Iran vs Saudi Arabia: Reported Social Unrest Index
Reported Social Unrest Index over time
- Iran
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Iran currently reports 36.98 against 26.28 in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 10.7.
That makes Iran's figure about 1.4 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 13 times across 37 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Saudi Arabia ahead.
Iran ranks 58th and Saudi Arabia ranks 61st of 133 countries.
Iran has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 22.14 | 19.59 | 2.55 | Iran |
| 2000s | 129.06 | 24.54 | 104.53 | Iran |
| 2010s | 208.48 | 159.04 | 49.44 | Iran |
| 2020s | 125.14 | 119.56 | 5.58 | Iran |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher reported social unrest index, Iran or Saudi Arabia?
- Iran, at 36.98 against 26.28 in Saudi Arabia as of 2026.
- What is the difference in reported social unrest index between Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 10.7, with Iran ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and Saudi Arabia?
- 37 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2026.
- How do Iran and Saudi Arabia rank globally for reported social unrest index?
- Iran ranks 58th and Saudi Arabia ranks 61st of 133 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund, published as Reported Social Unrest Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
This dataset provides two measures of social unrest derived from media reports. One is the “A” index from the paper, and the “events” series. Suggested citation: "Barrett, P., Appendino, M., Nguyen, K., & de Leon Miranda, J. (2022). Measuring social unrest using media reports. Journal of Development Economics, 158, 102924." Note: some sources mis-label China and Hong Kong SAR. Series which explicitly adjust for this are available on request from the authors.