Number of significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Number of significant volcanic eruptions was 1 events in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea, 1580–2023
Source: National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in events.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 1 events for number of significant volcanic eruptions in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea peaked at 3 events in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 events, in 1580.
That places Papua New Guinea 6th out of 25 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Number of significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | events | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1580 | 1 events | — |
| 1660 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1825 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1850 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1857 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1878 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1888 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1899 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 1914 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 1996 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 2004 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1 events | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2 events | +100.0% |
| 2015 | 1 events | -50.0% |
| 2018 | 3 events | +200.0% |
| 2019 | 3 events | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1 events | -66.7% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 1 events is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1 events, 1.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 1 events is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1 events, 1.0× the median. (8 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1580s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1660s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1820s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1850s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1870s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1880s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1890s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 1910s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1930s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1950s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 1970s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 1990s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 2000s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 2010s | 2.33 events | 1 events | 3 events | 3 |
| 2020s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 3 Italy 2 events compare
- 3 Japan 2 events compare
- 3 Philippines 2 events compare
- 6 Chile 1 events compare
- 6 Colombia 1 events compare
- 6 Comoros 1 events compare
- 6 Costa Rica 1 events compare
- 6 Democratic Republic of Congo 1 events compare
- 6 Ecuador 1 events compare
- 6 Greece 1 events compare
- 6 Guatemala 1 events compare
- 6 Iceland 1 events compare
- 6 Mexico 1 events compare
- 6 New Zealand 1 events compare
- 6 Nicaragua 1 events compare
- 6 Portugal 1 events compare
- 6 Russia 1 events compare
- 6 Solomon Islands 1 events compare
- 6 Spain 1 events compare
- 6 Tanzania 1 events compare
- 6 Tonga 1 events compare
- 6 Vanuatu 1 events compare
More reference data data for Papua New Guinea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2042 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6846 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5295 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2811 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea?
- Number of significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea 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 volcanic eruptions recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 3 events in 2018.
- What is the lowest number of significant volcanic eruptions recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 events in 1580.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for number of significant volcanic eruptions?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 6th out of 25 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of significant volcanic eruptions rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 volcanic eruptions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
A significant eruption is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused fatalities, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or larger, caused a tsunami, or was associated with a major earthquake.