The Burrow
Nov 20, 2025
From America’s hurricane alley, the Pacific’s volcanic ‘Ring of Fire’, to the monsoon-drenched mountains of China and wildfire hotspots of Australia, natural disaster rates are steadily on the rise, becoming more common around the world as time goes on.
Naturally, this makes being prepared for the impact of such disasters seem essential. For many countries where natural disasters are a yearly occurrence, such natural disaster risk reduction policies have already become a cornerstone of government bodies. But which countries have the highest rate of natural disaster preparedness globally?
The home and contents insurance experts at Compare the Market conducted an analysis of the top 20 countries prone to natural disasters and ranked them for disaster readiness. We did this based on their WorldRiskIndex score which is an annual report on how vulnerable countries are to extreme natural events and climate change, followed by other key factors including the impact of disasters on GDP, the average number of people affected per 100,000 of the population, and the number of disaster preparation searches being made by residents.
| Rank | Country | WorldRiskIndex | Annual avg people affected (per 100k) | Annual avg economic damages from natural disasters (% of GDP) | Natural disaster prep searches (per 100k) | Total score (max 100) |
| 1 | Australia | 21.90 | 216.4 | 0.26% | 2,700 | 68.46 |
| 2 | Mexico | 38.96 | 188.0 | 0.03% | 21 | 61.58 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 4.33 | 0.0 | 0.01% | 2,347 | 55.79 |
| 4 | Greece | 9.02 | 181.3 | 0.10% | 2,119 | 54.63 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 15.20 | 83.4 | 0.04% | 1,361 | 54.09 |
| 6 | France | 7.75 | 186.9 | 0.08% | 1,975 | 52.55 |
| 7 | India | 40.73 | 580.6 | 0.45% | 29 | 49.95 |
| 8 | Philippines | 46.56 | 5,483.0 | 0.22% | 100 | 49.76 |
| 9 | Canada | 19.88 | 66.0 | 0.07% | 608 | 49.39 |
| 10 | Japan | 24.81 | 60.2 | 0.20% | 156 | 45.09 |
Starting with those countries putting natural disaster readiness front and centre, these are the top five nations around the world that are best prepared to handle natural disasters when they strike:
Australia ranked number one for natural disaster readiness, achieving an impressive score of 68.46 out of 100 on the natural disaster preparedness index. Australia have proven countless times in recent years that it always pays to be prepared. Australia has its natural disaster services ready to go at the push of a button, with services available such as disaster assist1 and state based emergency support.2
Australia’s WorldRiskIndex score currently sits at 21.90, indicating a higher chance of natural disasters occurring. The number of searches being made around disaster readiness was 2,700 per 100,000 residents, which was the highest overall in our index.
Australia ranked lower in the index for the number of people affected per 100,000, with 216.4. In a given year, natural disasters caused an economic loss equivalent to 0.26% of Australia’s GDP, a factor which is more a reflection of the intensity of Australia’s natural disasters, rather than a lack of overall preparedness.
In general, Australia’s ranking represents a strong understanding by the population that natural disasters can and could happen with relative frequency, and that those most likely to be affected are already in the process of preparing themselves and their homes personally and ready to support to minimise the impact of such events when they inevitably do occur.
Ranked second was Mexico, with a natural disaster preparedness index score of 61.58 out of 100. Much like Australia, Mexico is no stranger to regular disruptions and problems caused by natural disasters, including flooding and earthquakes.
Mexico had a WorldRiskIndex score of 38.96, the third highest in our index and the highest in our top five. Interestingly, this higher likelihood of natural disasters doesn’t seem to worry the population much, as only 21 disaster prep searches were made per 100,000 residents.
Mexico only reported a loss 0.03% of its GDP to disasters each year, suggesting a relatively low financial impact, which may reflect effective disaster management, geographic factors, or underreporting.
Ranked third was the Netherlands, with a noticeably lower natural disaster preparedness index score of 55.79. Perhaps a surprise to some, while the Netherlands doesn’t experience any natural disasters on the same level as Australia, that’s not to say that the country might not be at risk.
