INFORM (Information for Risk Management) has released the results of its 2017 Global Risk Index, which enables organisations to compare crisis and disaster risk for 191 countries.
The overall INFORM risk index identifies countries at risk from humanitarian crises and disasters that could overwhelm national response capacity. It is made up of three dimensions - hazards and exposure, vulnerability and lack of coping capacity.
INFORM is an open-source risk assessment tool designed to support decisions about crisis and disaster prevention, preparedness and response. Find the results on the INFORM website.
For the 2017 INFORM, several improvements have been made.
- A measure of reliability is now displayed for each country. It is presented as a Reliability Index on a scale from 0-10 and takes into account missing data, out of date data, and conflict status. Countries with lower Reliability Index scores have risk scores that are based on more reliable data.
- “Maternal mortality ratio” has been added as a new indicator in the “Access to Health System” component of the "Lack of coping capacity" dimension.
- The Global Conflict Risk Index, which is used in the "Projected Conflict Risk" component of INFORM, has been significantly improved.
- The exposure layer used for Natural Hazards has been changed from LandScan to the Global Human Settlements Layer Population Grid by JRC.
Later in 2016, INFORM will release its Annual Report with further analysis. The results are released in advance so that they can be used to support annual planning processes.
INFORM results are open and available in many formats. The Excel sheet contains all the source data and the calculation steps for functional levels, categories and dimensions. Results can also be consulted online, as country profiles, or as GIS data.