Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters by country

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.

Countries reporting
78
Highest
18.75 million people
Indonesia
Lowest
0 people
Panama
Median
373,087 people
Years covered
126
1900–2025
Data points
1,202

What the numbers show

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters is currently reported for 78 countries. The highest value is 18.75 million people in Indonesia; the lowest is 0 people in Panama.

The median across all reporting countries is 373,087 people, and the mean is 1.85 million people.

Over the past decade 32 countries rose and 16 fell. The largest increase was in Cameroon (up 19,809.4%), and the largest decrease in Thailand (down 100.0%).

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Indonesia 18.75 million people 2023 volatile
2 Syria 16.20 million people 2025 up 3,641.9% volatile
3 South Africa 12.00 million people 2021 up 974.0% volatile
4 Sudan 11.84 million people 2022 up 270.0% volatile
5 Zimbabwe 7.60 million people 2024 up 622.5% volatile
6 Somalia 5.60 million people 2025 up 232.5% volatile
7 Ghana 5.56 million people 1985 volatile
8 India 4.90 million people 2019 volatile
9 Pakistan 4.68 million people 2019 volatile
10 Niger 4.40 million people 2022 up 192.9% volatile
11 South Sudan 3.69 million people 2022 up 71.7% rising
12 Burkina Faso 3.50 million people 2022 up 33.2% volatile
13 Malawi 3.48 million people 2025 up 364.5% rising
14 Ethiopia 3.35 million people 2023 up 143.7% volatile
15 Papua New Guinea 2.52 million people 2015 volatile
16 Mexico 2.50 million people 2011 up 6,320.6% volatile
16 Cambodia 2.50 million people 2016 up 316.7% volatile
18 Cameroon 2.39 million people 2022 up 19,809.4% volatile
19 Chad 2.14 million people 2022 up 70.3% volatile
20 Mozambique 2.06 million people 2024 down 3.0% volatile
21 Iran 1.96 million people 2022 volatile
22 Afghanistan 1.89 million people 2023 up 7.7% volatile
23 Tanzania 1.80 million people 2022 up 155.1% volatile
24 Angola 1.77 million people 2025 up 191.3% volatile
25 Iraq 1.75 million people 2023 volatile
26 Mali 1.74 million people 2022 down 0.9% volatile
27 Eritrea 1.70 million people 2008 up 1,147.7% volatile
28 Zambia 1.47 million people 2025 up 105.5% volatile
29 Nepal 1.20 million people 2025 volatile
29 Madagascar 1.20 million people 2025 up 12,102.6% volatile
31 Kenya 1.07 million people 2025 up 129.6% volatile
32 Namibia 990,287 people 2025 up 113.3% volatile
33 Bolivia 875,822 people 2024 up 1,611.3% volatile
34 Benin 701,278 people 1985 up 2,340.8% volatile
35 Uganda 518,000 people 2022 down 22.6% volatile
36 Mauritania 512,159 people 2022 up 41.5% volatile
37 Haiti 499,765 people 2017 up 2,631.0% volatile
38 Guatemala 444,079 people 2019 down 82.2% volatile
39 Uruguay 410,410 people 2023 up 2,684.1% volatile
40 Lesotho 335,764 people 2025 down 48.3% volatile
41 Vietnam 266,000 people 2024 up 123.6% volatile
42 Eswatini 232,000 people 2019 down 43.4% volatile
43 Rwanda 207,134 people 2007 up 174.1% volatile
44 Djibouti 192,168 people 2022 up 23.6% volatile
45 El Salvador 114,457 people 2019 volatile
46 Morocco 106,509 people 2001 volatile
47 Cuba 100,000 people 2015 volatile
48 Nicaragua 88,816 people 2019 down 73.2% volatile
49 Senegal 85,428 people 2021 up 147.0% volatile
50 Sri Lanka 82,830 people 2020 down 95.4% volatile
51 Gambia 63,100 people 2015 volatile
52 Cape Verde 46,093 people 2022 down 34.2% volatile
53 Guinea-Bissau 32,000 people 2006 volatile
54 Botswana 18,399 people 2024 volatile
55 Philippines 16,000 people 2019 volatile
56 Marshall Islands 13,924 people 2024 up 118.1% rising
57 Argentina 11,700 people 2021 volatile
58 Honduras 10,300 people 2023 down 91.8% volatile
59 Spain 3,671 people 2024 volatile
60 Ecuador 3,165 people 2013 volatile
61 Thailand 0 people 2020 down 100.0% volatile
61 Anguilla 0 people 1923 flat
61 Brazil 0 people 2025 down 100.0% volatile
61 Bangladesh 0 people 2009 volatile
61 United States 0 people 2025 flat
61 Laos 0 people 2019 volatile
61 Burundi 0 people 2011 down 100.0% volatile
61 Australia 0 people 2018 volatile
61 Canada 0 people 1988 volatile
61 Chile 0 people 1991 volatile
61 China 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
61 Italy 0 people 2024 flat
61 Costa Rica 0 people 2019 flat
61 Hong Kong 0 people 1983 flat
61 Paraguay 0 people 2016 down 100.0% volatile
61 Portugal 0 people 2023 flat
61 Peru 0 people 2006 down 100.0% volatile
61 Panama 0 people 2019 volatile

About this data

Indicator
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters
Unit
people
Source
EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
78 places, 1,202 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.