351 of its 651 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Riyadh accounted for 308 of Saudi Arabia's 351 stories about harm, carried by 319 outlets.
25 Sep to 24 Oct: 46 in every 100 of its stories were about people being harmed — about twice the world's share (19).
What stood out
The news pointed at Saudi Arabia on 20 of the 30 days held.
Most on Sunday 11 October 2026: 640 of its 816 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%.
Compared with
the world's news over the same days; "usual" is its own 30 days before.
How it moved
Saudi Arabia: stories about people being harmed, out of every 100 of its stories
Dashed line: the world. Shaded: its normal range over these days. Blue dots: its biggest days.
Saudi ArabiaThe world
Key events
the events its news covered most, newest on the rightSeptember 2026
25 Sep
Yanbuattacks & violence
28 stories, 35 outlets
25 Sep
Meccaattacks & violence
18 stories, 43 outlets
26 Sep
Riyadhattacks & violence
24 stories, 31 outlets
October 2026
1 Oct
Tabukattacks & violence
107 stories, 154 outlets
3 Oct
Tabukattacks & violence
41 stories, 101 outlets
4 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
39 stories, 59 outlets
8 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
191 stories, 249 outlets
10 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
190 stories, 482 outlets
11 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
596 stories, 728 outlets
12 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
545 stories, 570 outlets
13 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
308 stories, 319 outlets
14 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
219 stories, 310 outlets
20 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
109 stories, 275 outlets
21 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
89 stories, 121 outlets
22 Oct
Riyadhattacks & violence
129 stories, 145 outlets
Scroll sideways for earlier events. Key events are the most covered, not necessarily the most harmful: attacks, accidents and disasters, displacement, protests and outbreaks, ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported them and how clearly they were about one thing, so every year competes fairly.
Its biggest days
when the news pointed at Saudi Arabia most607 of its 876 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Riyadh accounted for 545 of Saudi Arabia's 607 stories about harm, carried by 570 outlets.
640 of its 816 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Riyadh accounted for 596 of Saudi Arabia's 640 stories about harm, carried by 728 outlets.
215 of its 320 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Riyadh accounted for 190 of Saudi Arabia's 215 stories about harm, carried by 482 outlets.
215 of its 375 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Riyadh accounted for 184 of Saudi Arabia's 215 stories about harm, carried by 203 outlets.
260 of its 463 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Riyadh accounted for 191 of Saudi Arabia's 260 stories about harm, carried by 249 outlets.
14 more days the news pointed at Saudi Arabia
96 of its 240 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories).
372 of its 632 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Riyadh accounted for 129 of Saudi Arabia's 372 stories about harm, carried by 145 outlets.
151 of its 364 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Riyadh accounted for 89 of Saudi Arabia's 151 stories about harm, carried by 121 outlets.
171 of its 413 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Riyadh accounted for 109 of Saudi Arabia's 171 stories about harm, carried by 275 outlets.
153 of its 368 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Riyadh accounted for 88 of Saudi Arabia's 153 stories about harm, carried by 81 outlets.
144 of its 307 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Riyadh accounted for 76 of Saudi Arabia's 144 stories about harm, carried by 62 outlets.
118 of its 251 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Riyadh accounted for 76 of Saudi Arabia's 118 stories about harm, carried by 168 outlets.
143 of its 315 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Riyadh accounted for 91 of Saudi Arabia's 143 stories about harm, carried by 96 outlets.
210 of its 449 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Riyadh accounted for 144 of Saudi Arabia's 210 stories about harm, carried by 206 outlets.
297 of its 604 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Riyadh accounted for 219 of Saudi Arabia's 297 stories about harm, carried by 310 outlets.
158 of its 386 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Riyadh accounted for 88 of Saudi Arabia's 158 stories about harm, carried by 117 outlets.
122 of its 374 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
163 of its 523 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Tabuk accounted for 107 of Saudi Arabia's 163 stories about harm, carried by 154 outlets.
116 of its 460 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Illness was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
In detail
against the world's news, same daysPeople and attention
a tenththe world's rateten times
About 37 million people live in Saudi Arabia. Over these days its news carried 147 stories about people being harmed for every million people — about 4 times the world's rate (36 per million).
How much of the world's attention reached it for its size: coverage per person, not harm per person. Population is approximate (about 2023).
Parts of life
Share of its stories about people being harmed, by part of life.
Conflict & violence65%3,509 stories
Deaths & injuries, cause not given13%705 stories
Disasters & accidents8%455 stories
Rights & justice4%198 stories
Food & livelihood3%174 stories
Displacement3%173 stories
Health3%147 stories
Shelter & services1%36 stories
Where it happened
Saudi Arabia (bright) and its neighbours. Dots: its key events in these days, coloured by kind. Click a dot for its stories.
Harm reported
Stories, not people: a story counts once however many people it reports.
Stories reporting people killed3,500 Stories reporting people injured2,835 Stories reporting people affected319 Stories reporting arrests109 Stories reporting people displaced106 Stories reporting evacuations31 Stories reporting abductions10 Stories reporting refugees8 Stories reporting people falling ill1Harsh or warm words
harshwarm
Its stories' words were much harsher than the world's.
Filled dot: Saudi Arabia. Ring: the world. Measured over 5,353 stories.
Feelings
Angerabout three times as angry as the world's
Against its own usual: about as usual
Griefabout one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's
Against its own usual: about one and a half times usual
Feara little less fearful than the world's
Against its own usual: a little less than usual
Warmtha little less warm than the world's
Against its own usual: about as usual
a quarterlike the worldfour times
Dot: Saudi Arabia in these days. Line: the world. Dashed ring: Saudi Arabia's own usual (the 30 days before).
Its neighbours, same days
Yemen63 in 100 of its 1,890 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence Israel52 in 100 of its 16,772 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Saudi Arabia46 in 100
of its 11,880 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Iraq36 in 100
of its 1,588 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Kuwait24 in 100
of its 499 stories were about people being harmed · mostly rights & justice
Jordan23 in 100
of its 2,143 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Oman22 in 100
of its 1,896 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Egypt19 in 100
of its 3,039 stories were about people being harmed · mostly rights & justice
United Arab Emirates14 in 100
of its 3,843 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Qatar9 in 100
of its 2,207 stories were about people being harmed · mostly conflict & violence
Countries that share a border on the map (the nearest ones for an island). A country with few stories ranks lower.
Diseases and disasters named far more than usual
landslides13 Oct10 of its stories that day, more than ten times its usualhurricane12 Oct13 of its stories that day, about three times its usualflooding11 Oct22 of its stories that day, about 6 times its usualillness30 Sep15 of its stories that day, about 5 times its usualCounted where the stories mention most, so a storm abroad can land under a country only mentioned. Opens that day.