Saudi Arabia · share of its news about armed violence, last 12 months
Saudi Arabia: how tense is it right now?
15.6% of the news located in Saudi Arabia this week is about armed violence (war and terrorism): #7 of the 74 countries we track. Compared with its own history since 2017, that is far above its usual level (96 out of 100).
Armed-conflict intensity15.6%of its news, last 7 days
Rank#7of 74 countries
Vs its own history96far above its usual level
Share of the world’s war news2.3%weighed by severity
Saudi Arabia · weekly average since 2017 (highest: 12 October 2026)
The tensest weeks for Saudi Arabia since 2017share of its news about armed violence, 7 days
| Week ending | Intensity | Nearby event |
|---|---|---|
| 12 October 2026 | 23.5% | — |
| 9 March 2026 | 22.7% | — |
| 30 July 2026 | 20.8% | — |
| 11 September 2026 | 18.6% | — |
| 9 March 2021 | 18.2% | — |
Year by year
| Year | Average intensity | Highest week | Typical rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10.5% | 23.5% | #21 |
| 2025 | 4.3% | 9.5% | #58 |
| 2024 | 4.8% | 10.3% | #56 |
| 2023 | 4.1% | 8.6% | #61 |
| 2022 | 6.0% | 14.4% | #46 |
| 2021 | 8.1% | 18.2% | #24 |
| 2020 | 7.4% | 13.8% | #26 |
| 2019 | 10.4% | 17.1% | #14 |
| 2018 | 10.3% | 17.5% | #15 |
| 2017 | 8.4% | 13.7% | #23 |
Major events involving Saudi Arabia
Full historyCompare Saudi Arabia
Elsewhere in Middle East
All countriesFrequently asked questions
How tense is Saudi Arabia right now?
15.6% of the news located in Saudi Arabia over the last 7 days was about armed violence (war and terrorism), which ranks it #7 of the 74 countries Riftrate tracks.
Is Saudi Arabia more tense than usual?
Compared with its own history since 2017, Saudi Arabia is far above its usual level: it has been calmer on 96% of days.
When was Saudi Arabia most tense since 2017?
The highest reading was 23.5%, in the 7 days to 12 October 2026.
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