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Mapped: Countries With the Highest Flood Risk

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Population Flood Risk

Risk of Flooding Mapped Around the World

Devastating floods across Pakistan this summer have resulted in more than 1,400 lives lost and one-third of the country being under water.

This raises the question: which nations and their populations are the most vulnerable to the risk of flooding around the world?

Using data from a recent study published in Nature, this graphic maps flood risk around the world, highlighting the 1.81 billion people directly exposed to 1-in-100 year floods. The methodology takes into account potential risks from both inland and coastal flooding.

Asian Countries Most at Risk from Rising Water Levels

Not surprisingly, countries with considerable coastlines, river systems, and flatlands find themselves with high percentages of their population at risk.

The Netherlands and Bangladesh are the only two nations in the world to have more than half of their population at risk due to flooding, at 59% and 58%, respectively. Vietnam (46%), Egypt (41%), and Myanmar (40%) round out the rest of the top five nations.

Besides the Netherlands, only two other European nations are in the top 20 nations by percentage of population at risk, Austria (18th at 29%) and Albania (20th at 28%).

RankCountryFlood risk, by population exposed (%)Total population exposed
#1🇳🇱 Netherlands58.7%10,100,000
#2🇧🇩 Bangladesh57.5%94,424,000
#3🇻🇳 Vietnam46.0%45,504,000
#4🇪🇬 Egypt40.5%38,871,000
#5🇲🇲 Myanmar39.9%19,104,000
#6🇱🇦 Laos39.7%2,985,000
#7🇰🇭 Cambodia38.1%7,431,000
#8🇬🇾 Guyana37.9%276,000
#9🇸🇷 Suriname37.7%233,000
#10🇮🇶 Iraq36.8%16,350,000
#11🇹🇭 Thailand33.9%25,431,000
#12🇸🇸 South Sudan32.5%5,437,000
#13🇵🇰 Pakistan31.1%71,786,000
#14🇳🇵 Nepal29.4%11,993,000
#15🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo29.3%1,170,000
#16🇵🇭 Philippines29.0%30,483,000
#17🇯🇵 Japan28.7%36,060,000
#18🇦🇹 Austria27.8%2,437,000
#19🇮🇳 India27.7%389,816,000
#20🇦🇱 Albania27.6%771,000
#21🇨🇳 China27.5%394,826,000
#22🇹🇩 Chad27.4%4,547,000
#23🇮🇩 Indonesia27.0%75,696,000
#24🇭🇷 Croatia26.9%1,094,000
#25🇸🇰 Slovakia26.7%1,401,000

The Southeast Asia region alone makes up more than two-thirds of the global population exposed to flooding risk at 1.24 billion people.

China and India account for 395 million and 390 million people, respectively, with both nations at the top in terms of the absolute number of people at risk of rising water levels. The rest of the top five countries by total population at risk are Bangladesh (94 million people at risk), Indonesia (76 million people at risk), and Pakistan (72 million people at risk).

How Flooding is Already Affecting Countries Like Pakistan

While forecasted climate and natural disasters can often take years to manifest, flooding affected more than 100 million people in 2021. Recent summer floods in Pakistan have continued the trend in 2022.

With 31% of its population (72 million people) at risk of flooding, Pakistan is particularly vulnerable to floods.

In 2010, floods in Pakistan were estimated to have affected more than 18 million people. The recent floods, which started in June, are estimated to have affected more than 33 million people as more than one-third of the country is submerged underwater.

The Cost of Floods Today and in the Future

Although the rising human toll is by far the biggest concern that floods present, they also bring with them massive economic costs. Last year, droughts, floods, and storms caused economic losses totaling $224.2 billion worldwide, nearly doubling the 2001-2020 annual average of $117.8 billion.

A recent report forecasted that water risk (caused by droughts, floods, and storms) could eat up $5.6 trillion of global GDP by 2050, with floods projected to account for 36% of these direct losses.

As both human and economic losses caused by floods continue to mount, nations around the world will need to focus on preventative infrastructure and restorative solutions for ecosystems and communities already affected and most at risk of flooding.

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Energy Shift

Oil & Gas Leases on Public Lands Under Obama, Trump, and Biden

President-elect Donald Trump wants a massive boost in U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs.

