The OSIN report for this week talks about the 2023 Global Terrorism Index.

Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a yearly report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) that evaluates the impact of terrorism in 163 countries using indicators such as terrorist incidents, deaths, injuries, and property damage. Countries are scored on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means no impact from terrorism and 10 means the highest measurable impact.

As per the latest report, it was noted that terrorism deaths have decreased by 9%, but it was largely due to the Taliban’s shift from a terrorist group to a state actor. The Sahel is the most affected region, with 43% of global terrorism deaths, up 7% from the previous year and deaths from Jihadists represent 32% of all terrorism deaths. The report also states that the Ukraine conflict may also lead to a rise in traditional and cyber terrorism. Drone technology is evolving rapidly and being used by groups such as Islamic State, Boko Haram, and Houthis.

The GTI aims to analyse and aggregate data on terrorism to understand its properties and inform a positive debate about policy responses. Given the resources dedicated to countering terrorism worldwide, understanding trends is crucial.