Global Terrorism Index 2022: Sub-Saharan Africa emerges as global epicentre of terrorism, as global deaths decline
PR94699
LONDON, Mar. 2, 2022, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--
- Despite global terrorist attacks increasing to 5,226 in 2021, deaths declined
slightly by 1.2%.
- The Ukraine conflict is likely to drive a rise in traditional and cyber
terrorism, reversing previous improvements in the region.
- Terrorism in the West declined substantially, with attacks falling by 68%. The
US recorded its lowest score since 2012.
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism deaths.
- The Sahel is home to the world’s fastest growing and most-deadly terrorist
groups.
- Myanmar had the largest rise in terrorism with deaths increasing 20 times to
521 deaths in 2021.
- Islamic State (IS) replaces the Taliban as the world’s deadliest terror group
in 2021, with 15 deaths per attack in Niger.
- Terrorism has become more concentrated, with 119 countries recording no
deaths, the best result since 2007.
- In the West, politically motivated attacks overtook religious attacks, which
declined by 82%. There were five times more political attacks than religious
attacks.
- Terrorists are using more advanced technologies including drones, GPS systems
and encrypted messaging services.
The 2022 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) reveals that despite an increase in
attacks, the impact of terrorism continues to decline. In 2021, deaths from
terrorism fell by 1.2% to 7,142, while attacks rose by 17%, highlighting that
terrorism is becoming less lethal. Two thirds of countries recorded no attacks
or deaths from terrorism – the best result since 2007 – while 86 countries
recorded an improvement on their GTI score. The number of deaths has remained
approximately the same for the last four years.
The Index highlights that terrorism remains a serious threat, with Sub-Saharan
Africa accounting for 48% of total global deaths from terrorism. Four of the
ten countries with the largest increases in deaths from terrorism were also in
sub-Saharan Africa: Niger, Mali, the DRC and Burkina Faso.
Following military defeats in Syria and Iraq, IS shifted its attention to the
Sahel, with deaths from terrorism rising ten times in the region since 2007.
The Sahel has become the new epicentre of terrorism. Terrorism in the region is
compounded by high population growth, lack of adequate water and food, climate
change and weak governments. Adding to the complexity, many criminal
organisations are representing themselves as Islamic insurgencies.
The annual Global Terrorism Index, now in its ninth year, is developed by
leading international think tank the Institute of Economics and Peace
[https://www.economicsandpeace.org/] (IEP) and provides the most comprehensive
resource on global terrorism trends. The GTI uses a number of factors to
calculate its score, including the number of incidences, fatalities, injuries
and hostages, and combines it with conflict and socio-economic data to provide
a holistic picture of terrorism.
The Index shows that terrorism is becoming increasingly concentrated,
contracting into countries already suffering from violent conflict. Conflict
zones accounted for 97% of all deaths. The ten countries most affected by
terrorism are all in conflict zones. Only 44 countries recorded a death from
terrorism in 2021, compared to 55 countries in 2015.
The largest increase in terrorism was in Myanmar, where deaths rose 23 times
from 24 to 521, followed by Niger, where deaths doubled, increasing from 257 in
2020 to 588 in 2021. Mozambique had the largest drop in terrorism deaths,
falling by 82% to 93. The success was largely driven by counter-insurgency
operations against IS by Mozambican forces, with support from Rwanda and the
Southern African Development Community.
Also on a positive note, counter insurgency has significantly decreased Boko
Haram’s activities, with the organisation recording only 64 attacks in 2021.
Deaths dropped by 92% from 2,131 in 2015 to 178 in 2021. The decline of Boko
Haram contributed to Nigeria recording the second largest reduction in deaths
from terrorism in 2021, with the number falling by 47% to 448.
Ukraine is likely to see an uplift in terrorism. In the 2014 crisis, the
country recorded 69 terrorist attacks. Of serious concern are the knock-on
effects of cyber terrorism to other countries. In addition to cyberattacks on
the Ukraine, Russia has been credited with attacks on many other countries. It
is possible that the threat of cyber terrorism will rise globally alongside the
escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
The Ukraine conflict is likely to reverse gains in Russia and Eurasia, which
recorded the largest improvement on the GTI in 2021, followed by North America.
The MENA region has improved substantially, moving up two places from the least
peaceful region in 2018. For the second year in a row, South Asia is the region
most impacted by terrorism, while Central America and the Caribbean region
recorded the lowest impact.
