Global Terrorism Index 2025

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Regional Profiles: Sub-Saharan Africa
The average GTI score improved slightly in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024. Only seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa experienced a deterioration, potentially indicating a positive shift. However, six of the ten countries most impacted by terrorism in 2024 are in sub-Saharan Africa. Notably, 22 countries in the region have a GTI score of zero, meaning they have not recorded a single terrorist incident in the past five years. 
 
Total attacks in the region dropped to 947, compared to 1,253 in 2023, a decrease of 25 per cent and the least attacks since 2016. Deaths declined by a smaller margin, falling from 5,050 in 2023 to 4,794 in 2024, indicating an increase in the lethality of attacks across the region. 
 
Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Nigeria had the largest increases in terrorism deaths in the past year. Deaths in Niger rose by 94 per cent from 479 to 930 in 2024, the third-highest terrorism death toll recorded globally in 2024. Niger recorded the largest deterioration in GTI score in the region within the last year, experiencing the most deaths and attacks ever recorded in the country. The deadliest attack in Niger occurred in July where over 300 gunmen killed 237 soldiers near the Malian border. No group claimed responsibility, but jihadists are known to operate in the area. This was also the deadliest terror attack globally in 2024. 
 
Togo experienced the second largest deterioration in GTI score in the region in 2024, recording 10 attacks that resulted in 52 deaths. The country has seen a surge in activity from JNIM who carried out 4 attacks that caused 41 deaths. Togo’s deadliest attack occurred in October, when armed JNIM militants attacked a group of soldiers near the country’s border with Burkina Faso, killing nine soldiers and ten civilians.
 
The DRC also recorded a significant deterioration in its score in 2024, driven by increased attacks from IS. Of the 30 attacks and 304 deaths from terrorism recorded in the country, 28 attacks and 299 deaths were attributed to IS. 
 
Despite improvements in 2024, Mali continues to be the second most impacted country by terrorism in the region. Attacks and deaths within the country both fell by 21 per cent, with 201 incidents and 604 deaths recorded in 2024. Mali faces many of the same issues as Burkina Faso and Niger, with JNIM being the most prominent terrorist group in the country. However, as evidenced by Niger, terrorism deaths and attacks can fall substantially in a singly year, only to rise again shortly afterwards. 
 
Tanzania was the most improved country in the region for the second consecutive year, with the country recording zero incidents for the third year in a row. The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Côte d’Ivoire also recorded no attacks for the second year in a row. 
 
Global Terrorism Index 2025. Institute for Economics & Peace. Sydney, Australia.