Global terrorism deaths fell by over a quarter in 2025, yet risks remain high.

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The latest Global Terrorism Index reveals a significant worldwide decline in both attacks and fatalities. While 81 countries saw improvements, the landscape of global conflict remains volatile. Terrorism is increasingly concentrated in specific regions, even as new, high-profile threats emerge in Western nations, challenging previous assumptions about stability.

The 2026 edition of the Global Terrorism Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, reports a 28 per cent drop in terrorism-related deaths, totaling 5,582 fatalities in 2025. The number of recorded attacks also fell by nearly 22 per cent to 2,944. This widespread improvement saw 19 countries experience a deterioration in their security situation, the lowest number in the index's history. However, Western countries accounted for seven of these deteriorations, signaling a shift in the global security environment.

Terrorism remains deeply tied to conflict, with only one per cent of deaths occurring outside of conflict-affected nations. Sub-Saharan Africa has become the global epicentre, hosting six of the ten most impacted countries. Pakistan now holds the highest score on the index, marking its most severe level of terrorist activity since 2013. Meanwhile, Nigeria faced a 46 per cent surge in fatalities, reaching 750 deaths, largely driven by ISWAP and Boko Haram. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces have pushed the nation to its worst-ever index ranking.

The nature of these threats is evolving. While the Islamic State remains the deadliest organization, its activity has become more geographically focused, with attacks in sub-Saharan Africa doubling. In the West, deaths from terrorism rose by 280 per cent to 57, a spike driven by mass-casualty events like the New Orleans truck attack and the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia. Furthermore, the rise of drone warfare, inspired by battlefield innovations in Ukraine, has been adopted by groups like the FARC and ELN in Colombia, adding a new dimension to the global threat landscape.

Despite the overall decline, the sustainability of these improvements is uncertain. The absence of large-scale attacks in 2025 contributed to the lower death toll, but the lethality of individual incidents remains a concern. As political fragmentation increases, the rise of ideologically motivated attacks—particularly in South America—suggests that the drivers of terrorism are shifting, requiring policymakers to look beyond traditional conflict zones to address emerging security risks.

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