Number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan
Taiwan: Number of significant earthquakes was 1 events in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
1 events
Change on year
down 50.0%
World rank
21st
of 97 countries
All-time high
4 events
in 1935
All-time low
1 events
in 1661
Years of data
69
1661–2024
Number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan, 1661–2024
Source: National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in events.
Analysis
In 2024, number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan stood at 1 events. That is the lowest value across all 69 years on record.
The figure is down 50.0% on the previous year and down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan peaked at 4 events in 1935 and was at its lowest, 1 events, in 1661.
Taiwan ranks 21st of 97 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan, year by year
| Year | events | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1661 | 1 events | — |
| 1694 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1720 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1721 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1736 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1776 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1782 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1792 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1811 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1815 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1839 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1845 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1848 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1862 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1867 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1881 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1882 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1884 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1897 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1906 | 2 events | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 2 events | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1916 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1917 | 3 events | +50.0% |
| 1920 | 1 events | -66.7% |
| 1922 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1934 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1935 | 4 events | +300.0% |
| 1936 | 1 events | -75.0% |
| 1937 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1957 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1959 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1963 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1964 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 4 events | +300.0% |
| 1978 | 2 events | -50.0% |
| 1986 | 2 events | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1990 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1994 | 3 events | +50.0% |
| 1996 | 1 events | -66.7% |
| 1998 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1999 | 3 events | +50.0% |
| 2000 | 2 events | -33.3% |
| 2001 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 2002 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 2006 | 3 events | +50.0% |
| 2009 | 1 events | -66.7% |
| 2010 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 2015 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 2016 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 2022 | 2 events | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1 events | -50.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | +300.0% | 1 events | 4 events |
| 1972 | +300.0% | 1 events | 4 events |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1660s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1690s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1720s | 1.5 events | 1 events | 2 events | 2 |
| 1730s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1770s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1780s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1790s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1810s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1830s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1840s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1860s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1880s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 1890s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1900s | 1.75 events | 1 events | 2 events | 4 |
| 1910s | 2 events | 1 events | 3 events | 3 |
| 1920s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 1930s | 1.67 events | 1 events | 4 events | 6 |
| 1940s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1950s | 1.67 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 1960s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 4 |
| 1970s | 3 events | 2 events | 4 events | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.5 events | 1 events | 2 events | 2 |
| 1990s | 2.2 events | 1 events | 3 events | 5 |
| 2000s | 1.57 events | 1 events | 3 events | 7 |
| 2010s | 1.29 events | 1 events | 2 events | 7 |
| 2020s | 1.5 events | 1 events | 2 events | 2 |
Countries ranked near Taiwan
- 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 Ecuador 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 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 Taiwan
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 2,323 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 111.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 46.04 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.84 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0594 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 360.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 2,013 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan?
- Number of significant earthquakes in Taiwan was 1 events in 2024, 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 Taiwan?
- The highest recorded value was 4 events in 1935.
- What is the lowest number of significant earthquakes recorded in Taiwan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 events in 1661.
- How does Taiwan rank for number of significant earthquakes?
- Taiwan ranks 21st out of 97 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of significant earthquakes rising or falling in Taiwan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Taiwan 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 — 69 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.