Earthquake Facts and Statistics

Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes

Magnitude	Average Annually
8 and higher	1 ¹
7 - 7.9	15 ¹
6 - 6.9	134 ²
5 - 5.9	1319 ²
4 - 4.9	13,000 (estimated)
3 - 3.9	130,000 (estimated)
2 - 2.9	1,300,000 (estimated)

¹ Based on observations since 1900.
These numbers have been recently updated, based on data from the Centennial catalog (from 1900 to 1999) and the PDE (since 2000).
² Based on observations since 1990.

Magnitude vs. Ground Motion and Energy

Magnitude Change	Ground Motion Change (Displacement)	Energy Change
1.0	10.0 times	about 32 times
0.5	3.2 times	about 5.5 times
0.3	2.0 times	about 3 times
0.1	1.3 times	about 1.4 times

This table shows that a magnitude 7.2 earthquake produces 10 times more ground motion than a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, but it releases about 32 times more energy. The energy release best indicates the destructive power of an earthquake. See: How much bigger is a magnitude 8.7 earthquake than a magnitude 5.8 earthquake?

The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant. See: Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?

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Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2012
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
(M4.5+ for most of the world; doesn't include US regional network contributions)

Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
8.0 to 9.9	1	1	0	1	2	1	2	4	0	1	1	1	2
7.0 to 7.9	14	15	13	14	14	10	9	14	12	16	23	19	5
6.0 to 6.9	146	121	127	140	141	140	142	178	168	144	151	185	52
5.0 to 5.9	1344	1224	1201	1203	1515	1693	1712	2074	1768	1896	2104	2276	689
4.0 to 4.9	8008	7991	8541	8462	10888	13917	12838	12078	12291	6805	10267	13315	3987
3.0 to 3.9	4827	6266	7068	7624	7932	9191	9990	9889	11735	2905	4329	2791	706
2.0 to 2.9	3765	4164	6419	7727	6316	4636	4027	3597	3860	3014	4624	3643	980
1.0 to 1.9	1026	944	1137	2506	1344	26	18	42	21	26	39	47	19
0.1 to 0.9	5	1	10	134	103	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	0
No Magnitude	3120	2807	2938	3608	2939	864	828	1807	1922	17	24	11	7
Total	22256	23534	27454	31419	31194	30478	29568	29685	31777	* 14825	* 21562	* 22289	* 6447
Estimated Deaths	231	21357	1685	33819	228802	88003	6605	712	88011	1790	320120	21953	131

Starting in January 2009, the USGS National Earthquake Information Center no longer locates earthquakes smaller than magnitude 4.5 outside the United States, unless we receive specific information that the earthquake was felt or caused damage.
The values in the tables for the most recent years may fluctuate due to magnitude updates during the review process.

Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2012
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
(M2.5+; doesn't include US regional network contributions)

Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
8.0 to 9.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7.0 to 7.9	0	1	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
6.0 to 6.9	6	5	4	7	2	4	7	9	9	4	8	3	1
5.0 to 5.9	63	41	63	54	25	47	51	72	85	58	79	51	10
4.0 to 4.9	281	290	536	541	284	345	346	366	432	288	642	347	111
3.0 to 3.9	917	842	1535	1303	1362	1475	1213	1137	1486	1492	3585	1838	443
2.0 to 2.9	660	646	1228	704	1336	1738	1145	1173	1573	2379	4131	2941	791
1.0 to 1.9	0	2	2	2	1	2	7	11	13	26	39	47	19
0.1 to 0.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
No Magnitude	415	434	507	333	540	73	13	22	20	14	12	8	2
Total	2342	2261	3876	2946	3550	3685	2783	2791	3618	* 4262	* 8497	* 5237	* 1377
Estimated Deaths	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

* As of 21 May 2012
Earthquake Information for the 1990s
Graphs of Earthquake Statistics
We detect, but generally do not locate, about 50 mine blasts (explosions) throughout the United States on any given business day. These blasts typically occur between noon and 6 PM local time Monday through Saturday. Of these, about one event every two days is large enough that we compute a location for the blast and post it to a separate explosions listing.

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