Top 15 nations worst-hit by terrorism

Today is anniversary of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. 10 terrorists unleashed Mayhem in India's financial capital, claiming 166 lives, including that 18 security personnel, and injuring several others. 

12 years on, the world is still battling terrorism in all its manifestations. The 2020 Global Terrorism Index reflects exactly that trend.

The 2020 Global Terrorism Index, developed by leading think tank the Institute of Economics and Peace, has reported no change in India's position as among the worst terror affected nations in the world. The report ranks 163 countries (99.7 per cent of the world's population) according to how impacted they are by terrorism. Read on...

Rank 15 
Mozambique

Global Terrorism Index report: "Mozambique had the second largest increase in deaths from terrorism, and had the largest increase in terrorist activity in sub-Saharan Africa outside of the Sahel. Total deaths from terrorism in the country rose from 133 in 2018 to 319 in 2019, a 140 per cent increase. Much of this increase can be attributed to the Central African Province of the Islamic State, which recorded nine attacks and was responsible for 83 deaths in 2019."

Rank 14 
Egypt

Global Terrorism Index report: "ISIS continued its terrorist campaign in Egypt through its Sinai Province. In 2019, the Sinai Province of the Islamic State was responsible for 58 per cent of attacks in Egypt, accounting for over half of terrorist deaths."
 

Rank 13 
Cameroon

Global Terrorism Index report: "One of the four deadliest groups in 2019 -- the Boko Haram operates in Cameroon. In Cameroon, deaths attributed to Boko Haram increased threefold in 2019. The majority of terrorism deaths in Cameroon resulted from attacks on civilians and military targets at 50 and 48 per cent, respectively. The group’s deadliest attack occurred in Cameroon when several hundred assailants, armed with rocket launchers, attacked military positions in Darak, ExtremeNorth. Over 101 deaths were recorded, including at least 37 soldiers and civilians.
 

Rank 12
Burkina Faso

Global Terrorism Index report: "The largest increase in deaths from terrorism linked to expansion of ISIL affiliates into sub-Saharan Africa occurred in Burkina Faso, where deaths rose from 86 to 593, a 590 per cent increase. The rise was mainly driven by three groups: the Islamic State in Greater Sahara, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam
wal Muslimin and the Burkina Faso branch of Ansar alIslam."
 

Rank 11 
Mali

Global Terrorism Index report: "Mali is one of the four countries that had the largest deterioration in the number of people killed in terrorist attacks. Over half of the attacks (43 attacks and 266 deaths) claimed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara were recorded in Mali."
 

Rank 10
Philippines

Global Terrorism Index report: "Terrorism deaths in the Philippines declined for the second consecutive year in 2019, to 284 deaths. Terror-related incidents also decreased by 18 per cent from 424 in 2018 to 348 in 2019. Despite a slight reduction in terrorist activity, the Philippines remains the only Southeast Asian country to be ranked in the ten countries most impacted by terrorism."
 

Rank 9 
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Global Terrorism Index report: "The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recorded a resurgence of terrorist activity in 2019 after a fall in deaths the previous year. Deaths from terrorism increased by 36 per cent to 559 deaths in 2019, compared to 410 in 2018. Terror-related incidents also rose from 135 in 2018 to 213 in 2019, marking a 58 per cent increase. This increase in terrorist activity was driven by renewed action from the Allied Democratic Forces and community militias known as Mayi Mayi groups, as well as the emergence of four new militias."
 

Rank 8 
India 

Global Terrorism Index report: "There were 558 terrorist attacks and 277 deaths from terrorism recorded in India in 2019. This marks a fall in both deaths and attacks of over 20 per cent since 2018. Compared to other countries amongst the ten most impacted, India faces a wider range of terrorist groups, with Islamist, communist, and
separatist groups active across the country. India has the lowest number of terrorism deaths among the ten countries most affected by terrorism, and the lowest lethality rate of attacks"
 

Rank 7 
Pakistan

Global Terrorism Index report: "Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was the deadliest terror group in 2019, overtaking the Khorasan Chapter of the Islamic State. TTP was responsible for 73 terror-related deaths in 2019, followed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA) who were responsible for 21 and 20 deaths, respectively. Collectively, the three deadliest groups accounted for 38 per cent of terrorrelated deaths in 2019.
 

Rank 6 
Yemen

Global Terrorism Index report: "Yemen experienced a 67 per cent increase in total terrorist attacks, driven primarily by an increase in violence by Ansar Allah. Despite the rise in terrorism in 2019, deaths have declined by 66 per cent from their peak in 2015. Yemen remains mired in a prolonged civil war. Since 2015, the war has resulted in over 100,000 fatalities, of which 12 per cent have been civilians killed in targeted attacks. Approximately 23,000 deaths occurred as the result of conflict in 2019, marking a decrease of 25 per cent from 2018, but remaining the second deadliest year of the war. The conflict has displaced nearly 400,000 Yemenis in 2019, contributing to the already fragile situation that the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian tragedy."
 

Rank 5 
Somalia

Global Terrorism Index report: "Al-Shabaab was responsible for 88 per cent of all deaths in 2019, which resulted in 503 fatalities. This marks a 14 per cent decline since 2018. Al-Shabaab continued to conduct bombings against civilians and businesses as well as targeted assassinations of key government figures. Civilian deaths accounted for 36 per cent of terrorism deaths attributed to the group, followed by businesses at 22 per cent and government targets at 20 per cent."
 

Rank 4
Syria

Global Terrorism Index report: "Despite this decline in deaths from terrorism, terror-related incidents increased by 36 per cent in 2019. This increase in terrorist activity was primarily driven by an increase in attacks by the three deadliest groups in Syria: ISIL, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Collectively, these three groups accounted for 74 per cent of terror-related deaths in 2019.
 

Rank 3 
Nigeria 

Global Terrorism Index report: "Despite an overall decline in terrorism, Boko Haram, Nigeria's deadliest terrorist group, recorded an increase in terrorist activity mainly targeted at civilians. Terror-related deaths and incidents attributed to Boko Haram in Nigeria increased by 25 and 30 per cent respectively from the prior year. Over the past year Boko Haram increased attacks on military targets, with deaths rising from 26 in 2018 to 148 in 2019."

Rank 2 
Iraq

Global Terrorism Index report: "Iraq recorded a reduction in terror-related deaths for the third consecutive year in 2019, with less than a thousand deaths recorded for the first time since the US invasion in 2003. The number of deaths from terrorism decreased from 1,054 in 2018 to 564 in 2019, a 46 per cent decrease. There was also a significant decline in the number of terrorist attacks, which more than halved from 1,131 in 2018 to 495 in 2019. Terrorism and battle-related deaths have fallen significantly since their peak in 2014, with both reporting a 95% decrease. Since 2001, there have been 66,689 deaths from terrorism in Iraq. Terrorist activity in Iraq continues to be dominated by ISIL."
 

Rank 1
Afghanistan

Global Terrorism Index report: "Afghanistan remains the country most impacted for the second consecutive year. Afghanistan accounted for 41 per cent of deaths from terrorism globally, with the Taliban being responsible for 87 per cent of these fatalities. During 2019 deaths from terrorism declined by 22 per cent, falling to 5,725. While this reduction in the number of deaths provides some optimism, it is the second highest number of deaths recorded from terrorism in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion