Institute for Economics and Peace Report on Terrorism
Wealthy nations suffered a massive increase in deaths from terrorism in 2015, according to new figures released Wednesday.
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2016 reveals that developed world became more dangerous in 2015 with a 650% increase in fatal terror attacks on its people.
Although there was slight decrease in the global context, terrorist attacks hit an all-time high in the world’s biggest economies including the US, UK, Germany, France, and Turkey.
The annual report by Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) also highlighted that terrorism is intensifying in some countries and spreading to new ones.
Record of Deaths Related to Terrorism in Developed Countries
The report says there were 731 deaths related to terrorism in the 34 countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2015.
This figure is a 650% increase in 2015 with 21 of the 34 countries suffering at least one attack. Most of the victims were killed in Turkey and France.
Other Parts of the World
The report also showed the record of terrorism-related deaths in other countries. The report revealed that Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan experienced the worst attacks, representing 72% of all deaths from terrorism in 2015.
In Syria, the report showed a 50% rise in terrorism from 2014 to 2015. In Nigeria and Iraq, fewer numbers of terrorism-related deaths were recorded. That was thanks to successful and sustained military operations against Boko Haram and ISIS.
Intensification of Terrorism Continues
The GTI report revealed the worrying record of terrorism-related deaths globally, particularly the continuing intensification of ISIS activity.
The report cited that ISIS became active in more countries, skyrocketing from 13 in 2014 to 28 countries in 2015.
Last year’s report showed the toll caused by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. In 2014 it was responsible for 6,644 deaths. ISIS killed 6,073 people in 2014. The two terrorist groups were responsible for more than half (51%) of deaths attributed to terrorism that year.
With these worrying figures, IEF chief Steve Killelea stressed the need for concrete action to counter the surge of terrorist attacks.
Killelea said in a statement, “The attacks in the heartland of Western democracies underscore the need for fast paced and tailored responses to the evolution of these organizations.”
