UNDP: Global Protests Increased by 58% During the Pandemic

Global protests and demonstrations increased during the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. This phenomenon was revealed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its *UNDP 2022 Special Report*.

According to UNDP records, the number of protests against governments worldwide had been steadily increasing annually between 2009 and 2019, with an average increase of 11.5% per year.

However, when the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, the number of protests surged by 58% compared to the previous year.

In 2019, there were approximately 90,462 protest events worldwide. This number rose to 144,113 in 2020.

About 95% of global protests during the pandemic were peaceful, while the remaining 5% involved violence.

The UNDP detailed that the surge in protests during the pandemic occurred most frequently in countries with very high Human Development Index (HDI) scores, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and others.

According to the UNDP, the proliferation of protests reflects growing global dissatisfaction with government performance in the political, economic, social, environmental, and health crisis management sectors.