Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN)
Climate vulnerability by country
How exposed and sensitive is a country to the effects of climate change?
Of the 190 countries compared in 2024, Norway had the lowest reading, 0.26348, and Mauritania had the highest reading, 0.65513. In the middle country the figure was 0.44965. Among the 190 countries measured in every edition since 1995, the middle one moved from 0.48149 to 0.44965.
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Climate vulnerability · 2024
Key statistic · Risk & Resilience
Lowest of 190Norway
0.26348012024 · Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame’s rank
Who leads
The three countries at the lowest end of 190 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Ximonic , Simo Räsänen · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2Photo: © User:Colin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
3Photo: User:Florian Fuchs · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
Highest in 2024
- 190
Mauritania0.65513 - =188
Somalia0.63829 - =188
Chad0.63783
Ranks out of 190. Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
Lowest on each continent
- Africa
Seychelles0.42796 - Americas
Canada0.28243 - Asia
Kyrgyzstan0.34380 - EuropeNorway0.26348
- Oceania
New Zealand0.29672 - Every region
02Every measured country
Climate vulnerability on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a lower value — the better end.
- 0.52760–0.65513
- 0.47235–0.52657
- 0.42466–0.47129
- 0.36556–0.42448
- 0.26348–0.36535
- No reading in 2024
- Europe
0.35456
the middle country, of 41 measured · 49 members
Norway0.26348
Serbia0.46982Lowest and highest reading in Europe.
- Americas
0.42466
the middle country, of 35 measured · 48 members
Canada0.28243
Haiti0.53449Lowest and highest reading in Americas.
- Asia
0.43511
the middle country, of 47 measured · 52 members
Kyrgyzstan0.34380
Yemen0.62940Lowest and highest reading in Asia.
- Africa
0.51105
the middle country, of 53 measured · 55 members
Seychelles0.42796Mauritania0.65513Lowest and highest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
0.53278
the middle country, of 14 measured · 21 members
New Zealand0.29672
Solomon Islands0.62242Lowest and highest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, lowest middle country first
- Northern Europe
0.32029
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Norway0.26348
Latvia0.38677Lowest and highest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
0.33212
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Germany0.29559
Monaco0.39036Lowest and highest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Europe
0.35739
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Spain0.32303Serbia0.46982Lowest and highest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
0.36393
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Czechia0.30512
Moldova0.45044Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Central Asia
0.36704
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kyrgyzstan0.34380
Turkmenistan0.44762Lowest and highest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
0.39413
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Japan0.35311
North Korea0.51291Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Asia.
- South America
0.40728
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Chile0.34658
Ecuador0.47602Lowest and highest reading in South America.
- Western Asia
0.42863
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Israel0.34449Yemen0.62940Lowest and highest reading in Western Asia.
- Central America
0.43990
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica0.38707
Belize0.48283Lowest and highest reading in Central America.
- South-eastern Asia
0.44341
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Malaysia0.36535
Timor-Leste0.54545Lowest and highest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Caribbean
0.44750
the middle country, of 13 measured · 24 members
Saint Lucia0.34494Haiti0.53449Lowest and highest reading in Caribbean.
- Northern Africa
0.45938
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Algeria0.42988
Sudan0.62916Lowest and highest reading in Northern Africa.
- Southern Africa
0.48418
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa0.43624
Namibia0.51072Lowest and highest reading in Southern Africa.
- Micronesia
0.50209
the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members
Palau0.48156
Micronesia0.62144Lowest and highest reading in Micronesia.
- Eastern Africa
0.51120
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Seychelles0.42796Somalia0.63829Lowest and highest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Southern Asia
0.52511
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Iran0.42865
Afghanistan0.61163Lowest and highest reading in Southern Asia.
- Middle Africa
0.52791
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Gabon0.44954Chad0.63783Lowest and highest reading in Middle Africa.
