Iran
> Total sanctions: 3,978
> Sanction announced since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: 362
> GDP, current USD, 2020: $231.5 billion
> Exports % of GDP, 2020: 20.8%
> Imports % of GDP, 2020: 25.5%
> Democracy index: 2.0 out of 10, #154 (tied) of 167 countries
> Population, 2021: 85,028,760
Like North Korea, much of the focus of Western sanctions has been related to Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons. But sanctions have also been the result of the Iranian government’s support of Shia militant groups in the region and domestic involvement in human rights abuses, most recently against feminist activists. The U.S. has maintained sanctions since the 1979 Iranian revolution that swept out a pro-Western authoritarian monarchy and replaced it with an authoritarian Islamic republic under a supreme leader.
Russia
> Total sanctions: 12,902
> Sanction announced since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: 10,207
> GDP, current USD, 2021: $1,775.8 billion
> Exports % of GDP, 2021: 30.8%
> Imports % of GDP, 2021: 21.3%
> Democracy index: 3.2 out of 10, #124 of 167 countries
> Population, 2021: 143,446,060
Sanctions against Russia have been building since Moscow’s decision to annex Crimea in 2014, but the number of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals has grown nearly 280% since Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine into a full-blown invasion. Most of these sanctions have been imposed by the United States, Canada, the U.K., Switzerland, the European Union, France, Australia, and Japan.
