Global Terrorism Index: Bangladesh continues to improve, ahead of India, UK, and US

Bangladesh has improved its standing in global terrorism ranking for the second consecutive year, with the country now less impacted by terrorism than the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2026.

The thirteenth annual edition of the index, published on 19 March by the Sydney-based think tank Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), said the impact of terrorism in Bangladesh remains “low”, based on terrorist activity recorded in 2025.

According to the report, Bangladesh ranked 42nd among 163 countries and scored 2.286 out of 10 on the index. In comparison, the US ranked 28th with a score of 4.521, while the UK placed 38th with a score of 2.936.

Meanwhile, India scored 6.423, placing 13th globally.

Each country in the index is scored on a scale from zero to 10, where zero indicates no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact. The score is calculated using data on deaths, incidents, hostages and injuries linked to terrorism, weighted over a five-year period. 

A higher ranking with a lower score reflects a lower overall impact of terrorism.

Bangladesh’s latest position marks an improvement from its previous rankings – 36th in 2024 and 34th in 2023. However, the country performed relatively better in 2022, ranking 46th.

Its worst performance in the GTI came in 2016, when it ranked 29th with a score of 4.86. The GTI has been providing an overview of global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2012.

Terrorism impact remains highest in South Asia

According to the report, in 2025, South Asia was the most impacted by terrorism and had the highest average score in the index. 

It also noted that the region has been the most affected by terrorism since 2016.

“Despite being the most affected region, the impact of terrorism declined in 2025, with four countries recording improvements and only Pakistan recording a deterioration of its Index score,” it said.

Pakistan recorded a score of 8.374, becoming the most terrorism-affected country globally for the first time, with 1,139 deaths and 1,045 incidents in 2025. Following closely, Afghanistan scored 6.678, ranking 11th globally.

Of the seven countries assessed in the region, Bhutan and Sri Lanka have a GTI score of zero, meaning they have not reported a terrorist attack in the past five years.

Nepal recorded the largest improvement in terrorism in the region, scoring 0.288 and ranking 88th globally, followed by Bangladesh.

Global terrorism falls to a decade low

Globally, deaths from terrorism fell by 28% to 5,582, and incidents decreased by 22% to 2,944, marking the lowest figures since 2007. 

The improvement was widespread, with 81 countries recording improvements. Only 19 countries recorded a deterioration, the lowest number since the index began.

The report stated, “Despite decreases over the past year, the Sahel remains the predominant global terrorist hotspot, accounting for over half of all terrorism-related deaths in 2025.”

The Sahel is a 6,000-kilometre-long semi-arid transition zone in Africa separating the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south.

It also noted that out of the 163 countries assessed in the index, only 25 have not recorded a single terrorist incident since 2007.

In 2025, Pakistan overtook Burkina Faso as the country most impacted by terrorism, followed by Niger, Nigeria and Mali, which together made up the five most affected countries in the world.