Significant earthquakes in Australia
Australia: Significant earthquakes was 1 in 2021. ▬ Flat
Latest (2021)
1
World rank
21st
of 97 countries
All-time high
2
in 1924
All-time low
1
in 1859
Years of data
23
1859–2021
Significant earthquakes in Australia, 1859–2021
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2021, significant earthquakes in Australia stood at 1. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, significant earthquakes in Australia peaked at 2 in 1924 and was at its lowest, 1, in 1859.
Australia ranks 21st of 97 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Significant earthquakes in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 | — |
| 1897 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1899 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1926 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 1943 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 2 | +100.0% |
| 1989 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1 | -50.0% |
| 2000 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1 | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 1 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Australia's 1 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1890s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1920s | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1940s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 1980s | 1.67 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 21 Albania 1 compare
- 21 Algeria 1 compare
- 21 Antarctica 1 compare
- 21 Argentina 1 compare
- 21 Armenia 1 compare
- 21 Austria 1 compare
- 21 Azerbaijan 1 compare
- 21 Bangladesh 1 compare
- 21 Bolivia 1 compare
- 21 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 compare
- 21 Brazil 1 compare
- 21 Bulgaria 1 compare
- 21 Canada 1 compare
- 21 Chile 1 compare
- 21 China 1 compare
- 21 Colombia 1 compare
- 21 Congo 1 compare
- 21 Costa Rica 1 compare
- 21 Cuba 1 compare
- 21 Ecuador 1 compare
- 21 Egypt 1 compare
- 21 El Salvador 1 compare
- 21 Eritrea 1 compare
- 21 Ethiopia 1 compare
- 21 France 1 compare
- 21 Georgia 1 compare
- 21 Germany 1 compare
- 21 Ghana 1 compare
- 21 Guadeloupe 1 compare
- 21 Guatemala 1 compare
- 21 Haiti 1 compare
- 21 Honduras 1 compare
- 21 Iceland 1 compare
- 21 Iraq 1 compare
- 21 Israel 1 compare
- 21 Jamaica 1 compare
- 21 Kazakhstan 1 compare
- 21 Kyrgyzstan 1 compare
- 21 Lebanon 1 compare
- 21 Martinique 1 compare
- 21 Mongolia 1 compare
- 21 Montenegro 1 compare
- 21 Morocco 1 compare
- 21 Myanmar 1 compare
- 21 Nepal 1 compare
- 21 North Korea 1
- 21 North Macedonia 1 compare
- 21 Pakistan 1 compare
- 21 Panama 1 compare
- 21 Papua New Guinea 1 compare
- 21 Poland 1 compare
- 21 Portugal 1 compare
- 21 Romania 1 compare
- 21 Russia 1 compare
- 21 Rwanda 1 compare
- 21 Samoa 1 compare
- 21 Serbia 1 compare
- 21 Slovenia 1 compare
- 21 Solomon Islands 1 compare
- 21 South Africa 1 compare
- 21 South Korea 1 compare
- 21 Spain 1 compare
- 21 Switzerland 1 compare
- 21 Syria 1 compare
- 21 Taiwan 1 compare
- 21 Tajikistan 1 compare
- 21 Tanzania 1 compare
- 21 Tonga 1 compare
- 21 Tunisia 1 compare
- 21 Turkmenistan 1 compare
- 21 United Kingdom 1 compare
- 21 United States 1 compare
- 21 Uzbekistan 1 compare
- 21 Vanuatu 1 compare
- 21 Vietnam 1 compare
- 21 Yemen 1 compare
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is significant earthquakes in Australia?
- Significant earthquakes in Australia was 1 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest significant earthquakes recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1924.
- What is the lowest significant earthquakes recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 in 1859.
- How does Australia rank for significant earthquakes?
- Australia ranks 21st out of 97 countries with data for 2021.
- Is significant earthquakes rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Significant earthquakes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).