Global Terrorism Trends: A Statistical Overview |
Global Terrorism Trends: A Statistical Overview
The Institute for Economics and Peace has released its latest Global Terrorism Index 2026—an annual report that assesses the level of terrorist threat in 163 countries around the world.
The report underscores terrorism’s persistent adaptability. While large-scale spectacular attacks were largely absent (the deadliest incident in 2025 killed 120 people compared to 237 the previous year and over 1,100 in 2023), the threat has not vanished. It has simply reconfigured itself along borders, within fragile states, and through younger recruits.
Pakistan Claims Top Spot
For the first time, Pakistan ranks as the country most impacted by terrorism, with a GTI score of 8.574 and 1,139 deaths. This marks a sharp resurgence driven by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army* (BLA), compounded by the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Deaths in Pakistan are now at their highest level since 2013, with 1,045 incidents recorded in 2025.
Imagine the chaos of the Jaffar Express hijacking in Pakistan last year: 442 hostages taken in one dramatic operation. Such high-visibility incidents, alongside relentless border skirmishes, have turned parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into perpetual conflict zones.
TTP alone was responsible for 637 deaths across 595 attacks, a 13% increase from the prior year, making it the only one of the four deadliest groups to record a rise. Just five countries (Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) accounted for nearly 70% of all terrorism fatalities in 2025. Six of the ten most impacted countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, confirming the region as........