Tornado climatology
Tornadoes have been recorded on all continents except Antarctica and are most common in the middle latitudes where conditions are often favorable for convective storm development. The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, as well as the strongest and most violent tornadoes. A large portion of these tornadoes form in an area of the central United States popularly known as Tornado Alley. Other areas of the world that have frequent tornadoes include significant portions of Europe, South Africa, Philippines, Bangladesh, parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and southern and southeast Brazil, northern Mexico, New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.
Tornado
The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes per year, followed by Canada, averaging 62 reported per year. NOAA's has a higher average 100 per year in Canada. The Netherlands has the highest average number of recorded tornadoes per area of any country (more than 20, or 0.0013 per sq mi (0.00048 per km), annually), followed by the UK (around 33, or 0.00035 per sq mi (0.00013 per km), per year), although those are of lower intensity, briefer and cause minor damage.
Tornadoes kill an average of 179 people per year in Bangladesh, the most in the world. Reasons for this include the region's high population density, poor construction quality, and lack of tornado safety knowledge. Other areas of the world that have frequent tornadoes include South Africa, the La Plata Basin area, portions of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.