This is the third consecutive year of improvement, according to the London-based „Global Terrorism Index 2017“ published by the Australian think tank „Institutes for Economics & Peace“ (IEP). Especially in Iraq and Syria, the situation has improved because of the withdrawal of IS ISIS. Compared to 2014, the heyday of terrorism, the death toll fell by more than 40 percent.
According to the study authors, terrorism remains a global phenomenon: 67 countries registered at least one death in 2017. According to the ranking, 94 countries showed an improvement and 46 a worsening – since 2004 this was the highest number of countries that were able to improve on the previous year. The global economic impact of terrorism, according to the 2017 study, was $ 52 billion, down 42 percent from the previous year.
In Europe, deaths fell by 75 percent – from 168 in 2016 to 81 in 2017. France, Belgium and Germany saw significant improvements. Spain, however, shows a significant deterioration. In North America and Western Europe, far-right terrorism has increased, accounting for 59 attacks and 17 deaths in 2017.
In Iraq, the weakening of IS ISIS from 2016 to 2017 contributed to a 56 percent reduction in deaths. IS remains, according to the index, however, the deadliest terrorist group in the world.
