Press and data
Figures you can cite, tables you can download.
Each Phaenyx comparison sets one question against every country it covers, from official sources dated and linked. The key figures below are counted from each page's own table; the tables download as CSV.
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Name Phaenyx and link the page you quote, with its update date: Phaenyx, “Title”, updated YYYY-MM-DD, URL. Each page lists its official sources; for a single country, the primary source is the government page we link.
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Emergency alerts on mobile phones: country by country
Updated 2026-10-29
- 32 of the 62 countries compared confirm a live system that sends emergency alerts to phones in an affected area.
- 13 of the 62 countries compared have no national phone alert yet: 7 approved or funded but not live, 2 unconfirmed and 4 with no national system found.
- 11 of the 62 countries compared test their sirens or phone alerts every month.
- Japan's J-Alert has sent emergency mail to phones since 1 April 2014, the oldest start date cited among the 62 countries compared.
Which countries send a crisis booklet to every household?
Updated 2026-10-26
- 6 of the 62 countries compared have an official source confirming a printed crisis booklet mailed to every household: Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Estonia.
- Poland's mailing is the largest with a stated print run: about 17 million copies of Poradnik bezpieczeństwa posted from 22 December 2025, against 5.2 million in the Czech Republic and more than 5 million in Sweden.
- Sweden's 2024 brochure Om krisen eller kriget kommer is the fifth edition mailed to the public, after 1943, 1952, 1961 and 2018; more than 5 million copies went out.
Emergency numbers and civil-protection agencies by country
Updated 2026-10-20
- 41 of the 62 countries compared list 112 as an emergency number; 20 list other numbers only, such as 911 in the United States and 999 in the United Kingdom.
- In 19 of the 62 countries compared, 112 is the general emergency number, with no separate police, fire or ambulance number in the official lists.
- In 5 of the 62 countries compared, 112 covers only some services: police use another number in Germany and Luxembourg, and 112 is the police number in Norway, South Korea and Colombia.
- Canada and Poland list the most emergency numbers of the 62 countries compared, 14 each.
Is potassium iodide sold over the counter? Country by country
Updated 2026-10-21
- In 20 of the 62 countries compared, official sources show an authorised thyroid-blocking iodine tablet that needs no prescription.
- 7 of the 62 countries compared make potassium iodide prescription-only: Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
- Switzerland bars pharmacies and drugstores from selling iodine tablets; they are handed out free within 50 km of a nuclear plant.
- The sale status of potassium iodide is unconfirmed in 6 of the 62 countries compared, and 9 publish no official information on it.
Where potassium iodide is distributed for free
Updated 2026-10-21
- 16 of the 62 countries compared hand potassium iodide tablets to at least part of the public before any nuclear accident; 7 of them say the tablets are free.
- 16 of the 62 countries compared keep potassium iodide stocks for an emergency only, handing tablets out once an accident happens.
- Switzerland hands out free iodine tablets every 10 years within 50 km of its nuclear plants at Beznau, Gösgen and Leibstadt; the last round was in 2023.
- 13 of the 62 countries compared publish no official guidance on potassium iodide distribution.
Which countries require shelters in new buildings?
Updated 2026-10-21
- 11 of the 62 countries compared require a shelter in at least some new buildings.
- Only 2 of the 62 countries compared, Singapore and Israel, extend the shelter duty to all new housing.
- 28 of the 62 countries compared publish no official guidance on private shelters.
- Switzerland requires owners building housing in communes short of shelter places to build a shelter or pay CHF 1,400 per place not built.
Government emergency preparedness campaigns, country by country
Updated 2026-10-26
- 31 of the 62 governments compared name a national preparedness campaign, programme or dedicated website; the other 31 do not.
- Four national campaigns carry the number 72 in their name: the Czech 72 hodin, Lithuania's LT72, Latvia's 72 stundas and Finland's 72 hours.
- 6 of the 62 countries compared back their campaign or guide with a booklet mailed to every household: Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Estonia.
- 6 of the 62 countries compared hold a yearly preparedness week, month, day or national drill, such as Canada's Emergency Preparedness Week in May and Norway's Egenberedskapsuka in week 44.
Which countries have a shelter place for every resident?
Updated 2026-10-20
- Switzerland is the only one of the 62 countries compared that states a shelter place for every resident as its rule, with about 370,000 personal shelters.
- Taiwan's air-raid facilities hold about 86.65 million people, about 3.7 times its registered population (end 2021).
- Germany's 579 remaining public shelters, with 477,593 places, are neither functional nor ready for use, the federal government states.
- 12 of the 62 countries compared publish no official guidance on public shelters, and 17 have no protective public network.
Do you need a permit for a private shelter? Country by country
Updated 2026-10-21
- 11 of the 62 countries compared require shelters in some new buildings, and only Israel and Singapore require one in every new home.
- In 13 of the 62 countries compared, a home shelter goes through ordinary building rules, with no shelter duty for households.
- 28 of the 62 countries compared publish no official rule or guidance on permits or obligations for a private shelter.
- In France, a buried private shelter needs a prior declaration above 5 m² of floor area and a building permit above 20 m².
How many days of supplies each country recommends
Updated 2026-10-26
- 29 of the 62 governments compared build household supplies around 72 hours (3 days); in Australia, Brazil and South Africa that figure comes from a state or city, not the national government.
- 13 of the 62 governments compared ask for a week of supplies or more; Slovenia's per-adult food list is the longest, at 30 days.
- 10 of the 62 governments compared set no national number of days, including the United States, which asks for "several days".
- 4 of the 62 governments compared ask for less than three days: Argentina (one day in the grab bag), Croatia and Kuwait (at least 2 days) and Portugal (two or three days).