Countries With High Possibility of Terror Attack

Did you know that seventy seven nations faced at least a single death from terrorism acts in the year 2016? According to a 2017 Global Terrorism Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace, some countries are at a higher risk of being affected by terrorism than others.

They have prepared a comprehensive and well-researched list about nations that face an increased risk of terrorism attacks based on past occurrences.

For example Iraq, where seven of the 10 most fatal terrorist attacks took place in 2016, tops the list. It bagged a 10 score on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no terrorism impact and 10 is the highest measureable terrorism consequence.

Closely on the heels of Iraq comes Afghanistan, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan (haven’t been mentioned in any particular order here). These destinations don’t really feature on the bucket list on travelers. However still there is an attempt to educate tourists about the dangerous of these locations to avoid greater impact.

Though countries in the top 10 list don’t figure of the wish list of travelers, you’ll be surprised that many nations from the top 20 are in fact buzzing tourist hotspots. These much sought after tourist destinations include Philippines, Thailand, India, Turkey and Egypt (again not mentioned in any specific order).

In Europe, France comes close on the heels of Turkey and Ukraine as the nation that is said to be at a higher risk, with an overall score of 5.964 and ranked 23rdamong the high terrorism risk countries. While United Kingdom is sitting at 35th rank (with an overall score of 5.102), Belgium sits at 40, Germany at 38 and Greece at 46, with overall scores of 4.656, 4.917 and 4.139 respectively.

On a slightly brighter side within these grim researcher findings, terrorism has shown a marked worldwide decline (22 percent decline from high terrorism in 2014). Though global deaths are slightly better in 2016, there are several other gloomy trends that don’t paint a very rosy picture of the world, especially for travelers looking to explore multiple destinations to quench their thirst for adventure and cultural exploration.

Several more nations experienced a minimum of one fatality from acts of terrorism. This statistic is more than the past 17 years, and demonstrates a rise in the number of nations affected by terrorism from 65 in 2014 to 77 in 2016.

Another grim finding is that a minimum of two of every three nations (106 countries to be precise) that figure on this list have witnessed a minimum of one terrorism act, while 77 experienced at least one victim.

While investigating the primary reasons of terrorism, reasons that stand out include existence of armed conflict, government endorsed political violence, political exclusion of a specific group and unresolved group grievances. These are the most important factors influencing terrorism and extremism.

Most people use terrorism as a means within an armed conflict or to oppose repressive governments. This in turn leads to political crackdowns and actions for countering terrorism that ends up magnifying people’s grievances.

This sort of drives or creates even greater extremism, isolation and terrorism. Egypt and Turkey have recorded considerably increased terrorism levels post government counter measures and crackdowns.

The most high impact attack of 2016 happened on December 10, when suicide bombers invaded Palmyra, leading to a minimum of 421 deaths. Further, 12 people were taken hostage and killed in January 2017. Then there was the Nice attack that killed 87 people, and is recorded as the 17th deadliest terrorist attack of 2017.

There are three lists here that make your task of choosing a holiday destination easier. The first is a list of the top 30 nations that are marked “0”, which means they are safest from the perspective of terrorism and terror related activities.

These are the countries that are classified as the no impact group. Then, there are the next 20 nations, which are on high terror radar. These are most impacted or affected by terrorism and related activities.

The third is a list of 10 European nations that are at a high risk of being affected by terrorism and terror related activities. While Turkey tops the list with a score of 7.519, Italy is at the bottom of the list with an index score of 2.75.

This doesn’t really mean that you shouldn’t visit nations that are on high terror alert. It just means equipped with knowledge, you can make better decisions about your travels and vacations. You may want to exercise caution and avoid certain areas that have a high concentration or propensity of terrorist activities.

This survey serves as a good guideline for making informed decisions. At the end of the day, armed with all the relevant information and knowledge of consequences, it is your decision as a tourist whether to visit a particular destination or not.

As many as 30 nations were assigned a rating of 00 to 10, with 0, representing no impact and a lesser likelihood to witness terrorist attacks in future. The next is a list of high terror alert destinations, with their corresponding scores mentioned adjacent to them.

Here’s presenting a list of the 30 countries that are least impacted by terrorism or terror related activities.

1. Benin
2. Botswana
3. Costa Rica
4. Cuba
5. Eritrea
6. Gabon
7. The Gambia
8. Equatorial Guinea
9. Lithuania
10. Latvia
11. Mongolia
12. Mauritania
13. Mauritius
14. Malawi
15. Namibia
16. Norway
17. Oman
18. Papua New Guinea
19. North Korea
20. Portugal
21. Romania
22. Singapore
23. El Salvador
24. Slovenia
25. Swaziland
26. Togo
27. Turkmenistan
28. Timor-Leste
29. Vietnam
30. Zambia

Here are the 20 nations most affected by terrorism

1. Iraq – Global Terrorism Index score: 10
2. Afghanistan – 9.441
3. Nigeria – 9.009
4. Syria – 8.621
5. Pakistan – 8.4
6. Yemen – 7.877
7. Somalia – 7.654
8. India – 7.534
9. Turkey – 7.519
10. Libya – 7.256
11. Egypt – 7.17
12. Philippines – 7.126
13. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 6.967
14. South Sudan – 6.821
15. Cameroon – 6.787
16. Thailand – 6.609
17. Ukraine – 6.557
18. Sudan – 6.453
19. Central African Republic – 6.394
20. Niger – 6.316

Here’s a list of the 10 European nations most affected by terrorism

1. Turkey – Global Terrorism Index score: 7.519
2. Ukraine – 6.557
3. France – 5.964
4. UK – 5.102
5. Germany – 4.917
6. Belgium – 4.656
7. Greece – 4.139
8. Sweden – 3.756
9. Ireland – 3.141
10. Italy – 2.75