Global ranking · USGS ComCat
Countries with the Highest Average Magnitude
Countries ranked by average catalogued earthquake magnitude (minimum 10 events).
- Botswana
- #1
- M4.8
- Avg magnitude
- 50
- ranked countries
The verdict
Botswana leads with M4.8, ahead of Saint Helena (M4.8) and Federated States of Micronesia (M4.8) across 50 ranked countries.
- #2 Saint Helena
- M4.8
- #3 Federated States of Micronesia
- M4.8
- M4.6
- average across the list
- #50 Russia
- M4.5 (the list cutoff)
Magnitude is logarithmic, each whole step up is ~32× more energy released.
Full ranking
Avg magnitude for all 50 ranked countries. Select any entry for its full seismic profile.
Bar length shows each row's value as a share of the #1 entry; hover or tap a bar for its exact share and rank.
| # | Country | Avg magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Botswana | M4.8 |
| 2 | Saint Helena | M4.8 |
| 3 | Federated States of Micronesia | M4.8 |
| 4 | South Korea | M4.8 |
| 5 | Gabon | M4.7 |
| 6 | Comoros | M4.7 |
| 7 | Samoa | M4.7 |
| 8 | New Caledonia | M4.7 |
| 9 | Brazil | M4.7 |
| 10 | French Southern Territories | M4.7 |
| 11 | Micronesia | M4.7 |
| 12 | Malaysia | M4.7 |
| 13 | Panama | M4.7 |
| 14 | Mauritius | M4.7 |
| 15 | Palau | M4.7 |
| 16 | Solomon Islands | M4.6 |
| 17 | Vanuatu | M4.6 |
| 18 | Namibia | M4.6 |
| 19 | Tonga | M4.6 |
| 20 | Madagascar | M4.6 |
| 21 | Rwanda | M4.6 |
| 22 | Ecuador | M4.6 |
| 23 | Uganda | M4.6 |
| 24 | Malawi | M4.6 |
| 25 | North Korea | M4.6 |
| 26 | Papua New Guinea | M4.6 |
| 27 | Philippines | M4.6 |
| 28 | Zimbabwe | M4.6 |
| 29 | Cuba | M4.6 |
| 30 | Barbados | M4.6 |
| 31 | Wallis and Futuna | M4.6 |
| 32 | Mayotte | M4.6 |
| 33 | Kenya | M4.6 |
| 34 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | M4.5 |
| 35 | Mongolia | M4.5 |
| 36 | Guadeloupe | M4.5 |
| 37 | Trinidad and Tobago | M4.5 |
| 38 | Jamaica | M4.5 |
| 39 | Japan | M4.5 |
| 40 | Peru | M4.5 |
| 41 | Taiwan | M4.5 |
| 42 | Yemen | M4.5 |
| 43 | Indonesia | M4.5 |
| 44 | India | M4.5 |
| 45 | Iceland | M4.5 |
| 46 | Costa Rica | M4.5 |
| 47 | Svalbard and Jan Mayen | M4.5 |
| 48 | Portugal | M4.5 |
| 49 | Djibouti | M4.5 |
| 50 | Russia | M4.5 |
Source: USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat).
What this country ranking means
The spread from #1 to #50 spans just 0.3 magnitude - Botswana (M4.8) and Russia (M4.5) are closer than the raw ranking order suggests.
- See Botswana's full earthquake history, magnitude and depth profile, and yearly trend. Open Botswana's page
- Magnitude alone does not capture frequency - see which countries experience the MOST earthquakes, not just the strongest. See the complementary ranking
Figures reflect the USGS ComCat catalog (M4+ since 2005, M6+ significant events since 1900) and depend partly on regional monitoring density - not a real-time hazard assessment.
How to read this ranking
A high average magnitude here does not automatically mean a more dangerous place to be. It can also mean the opposite of what it looks like: a country with sparse seismic monitoring only detects its largest earthquakes, while a well-instrumented country also picks up thousands of small ones that pull its average down. Compare the average against the underlying event count on that country's own profile page before treating rank alone as a risk signal.
This leaderboard requires at least 10 catalogued events specifically so a single outlier earthquake cannot anchor a misleadingly high average. Even so, always check how many events sit behind the number, a rank built on 11 earthquakes carries far more statistical noise than one built on thousands.
Frequently asked questions
Does a high average magnitude mean more danger? ▼
Not necessarily. A high average can simply mean only large events are detected due to sparse monitoring. The metric compares tectonic environments, not absolute risk.
Why the minimum-event filter? ▼
A single large event would give a misleadingly high average. Requiring at least 10 catalogued events makes the figure statistically meaningful.
Other rankings
About this data
These rankings are computed directly from the USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), the public-domain record maintained by the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Count-based leaderboards use the worldwide catalog of magnitude-4.0-and-above events from 2005 onward, the period over which the global seismograph network reliably detects and locates earthquakes everywhere, while magnitude leaderboards use the significant-event series of magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquakes stretching back to 1900. Magnitudes use the moment-magnitude scale (Mw), the modern standard that supersedes the older Richter scale; because the scale is logarithmic, each whole step up represents roughly thirty-two times more energy released. Remember that raw counts partly measure monitoring density, not only underlying seismicity, and that one historic outlier can anchor a high maximum magnitude, read each leaderboard alongside population exposure and building stock before drawing conclusions about real-world risk.
Source: USGS ComCat, verify with USGS → · See our methodology for the full pipeline.
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 315,341 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,428 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 2026-07-19.