How often do volcanoes erupt?
An average of about 36 new eruptions begin each year, and 40 to 50 volcanoes are erupting somewhere on Earth at any given moment — only around a tenth of the volcanoes that have erupted in recorded history. We counted every one of the 11,079 Holocene eruptions in our database to show not just the rate, but how small most eruptions really are and which volcanoes do the work.
By VolcanoDB Research Team. Data: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program (Holocene eruption catalogue, 11,079 records); global rate figures from the GVP and USGS. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
New eruptions vs. eruptions already running
The reason you'll see different numbers quoted — "36 a year," "50 to 70 a year," "40 to 50 right now" — is that they count different things. In our records, an average of 32.3 distinct volcanoes began a brand-new eruption each year between 2000 and 2025, ranging from a quiet 23 to a busy 45. That counts the start of an eruption at a single volcano.
The familiar "40 to 50 erupting at any time" figure from the Smithsonian GVP is larger because it also includes eruptions that began in earlier years and are still going — Stromboli, for instance, has been erupting more or less continuously for the whole of recorded history, so it counts every single year without ever being a "new" eruption. Both numbers are right; they're just answering slightly different questions. You can watch the current list on our erupting-now dashboard and active volcanoes tracker.
Most eruptions are small — the size breakdown
Volcanologists rank eruption size on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), a logarithmic scale from 0 to 8. When we sort every size-rated eruption in the database by VEI, the shape is lopsided: the overwhelming majority are small, and the giants that rewrite history books are a rounding error.
VEI distribution across all size-rated Holocene eruptions in VolcanoDB. A further 2,685 records are too old or poorly documented to assign a VEI and are excluded from the bars above.
The takeaway is worth holding onto: a "typical" eruption is a modest VEI 2 — a noticeable ash plume and some lava, the kind of thing Stromboli or Villarrica does routinely. Civilization-scale eruptions sit at the far tail. See where the record-holders land on our most explosive volcanoes ranking.
Which volcanoes do most of the erupting?
Not all volcano shapes contribute equally. Joining every eruption to its volcano's type, one class dominates the record by a wide margin:
| Volcano type | Eruption records |
|---|---|
| Stratovolcanoes | 7,023 |
| Caldera | 1,165 |
| Shield | 1,052 |
| Complex | 769 |
Stratovolcanoes — the steep, layered cones — carry the lion's share, both because there are more of them and because many erupt again and again: serial performers like Mayon, Fuego and Pacaya. Shield volcanoes like Kīlauea and calderas follow well behind.
How we counted
Every figure on this page comes from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program's Holocene eruption catalogue — 11,079 eruption records covering roughly the last 12,000 years — as mirrored in our database. The per-year rate counts distinct volcanoes whose eruption start year falls in 2000–2025 and that GVP marks as a confirmed eruption, so a volcano with two separate eruptions in one year is counted once that year. The VEI bars exclude the 2,685records with no assigned explosivity. The "40–50 at any time" and "~36 new eruptions a year" figures are the GVP's own, counting eruption events (including ongoing ones) rather than distinct volcanoes — which is why they run a little higher than our start-year count.
Quick answers
How many volcanoes erupt each year?
In our database, an average of about 32 distinct volcanoes began a new eruption each year from 2000 to 2025 (ranging from 23 to 45). Counting eruption events rather than distinct volcanoes, and including eruptions that carry over from earlier years, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program puts the figure at roughly 36 new eruptions a year, with 40–50 volcanoes erupting at any given moment.
How many volcanoes are erupting right now?
Usually between 40 and 50 worldwide at any given time, according to the Smithsonian GVP — that's only about 10% of the roughly 500 volcanoes that have erupted in historical time. You can see the current list, pulled from live USGS and Smithsonian feeds, on our erupting-now dashboard.
What is the most common size of volcanic eruption?
A modest VEI 2. Across all 11,079 Holocene eruptions in our records, VEI 2 is by far the most common size, followed by VEI 1 and VEI 3. Truly large eruptions are vanishingly rare: only 52 records reach VEI 6 and just 7 reach VEI 7 — the civilization-scale events like Tambora in 1815.
Which type of volcano erupts most often?
Stratovolcanoes — the classic steep cones like Mayon, Fuego and Villarrica — account for the majority of eruption records, far more than calderas, shield volcanoes or complex volcanoes. That's partly because there are simply more of them and partly because many are persistently active.
Keep exploring the data
Spotted a figure here that looks off against a source you trust? Tell us — we recompute these numbers straight from the GVP catalogue and update them as the record grows.