Philippines again tops global disaster-risk ranking

The Philippines has again ranked as the country with the highest disaster risk in the world, topping the 2026 WorldRiskIndex with a score of 46.69.

The index covered all 193 United Nations member states, representing more than 99 percent of the global population.

India ranked second with a score of 44.97, followed by Indonesia at 44.63.

The WorldRiskIndex assesses disaster risk based on two broad factors: a country’s exposure to natural hazards and its societal vulnerability, including its capacity to cope with and adapt to disasters.

The Philippines has consistently ranked among the countries most exposed to disasters because of its geographic location.

The country lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic activity, while its location in the western Pacific exposes it to frequent tropical cyclones, heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides.

The Philippines also ranked first in the WorldRiskIndex in 2025, when it posted a score of 46.56.

This year’s WorldRiskReport focuses on storms and why similar hazards can have drastically different impacts depending on preparedness, infrastructure, social conditions and response capacity.

The report noted that storms are among the world’s most damaging natural hazards, causing greater economic losses than any other weather-related extreme event.

The ranking highlights the continued need for stronger early-warning systems, resilient infrastructure, disaster preparedness, social protection and long-term climate adaptation in the Philippines.