Nigeria has been ranked the fourth most terror-affected country in the world, according to the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released by the Institute for Economics and Peace on Thursday, March 19.
The report identifies Nigeria as the Sahel nation with the highest number of terrorism-related deaths and incidents in 2025, placing it behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic, which occupy the top three positions respectively.
According to the GTI, about 70 per cent of global terrorism deaths in 2025 were concentrated in five countries—Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Pakistan.
The index further revealed that the majority of attacks in Nigeria were carried out by Islamic State West Africa Province and Boko Haram, which together accounted for roughly 80 per cent of terrorism-related fatalities in the country.
The report noted that Nigeria recorded the highest increase in terrorism fatalities globally in 2025, with deaths rising by 46 per cent to 750. This marks a continued upward trend since 2022.
It also highlighted that while several Sahel countries saw declines in both attacks and fatalities, Nigeria stood out as the only nation in the region to experience an increase in both metrics.
In total, the country recorded 237 more terrorism-related deaths compared to 2024, representing a 13 per cent rise. Additionally, 243 people were injured across 171 recorded incidents during the period under review
