Reported Social Unrest Index

Project background

The Reported Social Unrest Index (RSUI) attempts to measure the occurrence of social unrest events using spikes in country-specific media coverage matching key search terms.  Early versions of the RSUI were used in various IMF policy publications starting in 2019, but the definitive reference is our 2022 JDE paper.  Please cite this when using the index or related series.  Here it is:

Measuring Social Unrest Using Media Reports, P. Barrett, M. Appendino, J. de Leon Miranda, and K. Nguyen, Journal of Development Economics, Volume 158, September 2022

Data

The data are now available via the IMF's iData platform.

 Disclaimer: The views expressed here are mine alone and should not be attributed to the IMF, its Executive Board, or Management.