From 1980 to 2025, the world recorded an average of 14.2 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher per year, according to our count of the US Geological Survey catalogue. That is 651 such earthquakes in 46 years.
We queried the USGS earthquake catalogue year by year and counted earthquakes at three thresholds: magnitude 5, 6 and 7 and above. The decade averages below are our own calculation from those counts.
The three headline findings
- Major earthquakes show no steady rise. Magnitude 7+ earthquakes averaged 15.4 a year in the 1990s, 14.3 in the 2000s, 16.0 in the 2010s and 14.0 from 2020 to 2025.
- 2010 had the most magnitude 7+ earthquakes, 24. 1980 had the fewest, 6, followed by 2017 with 7.
- Recorded magnitude 5+ earthquakes rose, from an average of 1,580 a year in the 1980s to 1,841 in the 2010s. The peak year was 2011, with 2,701.
Average earthquakes per year, by decade
| Period | M5+ per year | M6+ per year | M7+ per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 to 1989 | 1,580 | 126 | 11.0 |
| 1990 to 1999 | 1,463 | 153 | 15.4 |
| 2000 to 2009 | 1,723 | 159 | 14.3 |
| 2010 to 2019 | 1,841 | 149 | 16.0 |
| 2020 to 2025 | 1,803 | 133 | 14.0 |
| All 46 years | 1,672 | 145 | 14.2 |
Every year since 1980
| Year | M5+ | M6+ | M7+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1,403 | 95 | 6 |
| 1981 | 1,259 | 83 | 10 |
| 1982 | 1,488 | 87 | 8 |
| 1983 | 1,787 | 136 | 14 |
| 1984 | 1,652 | 133 | 14 |
| 1985 | 1,790 | 160 | 15 |
| 1986 | 1,756 | 138 | 11 |
| 1987 | 1,546 | 166 | 13 |
| 1988 | 1,574 | 122 | 11 |
| 1989 | 1,545 | 137 | 8 |
| 1990 | 1,757 | 153 | 18 |
| 1991 | 1,578 | 137 | 17 |
| 1992 | 1,669 | 178 | 13 |
| 1993 | 1,565 | 148 | 12 |
| 1994 | 1,689 | 158 | 13 |
| 1995 | 1,495 | 200 | 20 |
| 1996 | 1,370 | 164 | 15 |
| 1997 | 1,235 | 136 | 16 |
| 1998 | 1,077 | 121 | 12 |
| 1999 | 1,192 | 135 | 18 |
| 2000 | 1,494 | 160 | 15 |
| 2001 | 1,349 | 137 | 15 |
| 2002 | 1,309 | 139 | 13 |
| 2003 | 1,366 | 154 | 15 |
| 2004 | 1,670 | 157 | 16 |
| 2005 | 1,844 | 150 | 11 |
| 2006 | 1,879 | 153 | 11 |
| 2007 | 2,286 | 196 | 18 |
| 2008 | 1,965 | 179 | 12 |
| 2009 | 2,072 | 160 | 17 |
| 2010 | 2,397 | 174 | 24 |
| 2011 | 2,701 | 207 | 20 |
| 2012 | 1,698 | 133 | 16 |
| 2013 | 1,610 | 142 | 19 |
| 2014 | 1,749 | 155 | 12 |
| 2015 | 1,571 | 146 | 19 |
| 2016 | 1,706 | 147 | 16 |
| 2017 | 1,566 | 110 | 7 |
| 2018 | 1,768 | 134 | 17 |
| 2019 | 1,645 | 145 | 10 |
| 2020 | 1,450 | 121 | 9 |
| 2021 | 2,227 | 157 | 19 |
| 2022 | 1,725 | 127 | 11 |
| 2023 | 1,780 | 147 | 19 |
| 2024 | 1,507 | 99 | 10 |
| 2025 | 2,129 | 145 | 16 |
What the trend does and does not show
The rise in magnitude 5+ counts should not be read as the Earth becoming more active. Seismic networks have grown and improved since 1980, so more moderate earthquakes are detected and catalogued today. The strongest earthquakes have been reliably recorded for much longer, which makes the magnitude 7+ series the better guide to any real change.
That series moves up and down from year to year, between 6 and 24, without a clear direction. 2011 stands out for magnitude 5+ and 6+ counts, with 2,701 and 207. That was the year of the great Tohoku earthquake off Japan. We did not separate aftershocks from other earthquakes, so aftershock sequences are included in every year’s count.
How we got these numbers
- Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog (FDSN Event Web Service), endpoint
/fdsnws/event/1/count?starttime=YYYY-01-01&endtime=(YYYY+1)-01-01&minmagnitude=5, 6 or 7&eventtype=earthquake. - Scope: worldwide, calendar years 1980 to 2025 (UTC), events of type earthquake only, at or above each magnitude. That is 138 queries in total.
- Retrieved: 31 October 2026. USGS revises its catalogue as magnitudes are reviewed, so counts fetched on another day can differ slightly.
- Limitations: detection improved over time, especially for smaller events. Different magnitude types are mixed in the catalogue. Aftershocks are not removed. The decade averages are simple means of the yearly counts.