A global ranking of countries most affected by terrorism, based on the latest international data on terrorist incidents and their impacts.
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 twelfth 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.
10 countries most impacted by terrorism
The GTI applies a five-year weighted average to assess the impact of terrorism ranked across 163 countries, with scores normalized on a 0–10 scale.
- Burkina Faso, 8.581
- Pakistan, 8.374
- Syria, 8.006
- Mali, 7.907
- Niger, 7.776
- Nigeria, 7.658
- Somalia, 7.614
- Israel, 7.463
- Afghanistan, 7.262
- Cameroon, 6.944
Key findings
- Global deaths from terrorism fell by 13% to 7,555, following the 2023 surge linked to Hamas’ October 7 attack in Israel.
- Total attacks declined by 3% to 3,492, driven by an 85% fall in Myanmar; excluding Myanmar, global attacks would have risen by 8%.
- Burkina Faso remained the country most affected by terrorism, accounting for one-fifth of all global deaths, despite a decline in both attacks and fatalities.
- The Sahel – the conflict-wracked region of western and north-central Africa – accounted for over half of all terrorism deaths in 2024, with fatalities in the region increasing nearly tenfold since 2019.
- 64 countries recorded a GTI score of zero, meaning they have had neither a terror attack nor death from terrorism in the last five years.
- Four groups—Islamic State (IS), Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and al-Shabaab—were responsible for 4,204 deaths, up 11% from the previous year.
- Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates remained the deadliest network, active in 22 countries and responsible for 1,805 deaths, a 10% decline from 2023.
- TTP recorded the largest increase in deaths, up 90% to 558, while JNIM deaths rose 46% to 1,454, with an average of ten deaths per attack.
- Sub-Saharan Africa remained the deadliest region, accounting for the majority of terrorism deaths for eight consecutive years.
- In the West, the number of attacks rose from 20 to 52 when compared to the prior year, still far below the 2017 peak of 176.
- Antisemitic violence surged across Western nations, with incidents in the United States rising over 200%, and FBI-recorded hate crimes targeting Jewish communities up 270% in the two months after the start of the Gaza war.
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.
| Rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burkina Faso | 8.581 |
| 2 | Pakistan | 8.374 |
| 3 | Syria | 8.006 |
| 4 | Mali | 7.907 |
| 5 | Niger | 7.776 |
| 6 | Nigeria | 7.658 |
| 7 | Somalia | 7.614 |
| 8 | Israel | 7.463 |
| 9 | Afghanistan | 7.262 |
| 10 | Cameroon | 6.944 |
| 11 | Myanmar | 6.929 |
| 12 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 6.768 |
| 13 | Iraq | 6.582 |
| 14 | India | 6.411 |
| 15 | Colombia | 6.381 |
| 16 | Russia | 6.267 |
| 17 | Mozambique | 6.251 |
| 18 | Iran | 6.056 |
| 19 | Kenya | 5.366 |
| 20 | Philippines | 5.166 |
| 21 | Chile | 5.162 |
| 22 | Yemen | 5.08 |
| 23 | Chad | 5.032 |
| 24 | Togo | 5.004 |
| 25 | Palestine | 4.93 |
| 26 | Benin | 4.802 |
| 27 | Germany | 4.748 |
| 28 | Thailand | 4.63 |
| 29 | Egypt | 4.416 |
| 30 | Indonesia | 4.17 |
| 31 | Burundi | 4.043 |
| 32 | Turkiye | 3.968 |
| 33 | Uganda | 3.702 |
| 34 | United States of America | 3.517 |
| 35 | Bangladesh | 3.03 |
| 36 | Greece | 2.928 |
| 37 | Oman | 2.927 |
| 38 | Jordan | 2.913 |
| 39 | Czechia | 2.906 |
| 40 | France | 2.712 |
| 41 | United Kingdom | 2.639 |
| 42 | Algeria | 2.415 |
| 43 | Tunisia | 2.184 |
| 44 | Peru | 2.062 |
| 45 | Ukraine | 2.003 |
| 46 | Australia | 1.973 |
| 47 | Poland | 1.962 |
| 48 | Canada | 1.87 |
| 49 | China | 1.863 |
| 50 | Sweden | 1.842 |
| 51 | Angola | 1.657 |
| 52 | Malaysia | 1.626 |
| 53 | Libya | 1.612 |
| 54 | Senegal | 1.578 |
| 55 | Tanzania | 1.573 |
| 56 | Ecuador | 1.55 |
| 57 | Djibouti | 1.461 |
| 58 | Côte d'Ivoire | 1.454 |
| 59 | Brazil | 1.43 |
| 60 | Netherlands | 1.402 |
| 61 | Belgium | 1.347 |
| 62 | Switzerland | 1.265 |
| 63 | Spain | 1.256 |
| 64 | Lebanon | 1.237 |
| 65 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1.218 |
| 66 | Norway | 1.198 |
| 67 | United Arab Emirates | 1.178 |
| 68 | Nepal | 1.113 |
| 69 | Slovakia | 1.023 |
| 70 | Tajikistan | 0.999 |
| 71 | Central African Republic | 0.957 |
| 72 | Finland | 0.949 |
| 72 | Japan | 0.949 |
| 74 | Italy | 0.929 |
| 75 | Saudi Arabia | 0.845 |
| 76 | Argentina | 0.801 |
| 77 | Ethiopia | 0.787 |
| 78 | Kosovo | 0.782 |
| 79 | Armenia | 0.72 |
| 79 | Denmark | 0.72 |
| 81 | Venezuela | 0.71 |
| 82 | Austria | 0.582 |
| 82 | Mexico | 0.582 |
| 82 | Serbia | 0.582 |
| 82 | South Korea | 0.582 |
| 86 | Cambodia | 0.423 |
| 86 | Latvia | 0.423 |
| 86 | Lithuania | 0.423 |
| 89 | Cyprus | 0.347 |
| 90 | Azerbaijan | 0.233 |
| 90 | Belarus | 0.233 |
| 90 | Ireland | 0.233 |
| 90 | Uzbekistan | 0.233 |
| 94 | New Zealand | 0.217 |
| 95 | Iceland | 0.123 |
| 96 | Eswatini | 0.087 |
| 97 | Paraguay | 0.073 |
| 98 | Bahrain | 0.059 |
| 98 | Uruguay | 0.059 |
The following 64 countries recorded a GTI score of zero, meaning they have not experienced a terrorist attack or death from terrorism in the reported period. They are all tied in 100th place, having shown no measurable impact from terrorism over the past five years.
- Albania
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Gabon
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyz Republic
- Laos
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Namibia
- Nicaragua
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Rwanda
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Taiwan
- The Gambia
- Timor-Leste
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkmenistan
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.