The eleventh edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report for 2024 has been released, with Pakistan recording the most number of terrorism-related incidents in 2023 - with 490 attacks. The GTI provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2012 and is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), using data from Dragonfly's TerrorismTracker database and other sources.
According to the GTI 2024 report, deaths from terrorism increased by 22 per cent to 8,352 deaths and are now at their highest level since 2017, although they remain 23 per cent lower than at their peak in 2015. While the number of deaths increased, the number of terrorist attacks has fallen by 22 per cent to 3,350 last year. The number of countries recording a death from terrorism fell to 41, considerably lower than the peak of 57 countries recorded in 2015 and 44 recorded in 2022.
The report named the October 7 attack by Hamas-led militants in Israel as the largest single terrorist attack that occurred in 2023, which is also the largest single terrorist attack since the 9/11 incident more than twenty years ago. The GTI report also observed improvements in terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, as these countries generally have the highest number of terrorist incidents.
The Islamic State remains the deadliest terrorist group globally for the ninth consecutive year, recording both the highest number of attacks and deaths from terrorism. However, its impact has been falling for almost all of those nine years - deaths attributed to IS and its affiliates have fallen by 17 per cent over the last year. Violent conflict remained the primary driver of terrorism and the levels of terrorist attacks in the West fell to their lowest levels in 15 years.
Top five countries impacted by terrorism and Pakistan's rank
The impact of terrorism is far higher in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia than any other regions in the world, accounting for 94 per cent of deaths from terrorism in 2023. Burkina Faso ranks first on the Global Terrorism Index, with almost 2,000 people dying from 258 incidents last year - amounting to a quarter of all terrorist deaths globally.
Israel ranked second, undergoing one of the deadliest attacks by Hamas on October 7 where 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage. Mali ranked third on the list, contributing to the most terrorist deaths along with Burkina Faso and Niger in West Africa's Sahel region last year. All three nations face uncertain futures, having suffered from coups, weak governance, and fragile relations with neighbouring countries, the report said.
Pakistan moved up three places to rank fourth on the GTI 2024, and it also registered the most incidents of any country, with 490 attacks recorded in 2023. Pakistan also suffered the fourth deadliest attack in 2023, when a suicide bomber killed 84 people and wounded over 200 others in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in January 30. The radical Tehreek-e-Taliban has claimed several terrorist attacks.
The report found that Pakistan was among the four countries that contributed to the highest number of attacks not attributed to a specific group. Pakistan, Nigeria, and Somalia have been the countries most consistently impacted by terrorism since 2011, with all three countries never having been ranked outside the worst ten. Tehreek-e-Taliban became the deadliest terrorist organisation in Pakistan, replacing Balochistan Liberation Army by amounting to 42 per cent of terrorism-related deaths.
Pakistan was followed by Syria at the fifth spot, and the GTI report noted a worrying resurgence of terror activity in the country over the last year. Deaths from terrorism rose to their highest level since 2013, by 23 per cent to 650, and the number of attacks also rose by 22 per cent to 320 incidents in 2023.
Top 10 countries in the Global Terrorism Index
- Burkina Faso
- Israel
- Mali
- Pakistan
- Syria
- Afghanistan
- Somalia
- Nigeria
- Myanmar
- Niger
What is India's rank in the Global Terrorism Index?
India ranks 14th in the GTI 2024 report, slipping down by one spot from last year. It is among the top ten countries with the largest decreases in deaths from terrorism. Bangladesh ranked at 32, while China ranked 73 in the index. The most notable improvements in terrorism occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq was ranked outside of the worst ten countries in the index for the first time, with less than a hundred deaths from terrorism recorded in 2023. Total deaths have fallen 99 per cent since their peak in 2007.
Afghanistan also witnessed a significant improvement in the impact of terrorism, with deaths and incidents falling 84 per cent and 75 per cent respectively since 2007. The report does include acts of state repression and violence by state actors and as such, acts committed by the Taliban are no longer included in the scope of the report.
The deadliest terrorist groups in the world in 2022 were Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates, followed by Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), Hamas, and al-Shabaab. Although the report noted declining numbers in terrorism, the dynamic reflected an intensification of terrorism, with fewer attacks committed by fewer groups while causing a larger number of fatalities.
Although terrorism has fallen in the West, there are still concerns about a possible resurgence in 2024. The October 7 attack and the war in Gaza have greatly increased political tensions in Europe, with German police disrupting planned terrorist attacks on Jewish institutions, the report further said. There are also concerns over an increase in politically related violence, with a record number of countries set to go to the polls in 2024.
ALSO READ | 'World's terrorism factory': India launches scathing attack on Pakistan for raising J-K issue at UN
