As geopolitical tensions remain elevated and economic measures are becoming a key foreign policy tool, sanctions continue to shape global trade and diplomacy. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries have rolled out unprecedented restrictions targeting Moscow’s financial system, energy exports and key industries. At the same time, long-standing measures remain in place against countries such as Iran and North Korea over their nuclear and missile programs, while measures against Myanmar have intensified following the 2021 military coup. More recently, new sanctions have been introduced in response to conflicts, weapons programs and human rights violations in countries such as Russia, Iran and Myanmar.
Official data compiled in our chart shows that a small group of regimes faces particularly broad international pressure. North Korea, Iran, Myanmar and Afghanistan are subject to sanctions from all major Western actors as well as multilateral frameworks such as the UN Security Council, reflecting concerns ranging from nuclear weapons development to political repression and security threats. Russia and Belarus also face extensive restrictions, although these are not universally backed at the UN level due to geopolitical divisions. Venezuela, meanwhile, is sanctioned by several Western powers but to a lesser extent overall. The U.S.-Cuba sanctions regime is one of the oldest still in force, with the United States now the only sanctioning actor among those shown in the chart.
It is important to note that not all sanctions are alike. In some cases, such as Afghanistan, measures primarily target individuals or entities (e.g., the Taliban) rather than the state itself. In other cases, including North Korea and Iran, sanctions are far-reaching and encompass trade, finance and entire sectors of the economy. Together, these patterns highlight how major economies are increasingly coordinating sanctions, while underscoring the limits of global consensus in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape.
