FITS Deprecation Notice.
The FITS data base is being deprecated on the 31st March 2025.
The data is being migrated to Tilde and will be available through the API and visualization interfaces.
You can check on the status of the different data sets on our FITS System Deprecation: Transition to Tilde API page.
The GeoNet project locates between 50 and 80 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
| Magnitude | Annual Average | Minimum | Maximum | "In general" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 - 4.9 | 50.02 | 0 | 231 | 1 per day |
| 5.0 - 5.9 | 12.51 | 0 | 36 | 2 per month |
| 6.0 - 6.9 | 0.23 | 0 | 3 | 3 per 2 years |
| 7.0 - 7.9 | 0.02 | 0 | 1 | 1 per 4 years |
| 8.0 or over | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 per century* |
The US Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program displays [Worldwide Earthquake Facts and Statistics](https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/lists-maps-and-statistics), located by the USGS National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC). This includes a table illustrating the relationship between changing magnitude, and ground motion and energy.
The following statistics on the frequency and magnitude of New Zealand region1 earthquakes are based on observations since 1960. Statistical analysis was restricted to earthquakes with a magnitude greater than or equal to 4.0, as the geometry of the recording networks in the earlier years was not capable of detecting every earthquake lower than this magnitude.
1 Between latitudes 50°S and 32°S and longitudes 163°E and 175°W as used by SeisComP to define a New Zealand earthquake
| Year | 4.0 - 4.9 | 5.0 - 5.9 | 6.0 - 6.9 | 7.0 - 7.9 | 8.0 or over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| 1961 | 140 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 176 |
| 1962 | 30 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 |
| 1963 | 34 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| 1964 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
| 1965 | 152 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 183 |
| 1966 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
| 1967 | 50 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 |
| 1968 | 40 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
| 1969 | 70 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 1970 | 65 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 93 |
| 1971 | 62 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| 1972 | 95 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 119 |
| 1973 | 83 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 101 |
| 1974 | 86 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 101 |
| 1975 | 93 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 117 |
| 1976 | 89 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110 |
| 1977 | 84 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 97 |
| 1978 | 71 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 87 |
| 1979 | 94 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110 |
| 1980 | 146 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167 |
| 1981 | 231 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 265 |
| 1982 | 70 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 |
| 1983 | 68 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 |
| 1984 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| 1985 | 48 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
| 1986 | 32 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 1987 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1988 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 1989 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1990 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1991 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1992 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 1993 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1994 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1995 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1996 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 1997 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1998 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 1999 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2000 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2002 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2003 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2004 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2005 | 80 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 2006 | 64 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 |
| 2007 | 103 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126 |
| 2008 | 63 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 |
| 2009 | 51 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 |
| 2010 | 55 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 65 |
| 2011 | 48 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 92 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 99 |
| 2026 | 155 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 177 |
| Total | 2,806 | 685 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3,504 |