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A new report, Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2015, states that Boko Haram – the Islamic extremist group based in northeastern Nigeria – has overtaken the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to become the most deadly terrorist group in the world. The report says while ISIS was responsible for 6,073 terrorist deaths in 2014, deaths attributed to Boko Haram in 2014 were 6,644, a 317 percent increase from the previous year.
 
The report, released by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), aims to measure the global impact of terrorism. IEP is a think tank that provides metrics for measuring peace and is also dedicated to showing that peace is an achievable and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. The third edition of the Global Terrorism Index shows global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 15 years, while placing a special focus on 2014

The report says the total number of deaths from terrorism in 2014 increased by 80 percent, compared to 2013. This is the highest recorded level of terrorism fatalities over the last 15 years. Deaths from terrorism have risen from 3,329 in 2000 to 18,111 in 2013 and jumped to 32,685 in 2014. Boko Haram, which calls itself Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah (Islamic State's West Africa Province), and ISIS are responsible for 51 percent of these deaths.

According to the 2015 GTI, terrorism in concentrated in a few countries, namely, Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria. These countries accounted for 78 percent of terrorism deaths in 2014. Nigeria is ranked 3rd on the Global Terrorism Index 2015, after Iraq and Afghanistan.

In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS, which controls a third of Iraq’s territory and about half of Syrian sovereign territory. The GTI report says foreign fighters flowing into Iraq and Syria continued in 2014 and 2015. Between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters from 100 different countries have arrived in Iraq and Syria. In the first half of 2015, it is estimated that over 7,000 new recruits arrived. Europe accounted for 21 percent of all foreign fighters in 2014. Half of the foreign fighters are from neighbouring Middle-East and North African countries.

IEP estimates that the global economic cost of terrorism reached $52.9 billion in 2014, which is the highest economic cost ever estimated.

“IEP conservatively estimates the economic cost of terrorism reached its highest ever level in 2014 at US$52.9 billion. This is a 61 per cent increase from the previous year and a ten-fold increase since 2000,” the report says in part.

The drivers of terrorism, according to the report, include violent conflicts in countries, political instability, high youth unemployment, drug crimes, among others factors. The report also says terrorism is correlated with low respect for human rights.