Though Western countries have experienced the highest levels of terror deaths since the 1970s.

The global number of deaths relating to terrorism has fallen by 59 percent since 2014, according to findings by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI).

“Despite the overall fall in the global impact of terrorism, it remains a significant and serious threat in many countries,” said the Institute for Economies & Peace in a press release.

However, Western Europe, North America and Oceania have seen the sharpest increase in terror deaths “at any time in the last 50 years,” experiencing a 250 percent rise.

The GTI foresees the West’s adverse trend continuing, citing the prevalence of “political instability and violence” caused by the economic downturn from the pandemic.

Far-right attacks are also more likely to be “carried out by unaffiliated individuals” compared to other strains of terrorism, with more than 60 percent not being attributed to any particular organization over the past 50 years.

“This does not mean that far-right terrorists have no contact with extremist organisations,” stresses the report. “Contact with likeminded individuals can be a significant factor in the radicalisation process.”

An overwhelming number of terror-related deaths (96 percent) are still localized in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Syria and African countries such as Nigeria and Somalia.

However, as countries like the U.K. cut their overseas aid in order to balance their pandemic spending, the GTI warns that “reductions in international assistance for counter-terrorism operations [could be] counter-productive.”

The GTI report ranked Afghanistan at number 1 for terror-related deaths. The U.S. (29) and U.K. (30) were the highest ranked Western countries, closely followed by Ukraine (36).In the past month alone, Europe has experienced terrorist attacks in France (38), Austria (91), and Switzerland (113), totalling seven dead and nearly 30 injured when combining the Nice, Vienna, and Lugano attacks. The attacks have prompted stern reaction in the forms of calls for tighter border controls in the Schengen area.

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