- Western Africa
0.54010
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Ghana0.45463Mauritania0.65513Lowest and highest reading in Western Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
New Zealand0.29672
Australia0.30014Lowest and highest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Fiji0.48875Solomon Islands0.62242Lowest and highest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada0.28243
United States0.31688Lowest and highest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Samoa0.53795
Tonga0.59487Lowest and highest reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
190 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 0.44965; a quarter are above 0.50765, and a quarter below 0.38153. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 190 ever measured
Every country
In order, lowest value first. “=” marks a rank shared with another country. Rank 1 is the least vulnerable country, which is the order ND-GAIN’s ranking page prints; its country pages also speak of the most vulnerable, counting from the other end. Countries that display the same three-decimal figure share a rank.
Showing 25 of 190 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051995–2024 · 30 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1995, all recomputed on the current release’s method, so the line is comparable end to end. It moves slowly: much of what it measures — geography, climate exposure — barely changes from year to year.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 190 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 190 | 0.44965 | 0.38153 – 0.50765 | 0.44965 |
| 2023 | 190 | 0.44917 | 0.38420 – 0.50734 | 0.44917 |
| 2022 | 190 | 0.44742 | 0.38481 – 0.50934 | 0.44742 |
| 2021 | 190 | 0.44783 | 0.38503 – 0.50907 | 0.44783 |
| 2020 | 190 | 0.44790 | 0.38725 – 0.50764 | 0.44790 |
| 2019 | 190 | 0.44788 | 0.38921 – 0.50643 | 0.44788 |
| 2018 | 190 | 0.44965 | 0.38875 – 0.51016 | 0.44965 |
| 2017 | 190 | 0.45053 | 0.39030 – 0.51269 | 0.45053 |
| 2016 | 190 | 0.45184 | 0.38940 – 0.51535 | 0.45184 |
| 2015 | 190 | 0.45150 | 0.39096 – 0.51701 | 0.45150 |
| 2014 | 190 | 0.45150 | 0.38937 – 0.51861 | 0.45150 |
| 2013 | 190 | 0.45495 | 0.39165 – 0.52063 | 0.45495 |
| 2012 | 190 | 0.45427 | 0.39450 – 0.52047 | 0.45427 |
| 2011 | 190 | 0.45801 | 0.39706 – 0.52294 | 0.45801 |
| 2010 | 190 | 0.46071 | 0.39674 – 0.52421 | 0.46071 |
| 2009 | 190 | 0.46471 | 0.40084 – 0.52989 | 0.46471 |
| 2008 | 190 | 0.46380 | 0.40230 – 0.52855 | 0.46380 |
| 2007 | 190 | 0.46674 | 0.40340 – 0.53586 | 0.46674 |
| 2006 | 190 | 0.46870 | 0.40341 – 0.53277 | 0.46870 |
| 2005 | 190 | 0.47065 | 0.40561 – 0.53485 | 0.47065 |
| 2004 | 190 | 0.47203 | 0.40642 – 0.53918 | 0.47203 |
| 2003 | 190 | 0.47164 | 0.40798 – 0.53972 | 0.47164 |
| 2002 | 190 | 0.47203 | 0.40852 – 0.54303 | 0.47203 |
| 2001 | 190 | 0.47637 | 0.41053 – 0.54310 | 0.47637 |
| 2000 | 190 | 0.47559 | 0.41182 – 0.54392 | 0.47559 |
| 1999 | 190 | 0.47497 | 0.41256 – 0.54475 | 0.47497 |
| 1998 | 190 | 0.47873 | 0.41401 – 0.54721 | 0.47873 |
| 1997 | 190 | 0.47959 | 0.41493 – 0.54683 | 0.47959 |
| 1996 | 190 | 0.48200 | 0.41713 – 0.54710 | 0.48200 |
| 1995 | 190 | 0.48149 | 0.41781 – 0.54880 | 0.48149 |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Laos0.46818 → 0.45155 · 108th → 101st−0.01663- Kyrgyzstan0.34870 → 0.34380 · 25th → 21st−0.00490
Montenegro0.42571 → 0.42117 · 77th → 74th−0.00454- Namibia0.51516 → 0.51072 · 148th → 145th−0.00444
Hungary0.38466 → 0.38037 · 49th → 46th−0.00430
Worsened most
before → after
Eswatini0.47289 → 0.48205 · 116th → 122nd+0.00916
Niger0.57886 → 0.58689 · 171st → 174th+0.00803
Gambia0.54535 → 0.55133 · 162nd → 167th+0.00598
Cabo Verde0.47275 → 0.47788 · 116th → 120th+0.00513
Singapore0.37510 → 0.37949 · 45th → 45th+0.00440
190 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024.
