Three South Asian countries--Afghanistan India and Pakistan--were ranked among the top 10 countries affected by terrorism in the 2018 Global Terrorism Index. (Above) The Taj Hotel which was the main target during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008. (Photo: Reuters)

The April 21 terror attack in Sri Lanka that killed more than 300 people is among the biggest terror attacks in South Asia in the past 15 years. It comes as a grim reminder of how vulnerable the region is to terrorism. Besides this, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that claimed more than 150 lives in 2008, the gunning down of nearly 150 people (mostly schoolchildren) at an army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2014, and the February 14, 2019 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 Indian security personnel, are testimony that South Asia’s recent history has been marred by routine terror attacks.

An analysis of terror attacks that took place worldwide between 1970 and 2017 reveals that when it comes to terrorism, South Asia is the second most affected region in the world.

For this analysis, we have used data provided by the Global Terror Database (GTD), which is one of the most comprehensive databases on global terrorism. The GTD database on terror attacks is prepared by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland, US. (START is a centre of excellence of the US Department of Homeland Security.)

The data show that in the 48 years (1970-2017), there were nearly 1,80,000 terror attacks across the world. The interactive map below shows the year-wise terror attacks in different parts of the world.

Over the years, most terror-related incidents occurred in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and South Asia. The map shows that in the early 1970s, South Asia appears to be free of terror attacks. But over time the number of terror attacks increased gradually in the region.

From a low of 651 terror attacks in 1970, the worldwide figure clocked the highest in 2014 when there were nearly 17,000 terror attacks. However, the next three years saw an appreciable decline in terror attacks, and by 2017, the number fell to 10,897 attacks.

For South Asia, figures of the Global Terror Database show that in 2017, South Asia accounted for 31 per cent of the total terror related attacks in the world, and 29 per cent of deaths caused by these attacks.

Of the 10,900 terror attacks in 2017, South Asia and MENA together suffered 66 per cent of them (South Asia: 3,430; MENA -- Middle East and North Africa: 3,780).

In terms of number of people killed, these two regions accounted for 70 per cent of the deaths caused due to terror attacks. Worldwide, 26,445 people were killed in terror attacks in 2017, of which 7,664 (29 per cent) were in South Asia and 10,819 (41 per cent) were in MENA.

Source: Global Terrorism Index

(Click on image to zoom)

This trend holds true even for a wider time period. For instance, data show that between 2002 and 2017, South Asia suffered 31,959 terror attacks which claimed 59,229 lives. This was second only to MENA which has 31,126 attacks and 91,311 deaths.

Another measure for increasing number of terror attacks in South Asia can be found in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) which is prepared by the Institute for Economics and Peace. GTI also uses data from Global Terror Database and ranks countries based on a range of parameters.

In the latest rankings in 2018, three South Asian countries (Afghanistan, India and Pakistan) were ranked among the top 10 countries affected by terrorism. Iraq was ranked one, followed by Afghanistan. Pakistan was fifth and India seventh.

Source: Global Terrorism Database

(Click on the image to zoom)

The 2018 report on GTI found that in terms of mode of attacks, bombing was the most preferred mode by terror groups active in South Asia.

In another sign of South Asia’s critical situation, the 2018 Global Terrorism Index found that between 2002-2017, Sri Lanka and Nepal were the only South Asian countries which experienced a decrease in the impact of terrorism.

Note: Data for 1993 is not available with Global Terror Database. It was apparently lost during shifting of office space some years ago.

WHAT HAPPENED IN SRI LANKA ON APRIL 21

*Infographics courtesy: Reuters

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