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This graphic shows the number of acres leased on public lands to oil and gas companies under Obama, Trump and Biden.

Oil & Gas Leases on Public Lands Under Obama, Trump, and Biden

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

President-elect Donald Trump wants a massive boost in U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs. The data shows that over the last decade, the Republican’s previous administration has been by far the most favorable for the oil and gas industry.

This graphic shows the number of acres leased on public lands to oil and gas companies during the fiscal years 2013–2023. The data is sourced from the Bureau of Land Management as of October 2023.

Drill, Baby, Drill

The amount of public land leased to the oil and gas sector has varied significantly by administration.

In Trump’s first year in office, there was a 93% increase in leases compared to the final year of the Obama administration.

YearAcres LeasedAdministration
20131,172,808Obama
20141,197,852Obama
2015810,068Obama
2016577,317Obama
20171,114,218Trump
20181,253,369Trump
20192,245,906Trump
20201,871,962Trump
2021249,132Biden
202274,758Biden
202391,712Biden

Then, following a series of executive actions aimed at reducing GHG emissions from federal lands, leases dropped sharply during the Biden administration. In 2021, the Democrat temporarily paused new oil and gas leases on federal lands.

Since Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Biden has moved to further limit oil drilling.

The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently finalized the restrictions on an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the largest wildlife refuge in the country. In its decision, the BLM limited the lease sales to 400,000 acres, which is one-quarter of the refuge’s coastal plain section.

Environmental groups have opposed oil development in the refuge for decades, while Trump has said his new administration would pursue oil drilling in the area.

Learn More on the Voronoi App 

If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic showing how much Americans spend on gas in each state.

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Misc

Ranked: The Top Countries Relying on Mining Exports

For these economies, mining exports (minerals, ores, and metals) are the primary category of goods sent abroad.

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This graphic ranks the countries where mining exports (minerals, ores, and metals) are more than 60% of their total exports.

Ranked: The Top Countries Relying on Mining Exports

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This graphic ranks the countries where mining exports (minerals, ores, and metals) are more than 60% of their total exports. Data is from sourced from UN Trade and Development, based on 2019–2021 averaged figures

This sort of resource dependency can make a country vulnerable to economic shocks via price fluctuations.

Diamonds, Gold, and Copper: Key Exports for Many Countries

Around 90% of Botswana’s exports are concentrated in mining, making it the most mineral resource dependent country in the world. Within the sector, diamonds alone account for 80% of all exports.

As a result, Botswana is the top producer of raw, uncut diamonds in the world. The IMF estimates that 25% of the country’s $20 billion GDP is from diamond mining.

RankCountry% of Exports
from Mining
Top Mineral/Metal
Export (2022)
1🇧🇼 Botswana92%💎 Diamonds
2🇬🇳 Guinea87%🏅 Gold
3🇲🇱 Mali85%🏅 Gold
4🇧🇫 Burkina Faso84%🏅 Gold
5🇸🇷 Suriname83%🏅 Gold
6🇿🇲 Zambia79%🪨 Copper
7🇨🇩 DRC77%🪨 Copper
8🇲🇷 Mauritania66%🏅 Gold
9🇬🇾 Guyana64%🏅 Gold
10🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan62%🏅 Gold
11🇳🇦 Namibia61%💎 Diamonds
12🇵🇪 Peru61%🪨 Copper

Figures rounded. The top mining export per country sourced from The Observatory of Economic Complexity.

Meanwhile, in Mali (#3), Burkina Faso (#4), and Suriname (#5) gold is responsible for most of the mining export dependency. However, Guinea (#2) also exports a significant amount of aluminum ore as well.

In Zambia (#6) and the DRC (#7) where more than 70% of their exports are from mining, copper plays a crucial role. However Zambia also exports a significant amount of gold, and the DRC is a major cobalt exporter.

Of the top 10 countries whose exports are predominantly mining-based, seven are from Africa.

It’s also apparent that this kind of commodity dependence is more common in developing economies (wealthy oil nations are exceptions to the rule). And as commodity demand tends to run in boom-bust cycles, it leaves these less-wealthy countries particularly susceptible to price shocks.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Resource dependency comes in many flavors. Check out Ranked: The Countries Most Dependent on Agricultural Exports for the economies where food products take center stage.

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