07Across every edition
Climate vulnerability in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
0.67918
ND-GAIN Vulnerability (0–1, where 1 is the most vulnerable)
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 1999
Lowest reading on record
0.26090
ND-GAIN Vulnerability (0–1, where 1 is the most vulnerable)
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2010
Biggest improvement between editions
−0.04584
0.57373 → 0.52788
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2018 → 2019
Biggest decline between editions
+0.03296
0.52396 → 0.55691
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 2021 → 2022
Most improved since first measured
−0.10900
0.56055 → 0.45155
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 1995 → 2024
At the top most often
20 of 30
editions, alone at the first-listed end
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 1995–2024
08The measure
About climate vulnerability
ND-GAIN’s Vulnerability score measures how exposed a country is to climate change, how sensitive its food, water, health, ecosystems, housing and infrastructure are to it, and how little capacity it has to adapt — on a scale from 0 to 1, where higher is more vulnerable. It is one of the two halves of the ND-GAIN Country Index.
What the number is: ND-GAIN Vulnerability (0–1, where 1 is the most vulnerable).
What it does not measure
It does not count disasters that have happened or losses already suffered, and it is not a forecast. It leaves out a country's own emissions, and it scores the country as a whole, so a vulnerable coast or region inside a large country is averaged away.
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
A key statistic for Risk & Resilience
“How exposed and sensitive a country’s food, water, health, ecosystems, housing and infrastructure are to a changing climate, set against its capacity to adapt — the slow-onset climate risk the hazard and crisis indices do not isolate.”
- Edition used
- 2024 (data 2024)
- Countries
- 190
- Licence
- CC BY 3.0 Unported
Moves with
Where climate vulnerability is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 172 countries in commonρ 0.85
- Stillbirth RateUN IGME · 190 countries in commonρ 0.83
- Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 160 countries in commonρ 0.83
Moves against
Where climate vulnerability is higher, these tend to be lower.
- ND-GAIN Country IndexNotre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame · 190 countries in commonρ −0.91
- World Energy Trilemma IndexKeyWorld Energy Council · 125 countries in commonρ −0.88
- GNI per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 99 countries in commonρ −0.88
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 381 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The countries at either end
More from Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame
11Questions
Climate vulnerability: questions and answers
Which country has the lowest climate vulnerability?
Norway, at 0.26348, among the 190 countries compared in 2024.
Which country has the highest climate vulnerability?
Mauritania, at 0.65513, among the 190 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN) cover?
190 in 2024.
What is the world average climate vulnerability?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 190 compared in 2024, the figure was 0.44965.
Is this Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame’s own ranking?
Yes. The rank shown is the one Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame publishes.
How often is the Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN) published?
This site holds 30 reference years, 1995–2024, all recalculated in Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame’s 2026 report on one method — not 30 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame, under CC BY 3.0 Unported. Imported from ND-GAIN’s own download, the vulnerability file only. The six sector scores and the underlying indicators are not republished; the latter are other agencies’ data. The ranks are those ND-GAIN prints on its own ranking page. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN) — Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame
Imported from ND-GAIN’s own download, the vulnerability file only. The six sector scores and the underlying indicators are not republished; the latter are other agencies’ data. The ranks are those ND-GAIN prints on its own ranking page.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. ND-GAIN Country Index, 2026 release — Vulnerability. Method: Chen, C., Noble, I., Hellmann, J., Coffee, J., Murillo, M. and Chawla, N. (2015). University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index: Country Index Technical Report. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame.
Licence: CC BY 3.0 Unported, checked 2026-09-26.
How this page reads the numbers
- The rank is Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame’s own, as published.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Norway — Ximonic , Simo Räsänen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- United Kingdom — © User:Colin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Canada — User:Florian Fuchs, CC BY 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Climate vulnerability by country: Climate Vulnerability (ND-GAIN), data from Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), University of Notre Dame. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/climate-vulnerability