Steve Killelea, Founder & Executive Chairman, IEP: “Terrorism is becoming more
centred in conflict zones, underpinned by weak governments and political
instability, while in Europe and the US politically motivated terrorism has
overtaken religiously motivated attacks. As conflict in the Ukraine dominates
global attention it is crucial that the global fight against terrorism is not
sidelined. Terrorist activity in the Sahel is increasing substantially, and is
driven by Islamic militias.”
“The decline of terrorism in the West coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restrictions on freedom of movement, travel and the immediate threat to
personal health may explain some of the fall. Once the emergency measures are
removed there is the possibility of an uptick in terrorism activity.”
As technology has advanced so has its use by terrorist groups. This includes
missiles and drones, which extend the reach of their attacks and reduce their
casualties. Affordable smartphones, social media and encryption are other
technologies that also extend their networks, making the spread of propaganda
and recruitment easier.
The report identifies IS and its affiliates as the world’s deadliest terrorist
group in 2021, despite deaths attributed to the group declining slightly from
2,100, to 2,066 deaths. The worst attack of 2021 occurred when an IS suicide
bomber detonated two bombs at Afghanistan’s Kabul International Airport,
resulting in 170 deaths and more than 200 injuries.
Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen, who operate in the Sahel, is the world’s
fastest growing terrorist organisation and was responsible for 351 deaths in
2021, a 69% increase. The world’s most lethal terrorist group was the Islamic
State of West Africa, where in Niger each attack averaged 15 deaths.
Attacks in the West have declined significantly, dropping by 68% in 2021, from
the peak in 2018. In total there were 113 attacks in Europe in 2021, and seven
attacks in the US. The US recorded a significant improvement in the impact of
terrorism, recording its lowest GTI score since 2012. There were three attacks
by Islamic extremists in Europe, the lowest amount since 2014.
Over the last three years in the West there has been a significant shift in the
instigators of terrorism. Acts of religious terrorism declined by 82% in 2021,
and have been overtaken by politically motivated terrorism, which now accounts
for five times as many attacks. Most attacks which are driven by a left or
right ideology are perpetrated by individuals or groups with no formal
affiliation to a recognised organisation. The targets of these attacks are
often similar, typically government organisations or political figures, and the
motivations are similar. Both cohorts are radicalised online and hold the
existing system in contempt.
Attacks in the UK halved in 2021 to 12, the lowest number since 2008, with only
one being religiously motivated. The US recorded seven attacks, with five being
politically motivated and the remaining two unclassified. France recorded seven
attacks down by 72% from the 25 recorded in 2020.
The conditions most closely associated with terrorism vary depending on the
social and economic factors of a country. There is a clear link with political
terror and a lack of acceptance of basic human rights for the majority of
countries. For OECD countries, there is a strong relationship between increased
terrorism and social inequalities, as well as easier access to weapons and
higher militarisation. For other countries, weak institutions, group grievances
and political terror are significant factors in driving terrorism.
Notes to Editors
The full GTI 2022 report and interactive map are available at:
visionofhumanity.org
Follow: @GlobPeaceIndex
Like: facebook.com/globalpeaceindex [http://www.facebook.com/globalpeaceindex]
Contacts:
Global Terrorism Index press office at H+K Strategies: gti2021@hkstrategies.com
Global Terrorism Index (GTI)
The GTI by the Institute for Economics & Peace provides a comprehensive summary
of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 14 years. The
report ranks 163 countries (99.7 per cent of the world’s population) according
to the impact of terrorism. The indicators include the number of terrorist
incidents, fatalities, injuries and hostages.
The GTI report is produced using data from Terrorism Tracker and other sources.
Terrorism Tracker provides event records on terrorist attacks since 1 January
2007. The dataset contains over 60,500 terrorist incidents for the period 2007
to 2021.
Institute for Economics & Peace
The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) is the world’s leading think tank
dedicated to developing metrics to analyse peace and to quantify its economic
value. It does this by developing global and national indices, including the
annual Global Peace Index, calculating the economic cost of violence and
understanding Positive Peace which is the attitudes, institutions and
structures that create and sustain peaceful societies.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/792052/IEP_Logo.jpg
SOURCE: The Institute of Economics and Peace
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