Number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador
Ecuador: Number of significant earthquakes was 1 events in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1 events
Change on year
down 50.0%
World rank
21st
of 97 countries
All-time high
3 events
in 1906
All-time low
1 events
in 1556
Years of data
58
1556–2023
Number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador, 1556–2023
Source: National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in events.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador is 1 events, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 58 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 50.0% on the previous year and unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador peaked at 3 events in 1906 and was at its lowest, 1 events, in 1556.
Ecuador ranks 21st of 97 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.
Number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | events | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1556 | 1 events | — |
| 1575 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1587 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1590 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1627 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1640 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1641 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1645 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1660 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1662 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1674 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1687 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1689 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1698 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1736 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1755 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1757 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1797 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1808 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1859 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1868 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1901 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1904 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 3 events | +200.0% |
| 1913 | 1 events | -66.7% |
| 1914 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1989 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1990 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 2007 | 2 events | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 2010 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3 events | +200.0% |
| 2018 | 1 events | -66.7% |
| 2019 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 2023 | 1 events | -50.0% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 1 events is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1 events, 1.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 1 events is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1 events, 1.0× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1550s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1570s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1580s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1590s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1620s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1640s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 1660s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1670s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1680s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1690s | 2 events | 2 events | 2 events | 1 |
| 1730s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1750s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1790s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1800s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1850s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1860s | 2 events | 2 events | 2 events | 1 |
| 1900s | 1.67 events | 1 events | 3 events | 3 |
| 1910s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1920s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 1930s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1940s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 4 |
| 1950s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1960s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1970s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 1990s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 4 |
| 2000s | 1.67 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 2010s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 3 events | 6 |
| 2020s | 1.5 events | 1 events | 2 events | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
- 21 Albania 1 events compare
- 21 Algeria 1 events compare
- 21 Antarctica 1 events compare
- 21 Argentina 1 events compare
- 21 Armenia 1 events compare
- 21 Australia 1 events compare
- 21 Austria 1 events compare
- 21 Azerbaijan 1 events compare
- 21 Bangladesh 1 events compare
- 21 Bolivia 1 events compare
- 21 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 events compare
- 21 Brazil 1 events compare
- 21 Bulgaria 1 events compare
- 21 Canada 1 events compare
- 21 Chile 1 events compare
- 21 China 1 events compare
- 21 Colombia 1 events compare
- 21 Congo 1 events compare
- 21 Costa Rica 1 events compare
- 21 Cuba 1 events compare
- 21 Egypt 1 events compare
- 21 El Salvador 1 events compare
- 21 Eritrea 1 events compare
- 21 Ethiopia 1 events compare
- 21 France 1 events compare
- 21 Georgia 1 events compare
- 21 Germany 1 events compare
- 21 Ghana 1 events compare
- 21 Guadeloupe 1 events compare
- 21 Guatemala 1 events compare
- 21 Haiti 1 events compare
- 21 Honduras 1 events compare
- 21 Iceland 1 events compare
- 21 Iraq 1 events compare
- 21 Israel 1 events compare
- 21 Jamaica 1 events compare
- 21 Kazakhstan 1 events compare
- 21 Kyrgyzstan 1 events compare
- 21 Lebanon 1 events compare
- 21 Martinique 1 events compare
- 21 Mongolia 1 events compare
- 21 Montenegro 1 events compare
- 21 Morocco 1 events compare
- 21 Myanmar 1 events compare
- 21 Nepal 1 events compare
- 21 North Korea 1 events compare
- 21 North Macedonia 1 events compare
- 21 Pakistan 1 events compare
- 21 Panama 1 events compare
- 21 Papua New Guinea 1 events compare
- 21 Poland 1 events compare
- 21 Portugal 1 events compare
- 21 Romania 1 events compare
- 21 Russia 1 events compare
- 21 Rwanda 1 events compare
- 21 Samoa 1 events compare
- 21 Serbia 1 events compare
- 21 Slovenia 1 events compare
- 21 Solomon Islands 1 events compare
- 21 South Africa 1 events compare
- 21 South Korea 1 events compare
- 21 Spain 1 events compare
- 21 Switzerland 1 events compare
- 21 Syria 1 events compare
- 21 Taiwan 1 events compare
- 21 Tajikistan 1 events compare
- 21 Tanzania 1 events compare
- 21 Tonga 1 events compare
- 21 Tunisia 1 events compare
- 21 Turkmenistan 1 events compare
- 21 United Kingdom 1 events compare
- 21 United States 1 events compare
- 21 Uzbekistan 1 events compare
- 21 Vanuatu 1 events compare
- 21 Vietnam 1 events compare
- 21 Yemen 1 events compare
More reference data data for Ecuador
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9379 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1826 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.9943 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador?
- Number of significant earthquakes in Ecuador was 1 events in 2023, according to National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of significant earthquakes recorded in Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 3 events in 1906.
- What is the lowest number of significant earthquakes recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 events in 1556.
- How does Ecuador rank for number of significant earthquakes?
- Ecuador ranks 21st out of 97 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of significant earthquakes rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ecuador data come from?
- The figures come from National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of significant earthquakes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 58 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
A significant earthquake meets at least one of the following: caused deaths, moderate damage ($1 million or more), a magnitude 7.5 or greater, Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) X or greater, or generated a tsunami. Due to data availability, recent data will be more complete than older historical estimates.