India Has Witnessed the Most Environmental Protests
Protests are a platform for people to voice their grievances against their respective governments, or organizations. Many a time, protests have been organized by people against projects that are harmful for the well-being of the environment. These protests may range from being relatively peaceful to the ones that have seen governments suppressing them, due to their hostility and agitation.
According to the Environmental Justice Atlas, there have been more than 2,000 protests across the world in the past 100 years (1917 to 2017). Protests against the governments, or organizations have been in the fields of nuclear, mineral ores and building extractions, waste management, fossil fuel and climate justice, industrial and utilities conflicts, biomass and land conflicts, water management, infrastructure and built environment, tourism recreation, and biodiversity conservation conflicts.
Of all the countries listed in the Environmental Justice Atlas data, India had witnessed the maximum number of protests. In this time period, India witnessed 244 protests. Colombia had witnessed 122 protests in the last 100 years, which placed it at the second spot on the list. Earning the third spot was Brazil, which, until now, had seen 81 protests.
Apart from Brazil, other nations which saw between 50 and 100 protests in the past 100 years were the United States, Peru, Nigeria, Spain, Ecuador, Mexico, and Turkey. China, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Venezuela, and a few others, witnessed between 25 and 50 protests.
The number of protests in nations like Bangladesh, Egypt, Romania, Kazakhstan, South Sudan, Hungary, Pakistan, Belgium, Switzerland, and others was relatively low, with these nations witnessing less than 10 protests in the past 100 years.
However, the data said that Cuba, Afghanistan, Czech Republic, Central African Republic, Venezuela, the Netherlands, and a few others did not see even one protest taking place in the last 100 years.
The data provides information on the number of environmental protests witnessed by each nation.
| Country | Number of Protests (1917 to 2017) |
|---|---|
| India | 244 |
| Colombia | 122 |
| Brazil | 81 |
| United States of America | 77 |
| Peru | 75 |
| Nigeria | 73 |
| Spain | 70 |
| Ecuador | 61 |
| Mexico | 55 |
| Turkey | 51 |
| China | 48 |
| Chile | 46 |
| Argentina | 42 |
| Bolivia | 40 |
| Philippines | 39 |
| Indonesia | 32 |
| Venezuela | 32 |
| Sri Lanka | 29 |
| Kenya | 27 |
| Guatemala | 26 |
| Serbia | 26 |
| Italy | 25 |
| Canada | 22 |
| Germany | 21 |
| Japan | 21 |
| Cambodia | 20 |
| South Africa | 20 |
| Mozambique | 19 |
| Vietnam | 19 |
| Honduras | 19 |
| Croatia | 18 |
| Portugal | 17 |
| Madagascar | 16 |
| France | 16 |
| Bulgaria | 16 |
| Costa Rica | 15 |
| Panama | 15 |
| Zimbabwe | 14 |
| Greece | 14 |
| Tanzania | 14 |
| Australia | 14 |
| Thailand | 13 |
| United Kingdom | 13 |
| Sweden | 13 |
| Russian Federation | 12 |
| Montenegro | 12 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 11 |
| Slovenia | 10 |
| Uganda | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 9 |
| Egypt | 9 |
| Nicaragua | 9 |
| Republic of Korea | 9 |
| Morocco | 9 |
| Liberia | 7 |
| Ghana | 7 |
| Ethiopia | 7 |
| Malaysia | 7 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 7 |
| Romania | 6 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 |
| Lebanon | 6 |
| El Salvador | 6 |
| Mali | 6 |
| Macedonia, FYR | 6 |
| Palestine | 6 |
| Sierra Leone | 6 |
| South Sudan | 5 |
| Paraguay | 5 |
| Belgium | 5 |
| Dominican Republic | 5 |
| Lao PDR | 5 |
| Hungary | 5 |
| Niger | 5 |
| Myanmar | 4 |
| Papua New Guinea | 4 |
| Pakistan | 4 |
| Poland | 4 |
| Austria | 4 |
| Namibia | 4 |
| Gabon | 4 |
| Finland | 4 |
| Tunisia | 4 |
| Belize | 4 |
| Zambia | 3 |
| Uruguay | 3 |
| Sudan | 3 |
| Senegal | 3 |
| Iceland | 3 |
| Algeria | 3 |
| Malawi | 3 |
| Ireland | 3 |
| Georgia | 3 |
| Cameroon | 3 |
| Taiwan | 3 |
| Jamaica | 2 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Norway | 2 |
| Nepal | 2 |
| Guinea | 2 |
| Chad | 2 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | 2 |
| Denmark | 2 |
| Mongolia | 2 |
| Somalia | 2 |
| Albania | 2 |
| Iraq | 2 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Ivory Coast | 1 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1 |
| Suriname | 1 |
| Libya | 1 |
| Haiti | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 |
| Botswana | 1 |
| Angola | 1 |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | 1 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 1 |
| Malta | 1 |
| Armenia | 1 |
| Guyana | 1 |
| Benin | 1 |
| Congo, Rep. | 1 |
| Israel | 1 |
| Mauritania | 1 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1 |
| Maldives | 1 |
| Mozambique, South Africa | 1 |
| Lesotho | 1 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1 |
| Kosovo | 1 |
| New Caledonia | 1 |
| Ukraine | 1 |
| Tajikistan | 1 |
| Azerbaijan | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 |
| Venezuela, RB | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 0 |
| Central African Republic | 0 |
| Latvia | 0 |
| Cuba | 0 |
| Afghanistan | 0 |
| Bhutan | 0 |
| Bahamas, The | 0 |
| Andorra | 0 |
| Jordan | 0 |
(Data sourced from Environmental Justice Atlas)
