Mount Etna of Italy is thought to be the world's oldest active volcano. The first record of its eruption dates back to 1500 BC. Since then, Etna has erupted 190 times.
At present, about 800 million people live within 100 km of an active volcano--a distance well within reach of potentially lethal volcanic hazards. Of these, about 200 million are in Indonesia.
It is difficult to distinguish an extinct volcano from a dormant (inactive) one. Dormant volcanoes are those that have not erupted for thousands of years, but are likely to erupt again in the future. A volcano is often considered to be extinct if there are no written records of its activity.
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