Australia vs United States: Global number of reported disasters by size
Australia
2 events
in 2025
United States
5 events
in 2025
Australia rank
5th
United States rank
2nd
Global number of reported disasters by size over time
- Australia
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 5 events against 2 events in Australia, a difference of 3 events.
That makes United States's figure about 2.5 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 56 shared years of data; in 1944 it was United States ahead.
Australia ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 199 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 9 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 0 events | 0 events | 0 events | — |
| 1950s | 0 events | 0 events | 0 events | — |
| 1960s | 0 events | 0 events | 0 events | — |
| 1970s | 0.125 events | 0.125 events | 0 events | — |
| 1980s | 0 events | 1.12 events | 1.12 events | United States |
| 1990s | 0.4 events | 3.7 events | 3.3 events | United States |
| 2000s | 2 events | 4.6 events | 2.6 events | United States |
| 2010s | 0.4 events | 1.5 events | 1.1 events | United States |
| 2020s | 1.33 events | 2.83 events | 1.5 events | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher global number of reported disasters by size, Australia or United States?
- United States, at 5 events against 2 events in Australia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in global number of reported disasters by size between Australia and United States?
- 3 events, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States?
- 56 years are reported by both, from 1944 to 2025.
- How do Australia and United States rank globally for global number of reported disasters by size?
- Australia ranks 5th and United States ranks 2nd of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Global number of reported disasters by size. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Reported disasters that result in no more than 5 deaths, affect no more than 1,500 people, and cause economic damages not exceeding 13 million current US dollars. The economic threshold for previous years is adjusted for inflation accordingly.