Bangladesh climbs Global Terrorism Index as impact low

Bangladesh has been classified as having a “low” impact from terrorism in the 2025 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), released on March 5 by the Institute for Economics & Peace. 

The annual report, now in its 12th edition, tracks global terrorism trends since 2012 and ranks 163 countries based on incidents, fatalities, injuries, hostages, and socioeconomic factors.  

With a score of 3.03—where zero indicates no impact and ten the highest—Bangladesh ranks 35th globally, an improvement from its 32nd position last year. 

This places it ahead of regional neighbours India (14th, 6.411), Pakistan (2nd, 8.374), and Afghanistan (9th, 7.262), as well as below the South Asian average for 2024.  

The report notes a global uptick in terrorism, with affected countries rising from 58 to 66 in 2024, reversing nearly a decade of progress. 

Fatalities increased by 11 per cent, driven by intensified attacks from the four deadliest groups. Burkina Faso tops the index despite a 57 per cent drop in attacks and 21 per cent fewer deaths, accounting for a fifth of global terrorism fatalities, followed by Pakistan and Syria.  

South Asia remains the region most impacted by terrorism, a trend consistent over the past decade. “In 2024, South Asia recorded the highest average GTI score,” the report states. 

“Yet, compared to a decade ago, terrorism has significantly declined, with all countries in the region showing improvement, largely due to reduced activity in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.” Still, Afghanistan and Pakistan rank among the world’s ten most affected nations.  

Within the region, Bhutan and Sri Lanka stand out with GTI scores of zero, indicating no terrorist attacks in the past five years. Nepal follows as the third least impacted, scoring 1.113 and ranking 68th globally, with Bangladesh next in line.