Country profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has catalogued 114 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 75th of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M6.1.
Saudi Arabia ranks 75th of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 5 M4+ events a year alongside 1 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. The M6+ record here is a single event, so one quake sets every figure on this page.
- 114
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 1
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M6.1
- Strongest
- ~5
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Saudi Arabia is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 114 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 1 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.1.
- 1941
- busiest year (1 major events)
- 15 km
- average recorded event depth
- 100%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.4 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Samoa sits immediately above at 117 events and Anguilla sits immediately below at 113.
Catalog event strip
Event tape SAUDI-ARABIA · Saudi Arabia M4+ · 75th/187
Saudi Arabia · 114 M4+ · max M6.1 · 1 M6+
- TAPE 114
- EPIC 75th/187
- YOY M6.1
- BAND 1
- STRIP near Samoa
- BOOK 100% shallow
Stamps derive from this country's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Reading earthquake data → · All country catalog rows → · Countries ranked →
Where Saudi Arabia sits in the catalog
Rank 75th of 187 tracked countries (60th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Samoa sits immediately above at 117 events and Anguilla sits immediately below at 113.
Saudi Arabia's M4+ count vs. every tracked country
Total catalogued M4+ events since 2005, USGS ComCat
114 Top 40% higher than 60% of 187 countries
Each bar is a 500-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) · 2005-present
0 of 114 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.
Magnitude distribution of major events
Breakdown of the 1 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Saudi Arabia.
M6.0-6.9
1
100.0%
Depth of major earthquakes
Hypocentral depth of the 1 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 15 km.
Shallow (<70 km)
1
100.0% of events
Intermediate (70–300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Deep (>300 km)
0
0.0% of events
Strongest earthquakes in Saudi Arabia
The 1 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 39 km ESE of ??mitah, Saudi Arabia | 15.0 km | Jan 11, 1941 |
Significant earthquake record (1 events)
Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Saudi Arabia since 1900, most recent first.
| Mag | Location | Depth | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 39 km ESE of ??mitah, Saudi Arabia | 15.0 km | Jan 11, 1941 |
Other countries in this catalog sample
A Saudi Arabia-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A second Saudi Arabia-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.
Showing 6 of 186 countries with a recorded max magnitude.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.