The distribution of volcanoes in the world is majorly present near both divergent and convergent plate boundaries. Volcanoes are not distributed randomly across the Earth's surface. Most are concentrated on the equator, along island chains, or beneath the sea, forming long mountain ranges. The distribution of Volcanoes around the Globe is highest near the Pacific Ring of Fire as it is home to nearly 70% of the world's volcanoes. The distribution of volcanoes around the globe is an important concept for understanding geomorphology related concepts like plate tectonics.

Distribution of Volcanoes around the Globe

• Volcanoes along divergent borders are the source of less violent and more fluid basaltic discharges.
• Those found around continental margins are almost always andesitic and explosive.
• There are no granitic magma outbursts on the surface. Underneath the surface, it always cools.
• Hot Spot volcanoes are among the most peaceful, as they are not located on the plate borders.
• Volcanoes aren't found on all collision boundaries.
• The collision zones between continents are completely devoid of volcanic activity.

Reasons Behind the Distribution of Volcanoes

• Volcanoes are not spread across the Earth's surface at random.
• The majority of them are found on the margins of continents, along island chains, and beneath the sea, where they create lengthy mountain ranges.
• The circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire" encircles the Pacific Ocean and contains more than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level.
• Scientists have devised a hypothesis known as plate tectonics that explains the locations of volcanoes and their link to other large-scale geologic features over the last 25 years.

World Distribution of Subduction Zones

• With numerous volcanoes lying above subduction zones and in axial rifts, there is a strong link between volcanic activity, earthquakes, and plate tectonics.
• Around 80% of all volcanic activity occurs along subduction zones.
• Around 15% of volcanic activity occurs at mid-ocean spreading centers and continental rifts.
• The Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire contains the majority of the high volcanic cones and mountains, as well as active subduction of the Pacific, Nazca, Cocos, and Juan de Fuca plates.
• The volcanic islands of Sumatra and Java, which lie over the subduction zone between the Australian and Eurasian plates, are a good example.
• Mid-Atlantic belt: Along the mid-oceanic ridge, where seafloor spreading is occurring, a few basaltic volcanoes with fissure eruptions can also be found.

Distribution of Volcanoes (Ring of Fire)

• Volcanoes in the alpine mountain chains and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as those in Eastern Africa's fault zone, make up the Mid-Continental belt.
• Volcanoes are formed when the African, Eurasian, and Indian plates collide.
• Intraplate volcanoes are found on the inside of plates, far from the plate borders.
• They're also known as hot spot volcanoes since they're found in the center of plate boundaries, where magma escapes through cracks in the surface. Hot spot volcanoes, such as those found in the Hawaiian Islands, are an example.

Regions with Volcanic Activity along the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’

• The Aleutian Islands are divided into Kamchatka, Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia (particularly Java and Sumatra), as well as Solomon, the New Hebrides, Tonga, and New Zealand's North Island.
• The Andes extend from South America to Central America (especially Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua), Mexico, and Alaska.

Five Countries Having the Greatest Number of Volcanoes 

• The United States - 165
• Japan - 122
• Indonesia - 118
• Russia - 117
• Chile - 91

Five Countries with the Most Active Volcanoes

• Indonesia - 58
• Japan - 44
• The United States - 42
• Russia - 33
• Chile - 19

Volcanoes in India

• The Himalayan region and the Indian peninsula are both devoid of volcanoes.
• In the 1990s, Barren Island (India's sole active volcano) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands became active.
• After erupting with lava and ash in 2017, it is currently designated an active volcano.
• Narcondam, roughly 150 kilometers north-east of Barren Island, is the only other volcanic island in Indian territory; it is most likely extinct. Its crater wall was obliterated.

Conclusion

There is a close relationship between volcanic activity, earthquakes, and plate tectonics, with many volcanoes located above subduction zones. Around 80% of volcanic activity is found along subduction boundaries. Hundreds of millions of people live on the flanks of active volcanoes and could suffer the acute effects of even a moderate-sized eruption. Island arc nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan host the largest populations within 100 km of an active volcano. Indonesia prompts further distinction as having the most explosive eruptions on record as well as the greatest number of eruption-related fatalities.