India ranked 7th among countries most hit by terror: Global Terrorism Index

India was ranked 7th in the list of countries which has been severely hit by terrorism in 2015, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), 2016, released by the Institute for Economics & Peace, a Sydney-based think-tank. 

India is one of six Asian countries ranked in the top 10 nations most impacted by terrorism. The Heart of Asia conference adopted the Amritsar declaration on December 4, 2016, which recognises "terrorism, violent extremism, radicalization, separatism, and sectarianism.

While the 2015 attacks were the highest since 2000, 80 per cent were non-lethal. Overall, 49 different terrorist groups were engaged in attacks but 31 of these failed to kill anyone. 

"This suggests that groups are seeking to remind governments of their presence without provoking significant military reactions," the report said. 

India experienced 7 per cent of all terrorist attacks around the world, the fourth highest after Iraq (20 per cent), Afghanistan (14 per cent) and Pakistan (8 per cent). India, in 2015, had fewer terror attacks (797) than only Iraq (2,415), Afghanistan (1,715) and Pakistan (1,008).

India suffered twice as many attacks as Syria (384), Afghanistan (1,715) and Pakistan (1,008). India suffered twice as many attacks as Syria (384). 

Deaths from terror attacks globally declined 10 per cent from the highest recorded level of 32,765 in 2014 to 29,376 in 2015, the GTI report said. 

The GTI score for a country is calculated based on weightage assigned to the total number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and property damage sustained in the year in question. The index also takes into consideration attacks which took place in the four previous years.