Lagos, Nigeria — The Sahel region of Africa has remained the most affected area globally by terrorism, accounting for nearly half of all terrorism-related deaths for the third consecutive year, according to a new global report.
The findings come from the Global Terrorism Index published on Thursday by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an international think tank based in Australia. The report assesses 163 countries using indicators such as the number of attacks, deaths, injuries, and hostages to measure the impact of terrorism worldwide.
The report defines terrorism as “the systematic threat or use of violence by non-state actors, whether for or in opposition to established authority.”
According to the data, more than half of the 7,555 terrorism-related deaths recorded globally in 2024 occurred in the Sahel, a semi-arid region stretching across Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. In 2025, the pattern remained largely unchanged, with nearly half of the 5,582 global deaths still recorded in the region, even though overall fatalities declined.
The report states, “The Sahel has suffered a tenfold increase in terrorism fatalities since 2007”, when it accounted for just one percent of global deaths. It added, “The epicentre of terrorism has shifted from the Middle East and North Africa, into the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa.”
Okay News reports that while Burkina Faso had been the most affected country for two consecutive years, it was overtaken in 2025 by Pakistan. The report noted that Pakistan recorded 1,139 deaths from terrorism and 1,045 incidents during the year.
“This follows a sharp resurgence in terrorist activity driven in part by the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021,” the report said, also linking the trend to increased violence by the Pakistani Taliban and the Baloch Liberation Army.
In Burkina Faso, terrorism-related deaths dropped significantly by 45 percent to 846 in 2025. However, the report explained that the reduction was largely due to an 84 percent fall in civilian casualties rather than a major improvement in overall security conditions.
The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, an armed group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and known by its acronym JNIM, was identified as the main actor in Burkina Faso. The group has reportedly shifted its strategy to target military personnel instead of civilians.
Niger experienced a worsening situation, climbing to third place on the global index after recording 703 deaths in 2025. More than half of those killed were civilians, and the country overtook both Mali and Syria in the rankings.
Nigeria moved to fourth position on the index, with 750 deaths recorded in 2025. This represents a 46 percent increase compared to the previous year and marks the highest toll since 2020. The report attributes the rise to internal instability and continued clashes between Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province.
Mali, by contrast, recorded a decline in fatalities, with 341 deaths in 2025 compared to 604 in 2024, placing it fifth on the index.
The report attributes most terrorist activity in the Sahel to groups linked to the Islamic State and JNIM. It also highlights the spread of extremist violence into coastal West African countries, particularly Benin, which rose to 19th place on the index from 26th.
The findings underscore growing concerns among global security analysts about the shifting geography of terrorism and the increasing vulnerability of countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
