Sixty-three volcanoes erupted at some point in 2025, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program. Between them they produced 71 confirmed eruptions, and 29 of those started during the year. Some were brief: Kikai in Japan erupted on a single day, 29 December. Others were already old when the year began, and Santa Maria in Guatemala has now been erupting since June 1922. We used the program's 2025 list, updated to 31 March 2026, to build five charts.
Indonesia had the most volcanoes in eruption
The countries with the most erupting volcanoes in 2025 chart counts each volcano once, however many eruptions it had. Indonesia leads with 10, Japan has 6 and Russia 5, and Papua New Guinea and the United States have 4 each. Ten more countries had two volcanoes erupting. The Smithsonian's yearly totals include any activity during the year, so an eruption that began long before 2025 and was still going counts for 2025 as well.
The program is careful about what these totals mean. It says the apparent rise in eruptions over recent decades comes from better reporting, especially from satellites, not from an increase in volcanism.
Japan had the most new eruptions
Counting only eruptions that began in 2025 gives a different order. The countries with the most new volcanic eruptions in 2025 chart puts Japan first with 4, at Kikai, Kirishimayama, Ioto and Akan, while Indonesia and Russia had 3 each. Some countries' totals come from a single restless volcano: Purace in Colombia, Reykjanes in Iceland and Telica in Nicaragua each had two separate eruptions start during the year. The Smithsonian calls starts and ends a better way to compare years than the number active, since long eruptions carry over.
Most new eruptions were small. The program's yearly table rates 24 of the 29 at VEI 2 or less on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, four at VEI 3 and one at VEI 4. That single VEI 4 eruption was at Hayli Gubbi in Ethiopia on 23 November.
Eruptions that have lasted a century
The longest-running volcanic eruptions active in 2025 chart uses the Smithsonian's own measure of full years in eruption. Santa Maria leads at 104 years, followed by Dukono in Indonesia at 93 and Stromboli in Italy at 92, both of which began in the 1930s. Erta Ale in Ethiopia ended a 58-year eruption on 7 August 2025. The list leaves out Yasur in Vanuatu, which has no clear start date; the program notes that Captain Cook saw it erupting in 1774 and that the same style of activity may have begun around 1270 CE.
The highest erupting volcano stands almost 6,000 metres tall
The highest volcanoes that erupted in 2025 chart is led by Sabancaya in Peru, with a summit at 5,960 metres. Popocatepetl in Mexico (5,393 m) and Sangay in Ecuador (5,286 m) come next, and nine of the 15 highest are in South America, Central America or Mexico. Klyuchevskoy in Russia, at 4,754 metres, is the highest outside the Americas.
Most were stratovolcanoes
The volcanoes erupting in 2025 by volcano type chart groups the 63 volcanoes by the primary type recorded in the Smithsonian's database. Forty-two are some form of stratovolcano, split between the database's "Stratovolcano" and "Stratovolcano(es)" labels. Calderas account for 8 and shield volcanoes, including Kilauea and Erta Ale, for 6.
| 2025 measure | Leader | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volcanoes erupting, by country | Indonesia | 10 volcanoes |
| New eruptions, by country | Japan | 4 eruptions |
| Longest-running eruption | Santa Maria, Guatemala | 104 years |
| Highest erupting volcano | Sabancaya, Peru | 5,960 m |
| Most common volcano type | Stratovolcano (both labels) | 42 volcanoes |
What these counts do not show
A count of volcanoes or eruptions treats a one-day steam explosion the same as a months-long eruption. The Smithsonian's rules also matter: a pause of more than three months ends an eruption, so renewed activity is recorded as a new one. Summit elevation describes the mountain rather than the vent that erupted. The list is complete only up to the database update of 31 March 2026, and each chart page explains its method in full.