Demographic intelligence for disaster risk reduction: Estimating population exposure to multiple hazards in Latin America and the Caribbean

This analysis presents a foundational, spatially explicit assessment of population exposure to key natural hazards across Latin America and the Caribbean. Using a spatial overlay approach, gridded population data from WorldPop were intersected with hazard zones from UNDRR’s Global Risk Model. Hazard thresholds were defined based on established return periods and intensity levels to identify high-hazard areas. Exposure estimates were calculated by country and disaggregated by age and sex.

The analysis finds that 19.2% of the LAC population is exposed to medium to high levels of earthquake hazard, 15.4% to hurricane winds, and 9.8% to riverine floods. Subregional patterns show near-universal hurricane wind exposure in the Caribbean, high seismic risk in Central America and the Andean countries, and elevated riverine flood risk in parts of South America. Exposure patterns are broadly consistent across age and sex groups, reflecting population settlement trends rather than demographic vulnerability.