The World Risk Index has been published within the World Risk Report 2016. Calculated by the Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning at the University of Stuttgart (IREUS), the index assesses the risk of disaster in 171 countries through the combined analysis of natural hazards and societal vulnerabilities.
The World Risk Index is intended to give answers to four key questions for each country:
- How likely is an extreme natural event, and will it affect people?
- How vulnerable are people to natural hazards?
- To what extent can societies cope with acute disasters?
- Is a society taking preventive measures to face natural hazards to be reckoned with in the future?
The highest risk countries are listed as:
1. Vanuatu
2. Tonga
3. Philippines
4. Guatemala
5. Bangladesh
6. Solomon Islands
7. Brunei Darussalam
8. Costa Rica
9. Cambodia
10. Papua New Guinea
The ten lowest risk countries are:
162. Sweden
163. United Arab Emirates
164. Kiribati
165. Bahrain
166. Iceland
167. Grenada
168. Barbados
169. Saudi Arabia
170. Malta
171. Qatar.
The report can be downloaded here in English and German.
