Reported Social Unrest Index by country
This dataset provides two measures of social unrest derived from media reports. One is the βAβ index from the paper, and the βeventsβ 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,...
Countries reporting
133
Highest
1,010
Somalia
Lowest
0
Kosovo, Republic of
Median
24.28
Years covered
37
1990β2026
Data points
4,921
What the numbers show
Reported Social Unrest Index is currently reported for 133 countries. The highest value is 1,010 in Somalia; the lowest is 0 in Kosovo, Republic of.
The median across all reporting countries is 24.28, and the mean is 88.48.
Over the past decade 31 countries rose and 54 fell. The largest increase was in Bulgaria (up 835.5%), and the largest decrease in Austria (down 100.0%).
Reported Social Unrest Index: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somalia | 1,010 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 2 | Colombia | 708.1 | 2026 | up 768.7% | volatile |
| 3 | Ghana | 698.74 | 2026 | up 300.9% | volatile |
| 4 | Jamaica | 538.38 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 5 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 420.48 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 6 | Senegal | 413.59 | 2026 | up 100.5% | volatile |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 397.09 | 2026 | up 56.9% | volatile |
| 8 | West Bank and Gaza | 372.64 | 2026 | up 284.2% | volatile |
| 9 | Bolivia | 356.44 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 10 | Kenya | 295.37 | 2026 | up 407.8% | volatile |
| 11 | United Arab Emirates | 294.76 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 12 | Bulgaria | 293.98 | 2026 | up 835.5% | volatile |
| 13 | Ireland | 277.18 | 2026 | up 52.7% | volatile |
| 14 | Hungary | 266.62 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 15 | Netherlands, The | 262.92 | 2026 | up 568.2% | volatile |
| 16 | Cameroon | 250.6 | 2026 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 17 | Guatemala | 236.02 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 18 | Georgia | 226.63 | 2026 | up 256.4% | volatile |
| 19 | Slovenia, Republic of | 210.36 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 20 | Armenia, Republic of | 209.71 | 2026 | up 367.7% | volatile |
| 21 | Nepal | 207.36 | 2026 | up 568.2% | volatile |
| 22 | Israel | 195.96 | 2026 | up 46.1% | volatile |
| 23 | Australia | 186.88 | 2026 | up 62.3% | volatile |
| 24 | Denmark | 183.23 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 25 | Mexico | 163.83 | 2026 | up 501.4% | volatile |
| 26 | Rwanda | 159.13 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 27 | United States | 158.11 | 2026 | up 5.8% | volatile |
| 28 | Moldova, Republic of | 156.07 | 2026 | down 44.3% | volatile |
| 29 | Madagascar, Republic of | 143.29 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 30 | TΓΌrkiye, Republic of | 127.32 | 2026 | up 0.2% | volatile |
| 31 | Lithuania, Republic of | 123.38 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 32 | Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of | 109.86 | 2026 | up 83.8% | volatile |
| 33 | Pakistan | 105.92 | 2026 | up 80.8% | volatile |
| 34 | Cyprus | 105.66 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 35 | Peru | 100.9 | 2026 | up 100.5% | volatile |
| 36 | Azerbaijan, Republic of | 95.61 | 2026 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 37 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 94.45 | 2026 | down 96.0% | volatile |
| 38 | Nigeria | 93.24 | 2026 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 39 | Uganda | 93.24 | 2026 | up 167.3% | volatile |
| 40 | China, People's Republic of | 91.37 | 2026 | down 26.7% | volatile |
| 41 | India | 85.58 | 2026 | down 3.2% | volatile |
| 42 | Spain | 73.1 | 2026 | up 60.4% | volatile |
| 43 | Singapore | 71 | 2026 | down 55.5% | volatile |
| 44 | South Africa | 65.85 | 2026 | up 122.7% | volatile |
| 45 | Bangladesh | 65.75 | 2026 | up 100.5% | volatile |
| 46 | Poland, Republic of | 63.28 | 2026 | down 85.2% | volatile |
| 47 | Morocco | 62.83 | 2026 | down 33.2% | volatile |
| 48 | Nicaragua | 58.79 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 49 | Czech Republic | 48.49 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 50 | Kazakhstan, Republic of | 47.51 | 2026 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 51 | Greece | 47.21 | 2026 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 52 | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China | 46.99 | 2026 | down 18.3% | volatile |
| 53 | Chile | 42.54 | 2026 | down 55.5% | volatile |
| 54 | France | 41.67 | 2026 | down 62.2% | volatile |
| 55 | Italy | 40.77 | 2026 | down 89.7% | volatile |
| 56 | Serbia, Republic of | 38.31 | 2026 | up 33.6% | volatile |
| 57 | Canada | 38.29 | 2026 | down 43.5% | rising |
| 58 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 36.98 | 2026 | down 60.9% | volatile |
| 59 | Ukraine | 34.13 | 2026 | up 2.8% | volatile |
| 60 | Venezuela, RepΓΊblica Bolivariana de | 29.31 | 2026 | down 78.6% | volatile |
| 61 | Saudi Arabia | 26.28 | 2026 | down 85.2% | volatile |
| 62 | Argentina | 25.69 | 2026 | down 66.6% | volatile |
| 63 | Belarus, Republic of | 25.34 | 2026 | down 33.2% | volatile |
| 64 | Yemen, Republic of | 24.94 | 2026 | down 55.5% | volatile |
| 65 | Germany | 24.51 | 2026 | down 84.6% | volatile |
| 66 | Korea, Republic of | 24.35 | 2026 | down 95.0% | volatile |
| 67 | Russian Federation | 24.28 | 2026 | down 85.8% | volatile |
| 68 | Bahrain, Kingdom of | 24.11 | 2026 | down 33.2% | volatile |
| 69 | Romania | 22.74 | 2026 | down 87.9% | volatile |
| 70 | Iraq | 19.27 | 2026 | down 59.9% | volatile |
| 71 | Syrian Arab Republic | 17.36 | 2026 | down 86.6% | volatile |
| 72 | Indonesia | 13.08 | 2026 | down 94.4% | volatile |
| 73 | Brazil | 11.58 | 2026 | down 96.7% | volatile |
| 74 | Thailand | 10.93 | 2026 | down 73.3% | volatile |
| 75 | Albania | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Austria | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Burundi | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Belgium | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Burkina Faso | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Switzerland | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Algeria | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Ecuador | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Egypt, Arab Republic of | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Estonia, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Ethiopia, The Federal Democratic Republic of | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Finland | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Guinea | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Honduras | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Croatia, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Haiti | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Jordan | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Japan | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Kyrgyz Republic | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Cambodia | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Kuwait | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Lebanon | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Libya | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Latvia, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | North Macedonia, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Mali | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Myanmar | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Montenegro | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Mozambique, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Mauritania, Islamic Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Malawi | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Malaysia | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Niger | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Norway | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | New Zealand | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Panama | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Philippines | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Portugal | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Paraguay | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Qatar | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Sudan | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | El Salvador | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Slovak Republic | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Sweden | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Eswatini, Kingdom of | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Chad | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Togo | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Tajikistan, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Tunisia | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Uzbekistan, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Vietnam | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Zambia | 0 | 2026 | β | volatile |
| 75 | Zimbabwe | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Taiwan Province of China | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 75 | Kosovo, Republic of | 0 | 2026 | down 100.0% | volatile |
About this data
This dataset provides two measures of social unrest derived from media reports. One is the βAβ index from the paper, and the βeventsβ 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.