India among ten nations impacted by terrorism: Survey

The number of lives lost to terrorism increased by 80% in  2014, reaching the highest level ever recorded at 32,658. This compares to 18,111 in 2013.

According to the third edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), out , this increase  represents the largest yearly increase in deaths ever recorded. The report also highlights the  dramatic rise in terrorism over time, with deaths increasing by nine-fold since the year 2000.

The report, developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace and based on data from the Global Terrorism Database of START, reveals that just two terrorist groups, ISIL and Boko Haram, are now jointly responsible for 51% of all global fatalities from claimed terrorist attacks.

Boko Haram, which pledged its allegiance to ISIL as the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) in March 2015, has become the world’s deadliest terrorist group, causing 6,644 deaths compared to ISIL’s 6,073.

Terrorism is also highly concentrated: just five countries - Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria - accounted for 78% of all deaths in 2014. Iraq continues to be the country most impacted by terrorism, with 3,370 attacks killing 9,929 people. This is the highest number of  terrorism incidents and fatalities ever recorded by a single country. Nigeria recorded the largest increase in deaths from terrorism, rising by over 300% to 7,512 fatalities.

However, terrorism spread significantly in the past year. The number of countries that suffered more than 500 deaths has more than doubled, increasing from five in 2013 to 11 in 2014. The new additions were Somalia, Ukraine, Yemen, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Cameroon.

The economic cost of terrorism reached its highest ever level in 2014 at US$52.9 billion, an increase of 61% from the previous year’s total of US$32.9 billion, and a tenfold increase since 2000.

Steve Killelea, Executive Chairman of IEP, said, “The significant increase in terrorist activity has meant that its ramifications are being felt more widely throughout the world. What is most striking from our analysis is how the drivers of terrorism differ between more and less developed countries. In the West, socio-economic factors such as youth unemployment and  drug crime correlate with terrorism. In non-OECD countries, terrorism shows stronger  associations with ongoing conflict, corruption and violence."