Somalia · share of its news about armed violence, last 12 months
Somalia: how tense is it right now?
16.8% of the news located in Somalia this week is about armed violence (war and terrorism): #5 of the 74 countries we track. Compared with its own history since 2017, that is around its usual level (68 out of 100).
Armed-conflict intensity16.8%of its news, last 7 days
Rank#5of 74 countries
Vs its own history68around its usual level
Share of the world’s war news0.40%weighed by severity
Somalia · weekly average since 2017 (highest: 7 January 2020)
The tensest weeks for Somalia since 2017share of its news about armed violence, 7 days
| Week ending | Intensity | Nearby event |
|---|---|---|
| 7 January 2020 | 44.8% | — |
| 23 January 2023 | 36.4% | — |
| 1 July 2025 | 33.4% | — |
| 6 April 2018 | 32.7% | — |
| 9 May 2022 | 32.3% | — |
Year by year
| Year | Average intensity | Highest week | Typical rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8.8% | 18.0% | #23 |
| 2025 | 13.7% | 33.4% | #10 |
| 2024 | 9.8% | 21.6% | #20 |
| 2023 | 16.2% | 36.4% | #8 |
| 2022 | 16.6% | 32.3% | #6 |
| 2021 | 16.0% | 32.0% | #7 |
| 2020 | 16.7% | 44.8% | #6 |
| 2019 | 15.3% | 32.0% | #7 |
| 2018 | 15.7% | 32.7% | #7 |
| 2017 | 16.9% | 30.9% | #6 |
Compare Somalia
Elsewhere in Africa
All countriesFrequently asked questions
How tense is Somalia right now?
16.8% of the news located in Somalia over the last 7 days was about armed violence (war and terrorism), which ranks it #5 of the 74 countries Riftrate tracks.
Is Somalia more tense than usual?
Compared with its own history since 2017, Somalia is around its usual level: it has been calmer on 68% of days.
When was Somalia most tense since 2017?
The highest reading was 44.8%, in the 7 days to 7 January 2020.
Which countries in Africa are the most tense right now?
Ethiopia (19.9%), Somalia (16.8%), Sudan (14.5%).
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