Top 10 Countries by Earthquake Count (2005–present)
Indonesia leads M4+ country counts (37,915); Japan 27,995. USGS ComCat 2005–2026, 317,293 events.
Research period: · Catalog window: 2005–2026 (2026 partial)
Research Question
Which 10 countries have the highest total M4+ earthquake counts across 2005–2026, led by Indonesia with 37,915 events, and how do their average magnitudes compare?
Methodology
Country-level totals, significant-event counts (M6+), average magnitude, and maximum magnitude are aggregated directly from the USGS ComCat catalog for the 2005–2026 M4+ window, ranked by total count, and limited to the top 10. Figures on this page are read from the live PlainQuake SQLite snapshot at request time so they cannot drift from the rankings table.
Top countries by M4+ catalog count
Highest cumulative earthquake counts in USGS ComCat (2005–2026)
Findings
37,915 earthquakes in Indonesia
Indonesia recorded 37,915 M4+ earthquakes across 2005–2026, more than any other country in this catalog, with an average magnitude of 4.52 and a strongest recorded event of M8.6. USGS ComCat via PlainQuake live snapshot Of those, 326 were classified as significant (M6+). See the Indonesia earthquake profile for the full event history. Japan is second with 27,995 events.
Live top 10
The table below is the source of truth for this page, every count is the current PlainQuake aggregate of USGS ComCat, not a frozen editorial draft. Together these ten countries account for about 52.6% of the 317,293 global M4+ events in the 2005–2026 window.
Top 10 countries (live catalog)
| # | Country | Total M4+ | Significant M6+ | Avg M | Max M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia | 37,915 | 326 | 4.52 | 8.6 |
| 2 | Japan | 27,995 | 275 | 4.53 | 9.1 |
| 3 | United States | 17,353 | 168 | 4.46 | 8.2 |
| 4 | Papua New Guinea | 15,714 | 213 | 4.57 | 7.9 |
| 5 | Philippines | 14,420 | 135 | 4.57 | 7.8 |
| 6 | Chile | 13,888 | 161 | 4.48 | 8.8 |
| 7 | Russia | 12,611 | 126 | 4.51 | 8.8 |
| 8 | Tonga | 10,884 | 116 | 4.62 | 7.6 |
| 9 | Mexico | 8,517 | 74 | 4.34 | 8.2 |
| 10 | Vanuatu | 7,620 | 148 | 4.63 | 7.8 |
Source: USGS ComCat · window 2005–2026 · 2026 still open.
Significant (M6+) counts for the same leaders
Same countries, same catalog, significant-event column only
What this analysis cannot tell us
This data cannot account for underreported earthquakes in remote areas due to limited seismic monitoring; it aggregates global events without considering local geological variations or population impacts; counts may bias towards more recent years with better instrumentation; the catalog excludes earthquakes below magnitude 4.0; aggregation at country level obscures intra-country regional differences; methodology relies on USGS ComCat accuracy which varies by region; the open calendar year (2026) is partial until it closes.
Related: Most earthquakes by country ranking · Methodology · Yearly statistics