Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Today's earthquake in southern Iran that killed as many as 20,000 people is the deadliest since 2001, when more than 20,000 were killed in India. Listed below are the most-deadly earthquakes worldwide since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

     Country        Year      Size                Deaths

 1.  China          1976      7.5 magnitude       250,000
 2.  China          1927      7.9 magnitude       200,000
 3.  China          1920      8.6 magnitude       200,000
 4.  Japan          1923      7.9 magnitude       143,000
 5.  U.S.S.R.       1948      7.3 magnitude       110,000
 6.  Italy          1908      7.2 magnitude       100,000
 7.  Peru           1970      7.9 magnitude        66,000
 8.  Pakistan       1935      7.5 magnitude        60,000
 9.  Iran           1990      7.7 magnitude        50,000
10.  Turkey         1939      7.8 magnitude        30,000

Last Updated: December 26, 2003 15:55 EST