Iraq · share of its news about armed violence, last 12 months
Iraq: how tense is it right now?
8.5% of the news located in Iraq this week is about armed violence (war and terrorism): #20 of the 74 countries we track. Compared with its own history since 2017, that is far below its usual level (3 out of 100).
Armed-conflict intensity8.5%of its news, last 7 days
Rank#20of 74 countries
Vs its own history3far below its usual level
Share of the world’s war news0.31%weighed by severity
Iraq · weekly average since 2017 (highest: 16 March 2020)
The tensest weeks for Iraq since 2017share of its news about armed violence, 7 days
| Week ending | Intensity | Nearby event |
|---|---|---|
| 16 March 2020 | 34.3% | — |
| 30 October 2023 | 33.4% | — |
| 31 December 2023 | 32.3% | — |
| 4 February 2024 | 31.8% | — |
| 17 March 2026 | 31.1% | — |
Year by year
| Year | Average intensity | Highest week | Typical rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 14.3% | 31.1% | #12 |
| 2025 | 10.2% | 18.5% | #16 |
| 2024 | 16.9% | 31.8% | #10 |
| 2023 | 13.6% | 33.4% | #14 |
| 2022 | 14.6% | 25.0% | #8 |
| 2021 | 14.5% | 25.1% | #8 |
| 2020 | 16.1% | 34.3% | #6 |
| 2019 | 13.8% | 26.2% | #8 |
| 2018 | 14.4% | 21.3% | #8 |
| 2017 | 18.9% | 26.1% | #5 |
Major events involving Iraq
Full historyCompare Iraq
Elsewhere in Middle East
All countriesFrequently asked questions
How tense is Iraq right now?
8.5% of the news located in Iraq over the last 7 days was about armed violence (war and terrorism), which ranks it #20 of the 74 countries Riftrate tracks.
Is Iraq more tense than usual?
Compared with its own history since 2017, Iraq is far below its usual level: it has been calmer on 3% of days.
When was Iraq most tense since 2017?
The highest reading was 34.3%, in the 7 days to 16 March 2020.
Which countries in Middle East are the most tense right now?
Yemen (29.3%), Gaza and the West Bank (23.7%), Jordan (22.9%).
Where does this data come from?
From the GDELT Project, which codes events reported in the world’s news in more than 100 languages and locates them. Riftrate measures the share of each country’s news about armed violence, excluding ordinary crime and policing. It measures the news, not casualties.
How it is measured: GDELT locates every event reported in the news. We take all the coverage of events located in the country over 7 days and measure the part about armed violence: war and terrorism, excluding ordinary crime and policing. It does not depend on the size of the country or on how many newspapers cover it. It measures the news, not the number of victims. Methodology