al-Qaeda Emir al-Zawahiri Audio/Video Annual Release Rate Down 73% in 2020 from 2019, Lowest Level in 18 Years

Al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri's audio/video annual release rate was down 73% in 2020 from 2019. The drop puts him at his lowest level in 18 years. He had three releases in 2020 at a release rate of one release every 121.67 days compared to 2019 when he had 11 releases at a rate of one release every 33.18 days. The 2020 decrease puts him 70% below his average annual release rate of 10 per year for 2018 to 2020. He is 75% below his average annual release rate of 12 per year for 2002 to 2020.

Al-Zawahiri had 224 audio/video releases from 2002 to 2020. The releases which contain his statements are predominantly video releases with 201 being videos and 23 audio only. Total releases amount to more than 103 hours of material with an average runtime of 0:29:59. The shortest video was 0:01:40 and the longest was 2:06:41.

Methodology Note
The analysis includes all audio/video releases in which the speaker makes a new statement. Releases done in multiple parts were counted as one release per part even if two parts came out on the same day. Alternate language versions by the official group and supporter groups were not counted. The reference to video versus audio releases is referring to the type of file released (i.e. mp3, mp4) and not whether new video of the speaker appeared. While audio releases mean the speaker's statement was in audio only, video releases could contain a video statement or an audio statement. The total runtime for the speaker's releases is referring to the total length of all releases in which the speaker appears and not just how long they spoke for.