Number of Earthquakes Annually
Earthquake Facts and Statistics
We're transitioning to a new system, so this webpage is being phased out and is no longer maintained as of 11/27/12. To generate statistics for past earthquakes, please use the Online Earthquake Catalog.
The lists and statistics on this webpage have not been updated since December 2012. Many of these will be updated and available when we have completed the transition into the new earthquake database. We hope to provide this sometime in 2015.
Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes
Magnitude vs. Ground Motion and Energy
This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake?
¹ Based on observations since 1900.
These numbers have been recently updated, based on data from the Centennial catalog (from 1900 to 1999) and the PDE (since 2000).
² Based on observations since 1990.
The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant.