How Many Earthquakes Happen Every Day? A Counter, Explained
The USGS National Earthquake Information Center locates about 20,000 earthquakes around the globe each year, which comes to approximately 55 a day. Most of them are too small for anyone to feel, and on average fewer than five a day reach magnitude 5.
| Magnitude | Count | How often |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 and up | 0.00 | about one every 297.6 days |
| 7.0 to 7.9 | 0.04 | about one every 26.5 days |
| 6.0 to 6.9 | 0.38 | about one every 2.7 days |
| 5.0 to 5.9 | 4.4 | about 4.4 a day |
Bar length on a log scale
Magnitude 5 and up, 4.8 a day
All sizes located by the USGS, about 20,000 a year, roughly 55 a day (USGS FAQ).
Counts from the USGS, Lists, Maps, and Statistics, table 'Worldwide Earthquakes 2000-2021'.
The counter above splits that total by size. Pick a single year from 2000 to 2021, or the 22-year average, then choose a window (per day, per week or per year) and each magnitude band shows how many earthquakes the USGS table lists for it, with a plain-language rate such as "about one every 2.7 days". Every figure comes from the USGS worldwide counts. For the events of the last 24 hours, open the live list of today's earthquakes on Live Atlas.
Which Sizes Make Up the Daily Count?
Small ones, overwhelmingly. Averaged over 2000 to 2021, the USGS table puts about 1,613 earthquakes a year in the magnitude 5 to 5.9 band, or 4.4 a day. The 6 to 6.9 band drops to about 137 a year, roughly one every 2.7 days, and the magnitude 7 to 7.9 band holds near 14 a year rather than the hundreds below it. Quakes of 8.0 or more average just over one a year. All the magnitude 5 and larger events together make up fewer than one in ten of the roughly 20,000 that the USGS locates.
Why Do Some Years Have More Large Earthquakes?
Earthquakes do not arrive on a timetable, and the count of large ones swings from year to year. In the 7 to 7.9 band the USGS table shows 6 events in 2017 and 23 in 2010, and the 8.0-plus row reads 0 in four separate years (2002, 2008, 2016 and 2020) against 4 in 2007. The USGS calls such swings part of the normal fluctuation of earthquake rates. Over the long run since about 1900, the agency expects about 16 major earthquakes in any given year, 15 of them in the magnitude 7 range and one of 8.0 or greater, and the 2000 to 2021 table averages exactly 15.0 at magnitude 7 and up.
Are Earthquakes Becoming More Frequent?
The record grows, and the USGS explains why. More seismic instruments around the world can record more earthquakes, especially small ones, and news of each event now travels faster than it used to. Neither a busy month nor a quiet one signals that a large earthquake is close, according to the same USGS answer.
Questions About Daily Earthquake Counts
How Many Earthquakes Happen in a Year?
About 20,000 are located by the USGS each year. Roughly 1,766 of them, averaged over 2000 to 2021, reach magnitude 5 or more.
Why Is a Quake I Felt Missing From the List?
Coverage depends on size and place. Outside the United States, the USGS mainly reports earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 and up, so a smaller local tremor often appears only in the catalog of the national seismic network. The Live Atlas list starts at magnitude 2.5.
Sources
- USGS FAQ, answer on rising earthquake counts (yearly and daily totals, long-term averages)
- USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, Lists, Maps, and Statistics (table "Worldwide Earthquakes 2000-2021")
- Live Atlas, earthquakes today (linked above)