
Jan Mayen
185.0
99🇷🇴 Romania175.2
100🇧🇦 Bosnia and
Herzegovina
165.4

Note: Rankings determined by stronger magnitude for countries with the same # of earthquakes. For matching magnitudes, rankings are tied.

Japan ranked third (1,563) but one of them was both the strongest and deadliest of the year. The Noto earthquake hit on New Year’s day, causing widespread damage and destruction and triggering a tsunami.

More than 500 people died, and it became Japan’s second-deadliest quake after the one in 2011.

These three countries are usually at the top of the rankings every year. And a quick glance at the map reveals why. All three are near convergent plate boundaries and this causes frequent earthquakes.

On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Africa is a notable blank spot on the map. This is because most of the region sits well-within the African plate, far from its boundaries to the north and west.

However, towards the east, the African plate is splitting, with the minor Somali plate moving away, causing earthquakes for Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Major Earthquakes in 2025

The 2025 Myanmar Earthquake is the deadliest of the year so far (7.7), killing more than 3,000 people.

It occurred along the Sagaing Fault, which is a transform boundary between the Indian plate and the Sunda plate. The epicenter was close to the country’s second-largest city and neighboring China and Thailand also felt the effects.

In terms of pure numbers, Indonesia has seen the most earthquakes so far in 2024, (511), with Mexico just behind (475).

Greece, Turkiye, and China round out the current top five.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Want more insight on the 2024 Noto Earthquake? Creator Preyash visualized the epicenter on a map in their graphic, Tremors of Resilience: Japan, for a bird’s-eye view of the affected regions.

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