Countries most impacted by terrorism

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A global ranking of countries most impacted by terrorism, using the latest available data from the Global Terrorism Index.

A colour-coded map of the countries most impacted by terrorism
A map of the countries most impacted by terrorism (IEP)

The latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has been released by the international think tank, the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP). The Global Terrorism Index, now in its ninth edition, analyses the impact of terrorism in 163 countries covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population.

The report uses data from Terrorism Tracker, as well as other sources, to calculate a GTI score consisting of four indicators: incidents, fatalities, injuries and property damage. To measure the impact of terrorism, a five-year weighted average is then applied to rank all 163 countries.

A graphic showing deaths from terrorism since 2007
Deaths from terrorism since 2007 (Dragonfly, IEP)

10 countries most impacted by terrorism

  1. Afghanistan, 9.109
  2. Iraq, 8.511
  3. Somalia, 8.398
  4. Burkina Faso, 8.270
  5. Syria, 8.250
  6. Nigeria, 8.233
  7. Mali, 8.152
  8. Niger, 7.856
  9. Myanmar, 7.830
  10. Pakistan, 7.825
A graphic showing 10 countries with the highest number of deaths from terrorism
The 10 countries with the most deaths from terrorism (Dragonfly, IEP)

Key findings from the Global Terrorism Index

  • In 2021, terrorism attacks rose by 17% to 5,226.
  • However, deaths from terrorism fell by 1.2% to 7,142 suggesting terrorism is becoming less lethal.
  • 119 countries recorded no deaths from terrorism – the best result since 2007.
  • 86 countries recorded an improved GTI score.
  • 71 countries recorded a GTI score of zero, meaning they have had neither a terror attack nor death from terrorism in the last five years.
  • Terrorism in the West declined significantly with attacks falling by 68%.
  • The USA recorded its lowest score – 4.961 – since 2012.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism deaths.
  • The Sahel – the conflict-wracked region of western and north-central Africa – is home to the world’s fastest-growing and most-deadly terrorist groups.
  • Myanmar saw the largest rise in terrorism with deaths increasing 20 times to 521.
  • The Islamic State (IS) replaced the Taliban as the world’s deadliest terror group in 2021, with 15 deaths per attack in Niger.
  • Unsurprisingly, the conflict in Ukraine will likely lead to a rise in terrorism.
A graphic showing the world's deadliest terrorist groups
The world’s deadliest terrorist groups (Dragonfly, IEP)

Global Terrorism Index – complete ranking

The index below ranks the world’s countries most impacted by terrorism according to their GTI score. The GTI scores each nation on a scale from 0 to 10; where 0 represents no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact of terrorism.

Some countries may have been omitted due to insufficient data.

  1. Afghanistan, 9.109
  2. Iraq, 8.511
  3. Somalia, 8.398
  4. Burkina Faso, 8.270
  5. Syria, 8.250
  6. Nigeria, 8.233
  7. Mali, 8.152
  8. Niger, 7.856
  9. Myanmar, 7.830
  10. Pakistan, 7.825
  11. Cameroon, 7.432
  12. India, 7.432
  13. Mozambique, 7.432
  14. Colombia, 7.068
  15. Egypt, 6.932
  16. Philippines, 6.790
  17. DR Congo, 6.733
  18. Chile, 6.496
  19. Chad, 6.379
  20. Kenya, 6.166
  21. Yemen, 5.870
  22. Thailand, 5.723
  23. Turkey, 5.651
  24. Indonesia, 5.500
  25. Sri Lanka, 5.445

  1. Libya, 5.100
  2. Iran, 5.015
  3. USA, 4.961
  4. Greece, 4.849
  5. Israel, 4.778
  6. UK, 4.770
  7. Palestine, 4.736
  8. Germany, 4.729
  9. Nepal, 4.693
  10. France, 4.562
  11. Tanzania, 4.530
  12. Peru, 4.471
  13. Tunisia, 4.447
  14. Algeria, 4.432
  15. Bangladesh, 4.411
  16. New Zealand, 4.376
  17. Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast), 4.310
  18. Burundi, 4.271
  19. Russia, 4.219
  20. Uganda, 4.106
  21. Venezuela, 4.005
  22. Tajikistan, 3.988
  23. Canada, 3.882
  24. Ethiopia, 3.759
  25. Italy, 3.687

  1. Lebanon, 3.566
  2. Austria, 3.261
  3. Benin, 3.164
  4. Saudi Arabia, 3.110
  5. Spain, 2.861
  6. Ecuador, 2.766
  7. Argentina, 2.657
  8. Jordan, 2.594
  9. Switzerland, 2.522
  10. Australia, 2.438
  11. Mexico, 2.428
  12. Ukraine, 2.304
  13. Malaysia, 2.247
  14. Paraguay, 2.194
  15. Bahrain, 2.145
  16. Netherlands, 2.077
  17. China, 1.863
  18. Belgium, 1.745
  19. Sweden, 1.660
  20. Senegal, 1.580
  21. Japan, 1.460
  22. Uruguay, 1.322
  23. Rwanda, 1.243
  24. South Africa, 1.243
  25. Togo, 1.243

  1. Morocco, 1.156
  2. Norway, 1.109
  3. Ireland, 1.060
  4. Romania, 1.060
  5. Finland, 1.007
  6. Brazil, 0.951
  7. Cyprus, 0.922
  8. Lithuania, 0.827
  9. Mauritania, 0.509
  10. Vietnam, 0.407
  11. Angola, 0.291
  12. Czech Republic, 0.291
  13. Denmark, 0.291
  14. Gabon, 0.291
  15. Kosovo, 0.291
  16. Sudan, 0.291
  17. Taiwan, 0.227

The following 71 countries recorded a GTI score of zero, meaning they have not had a terror attack or death from terrorism in the last five years. They are all tied in 93rd place and have experienced no measurable impact from terrorism during the last five years.

Source: Global Terrorism Index 2022