What Countries Have The Least Risk Of Earthquakes?

Let us be clear right from the start: there are no parts of Earth's surface that are safe from seismic activity and earthquakes. Some countries are near tectonic plate boundaries, and such disasters are more likely to happen in their proximity.

Earthquakes can range in size from those strong enough to cause severe destruction to those so weak that humans can barely feel them. However, some countries are less likely to experience those same activities. No place is safe from quakes, but these countries come close enough.

8. Barbados

While Barbados does experience natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslips, they are not so frequent for Barbados to be considered a dangerous location. Compared to the magnitude of earthquakes in places like Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands, this Caribbean country is still much safer.

7. Malta

The Maltese archipelago rests on the safer part of the African plate. After the British colonization of Malta, there have been very few epicenter activities in that part of the Mediterranean Sea. Malta experienced as little as seven earthquakes in the last 500 years. Because of such limited damage throughout its history and little known victims, Malta is considered a low-risk earthquake area.

6. Finland

The earthquakes in Finland are relatively weak, with their magnitudes usually ranging between 0-4 on the Richter Scale. Finland also doesn't have any active volcanoes to worry about, so their people are typically considered very lucky concerning the frequency and intensity of natural disasters.

5. Norway

Norway is also one of the countries where earthquake activity is sporadic and unusual. This Nordic country, located in the northwestern part of Europe, didn't experience any intense or dangerous seismic activity in the last ten years.

4. Sweden

Every time you see a news headline that includes Sweden and earthquakes, you will also see comments about it being very unusual. Some western parts of Sweden do experience minor earthquakes, but they are usually too minor to cause any significant damage. One small earthquake a year isn't such a bad deal.

3. Andorra

Andorra is a small country placed in the southwestern part of Europe, bordered by Spain and France. Usually, any earthquake activity that happens inside Andorra tends to be less than two on the Richter Scale, so Andorra is considered a reasonably safe place to hide from earthquake disasters.

2. Saudi Arabia

Since they are close to each other, Saudi Arabia also shares the geographical benefits of Qatar. Even though the country is prone to infrequent seismic activities around the parts near the Red Sea, they are seldom considered dangerous. No significant earthquakes or landslides happened in the last ten years in Saudi Arabia.

1. Qatar

This small nation is the most common entry on every list of countries with the lowest risk of natural disasters. Qatar is considered a country least likely to experience cyclones, droughts, big floods, and earthquakes.

The worst this country can hope to experience are sandstorms and negligible floods. It is far enough from any major fault lines, as well as volcanoes, which makes it one of the safest countries with the least seismic activities.