African regions improved disaster resilience fastest in the world — Euronews

African regions have demonstrated the world’s fastest growth in people’s ability to withstand natural disasters and recover from them since 2023. This is indicated by the results of the fourth World Risk Poll study, conducted by Gallup in 2025 among more than 143,000 people in 140 countries and territories, Euronews reports.

The resilience index assesses people’s ability to endure major shocks and recover from them on a scale of 0 to 100. It covers personal resilience, household preparedness, community support and broader societal conditions.

Largest increase in North Africa

In North Africa, the resilience score rose by five points, and in Southern Africa by four. East Africa, as well as Central and West Africa, each gained three points. Researchers cited expanding internet access, better household preparedness and financial resilience among the factors behind this growth.

According to the study, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Uganda contributed to the regional improvement. At the same time, these results do not mean that Africa has become the most resilient continent: they refer specifically to the fastest pace of improvement in indicators during the period studied.

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Millions of people remain without warnings

The study also revealed significant inequality in access to early warnings. In Central and West Africa, only 47% of adults affected by a natural disaster said they had received a warning.

Worldwide, approximately 1.1 billion adults experienced natural disasters over the previous five years, with nearly 220 million of them receiving no warning at all. Of those who were not warned, 77% had a mobile phone — more than 170 million people.

In low-income countries, 64% of adults affected by disasters received warnings, compared with 84% in high-income countries. Less than half of warned people in low- and lower-middle-income countries took action before a disaster struck; in wealthier countries, this figure was 71%.

People were more likely to respond to danger when they received messages through multiple channels. Action was taken by 37% of those who received an alert through one channel, 51% through two and 64% through three, including text messages, television and social media.