Economic losses and fatalities from weather- and climate-related extremes

This briefing is about the significant fatalities and economic losses from natural hazards between 1980 and 2023. It also examines the widening insurance protection gap, includes fresh data on six Western Balkan countries and insights to complement the relevant annual indicator.

Key messages

Total economic losses from weather- and climate-related events exceeded EUR 790 billion across the EEA-38 member and cooperating countries (32 EEA members plus the Western Balkan countries) between 1980 and 2023.

Over the same period, the insurance protection gap across EEA-38 countries was substantial. Most countries reported that over 50% of their losses were uninsured. In many cases this figure exceeded 90%.

The insurance protection gap has widened over time as total economic losses have grown faster than insured losses.

Most fatalities between 1980 and 2023 were caused by heatwaves, cold waves, droughts and forest fires. However, the distribution of fatalities between event types and how they take place over time vary significantly across different countries.