How many active volcanoes are there on Earth?

Scientists estimate that Earth has about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes on land, plus a much larger number of submarine volcanoes that are harder to count. The total changes depending on whether a volcano has erupted in recorded history or is simply considered capable of erupting again. Many of these volcanoes are concentrated around tectonic plate boundaries, especially the Pacific Ring of Fire. Some regions also contain hotspot volcanoes far from plate edges, such as Hawaii. Because many underwater volcanoes are unmapped in detail, the true global count is likely higher than land-only estimates.