List of earthquakes in 1988

Earthquakes in 1988
4.0–5.9 magnitude; 6.0–6.9 magnitude;	7.0–7.9 magnitude; 8.0+ magnitude;
Strongest magnitude	7.8 Mw  United States, Gulf of Alaska
Deadliest	6.8 Mw  Soviet Union, 1988 Armenian earthquake 25,000 dead
Total fatalities	26,759
Number by magnitude
9.0+	0
	← 1987 1989 →

This is a list of earthquakes in 1988. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury, or damage. All dates are listed according to UTC time. Maximum intensities are indicated on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale and are sourced from United States Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMap or the National Geophysical Data Center. Earthquake activity in 1988 was relatively low, with only 11 major events and none of magnitude 8.0+ occurring. Nevertheless, extremely destructive events took place in Burma, Nepal, China and Armenia. Burma saw two deadly earthquakes just a few months apart with the latter (on the Chinese border) claiming the lives of nearly a thousand. The Armenia earthquake in December was the deadliest earthquake in this year, with more than 25,000 deaths recorded. Early this year, Australia was also struck by an unusual series of strong earthquakes.