The damage caused by natural disasters including cyclones, floods and bushfires has been higher in Australia than most other countries during the past decade, a new report has found.

The World Disasters Report 2018, prepared by the Red Cross, ranks Australia 10th in the world for the cost of damage caused by disasters between 2008 and 2017.

The damage bill was highest in the US ($US525 billion) followed by China ($US319 billion) and Japan ($US247 billion). India and New Zealand also ranked among the top 10. The report put Australia's disaster damage bill over the decade at $US27 billion ($38 billion).

The damage done by disasters in Australia has been higher than most nations during the past decade. Credit:AAP/Dave Hunt

Australia's region, the Asia Pacific, was the world's most disaster-prone last year. It was hit by two out of every five of the 335 disasters recorded worldwide in 2017 and suffered 58 per cent of disaster-related deaths.