Residents of the Netherlands appear very aware of the potential disasters that could occur if sea levels continue to rise, with 2,347 disaster prep searches being made per 100,000 residents, the second highest in our index.
With a WorldRiskIndex score of only 4.33, the second lowest in our index, along with an annual average of 0 people being impacted by natural disasters overall, the lowest out of all countries in our index, it seems that the Netherlands may currently be in no imminent risk.
However, while the research suggests that the Netherlands is not highly disaster-prone, this could be largely due to its extensive flood defences, which can reduce the impact of natural disasters and explain why it reports a modest cost of 0.01% of GDP annually due to disasters.
Ranked fourth is Greece. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean, a sea that’s no stranger to stormy weather and tropical temperatures, Greece scored 54.63 in the natural disaster preparedness index. Greece is not particularly at risk of large-scale natural disasters at present, scoring 9.02 in the WorldRiskIndex. However, residents are clearly taking such potential hazards seriously, with the country seeing an average of 2,119 disaster prep searches per 100,000.
While Greece does experience its fair share of natural disasters, with earthquakes and wildfires being widespread, the nation reported an average of 181.3 people per 100,000 locals being affected by these events, and only 0.10% of its annual GDP was allocated to disaster recovery efforts.
Ranked fifth is New Zealand with a natural disaster preparedness index score of 54.09, where locals are no stranger to dealing with intense weather-based catastrophes.
One of New Zealand’s most significant threat seems to come from flooding, with the summer floods in 2023 noted as being particularly bad. Such events led to the country having a WorldRiskIndex score of 15.20, although these scores are not always reflective of what’s happening on the ground. New Zealanders remain vigilant, with 1,361 natural disaster prep searches being made per 100,000 people.
Combine this with a low GDP impact of 0.04% and an average population impact of 83.4 per 100,000, it’s safe to say that the Kiwis know a thing or two about being ready for some hectic weather.
Contrary to our higher-scoring nations, not all disaster-heavy countries are well prepared for such catastrophic events. South Africa stands out with the lowest natural disaster readiness index score of 15.14 out of 100.
South Africa reported that 4,112 people per 100,000 have been affected by natural disasters every year, the second worst in our list. They also reported an annual loss of 0.31% of their GDP due to disruptions. As a result, South Africa appears unprepared and unaware of natural disasters, with only 43 disaster preparation searches conducted per 100,000 residents.
Meanwhile, other low-scoring countries were Brazil and Türkiye, both of which scored a natural disaster preparedness score of 32.09 and 32.62, respectively.
Türkiye stood out as having the third-highest rate of affected people per 100,000 at 2,302, while Brazil saw an annual loss of 0.24% of GDP because of such events.
Interestingly, South Africa, Brazil, and Türkiye all had relatively middle-of-the-road WorldRiskIndex scores, suggesting that those nations’ preparedness could be improved by making residents more aware of the likelihood of natural disasters occurring.
As you can see from our ranking, some countries are more prepared against disasters than others, yet each nation is experiencing its fair share of natural disasters. This raises the very real question of how you can protect yourself against such hazards in the future.
Well, while it might not be possible to physically protect your home entirely during an event of such catastrophes – as Adrian Taylor, Executive General Manager of General Insurance, points out – there’s still other ways to stay prepared:
“Although it’s not something any of us want to think about, the truth is that more natural disasters are occurring, making it very important to be aware of what dangers to prepare for and how to navigate them.
“First and foremost, make sure to track real-time weather updates, with instant access available to emergency support platforms like Disaster Assist offering up-to-date alerts, Australians can be empowered to act quickly and stay informed.
“Finally, it cannot be overstated how important home and contents insurance can be for anyone living in a natural disaster-prone area. This can give you financial support and peace of mind should your home and belongings get damaged.”
This dataset ranks 20 countries based on how prepared they are for natural disasters by using four key factors.
Each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1, and if data was missing, a score of 0 was given. These scores were then combined to give each country a total score out of 100, before being ranked from highest to lowest.
The factors used were as follows:
The factors were then weighted as follows:
The factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 02/10/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources.
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