A report issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) shows that jihadist violence sharply increased in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2025, while global terrorism deaths dropped to their lowest levels in ten years.
Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths worldwide, with fatalities rising by 46% from 513 in 2024 to 750 in 2025, placing the country fourth on the Global Terrorism Index, behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Nigeria faces a multifaceted security crisis, as extremist groups like Boko Haram and its splinter factions attempt to assert control over territories, alongside the activities of ethnic militias, criminal gangs, and 'bandit' groups in the north and central regions, and the emergence of new threats such as elements of the Lacour community.
The country witnessed deadly attacks, including a massacre in February in Kwara State near the Benin border, which claimed the lives of 162 people, marking one of the deadliest single attacks in modern history. In another security development, the army announced that its forces, supported by airstrikes, repelled a coordinated assault by Islamist militants on a military base in Borno State, resulting in the deaths of at least 80 fighters, including prominent leaders. This followed multiple suicide bombings in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, which killed at least 23 people and injured over 100.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, terrorism-related deaths rose by about 28% in 2025, from 365 to 467, pushing the country to the eighth position on the index, its worst ranking to date. The primary driver behind this rise was attacks carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), linked to the Islamic State.
In contrast to these two cases, the index showed a global decline in terrorism deaths of 28%, with a total of 5,582 fatalities in 2025, while the total number of attacks decreased by approximately 22%. Notably, the West recorded a relative increase of 280% after 57 registered fatalities, including 28 in the United States, the highest number since 2019, alongside a growing role of extremism among youth and lone actors.
Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace, indicated that these trends 'signal a concerning outcome: that the fractured global order may erase the hard-won gains against terrorism made over the past decade.' The report also highlighted the increasing concentration of attacks in border areas, such as the tri-border area in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.
In the Sahel region, identified as the global center for terrorism, there was a general decrease in fatalities, although it accounted for more than half of global deaths in 2025. Burkina Faso recorded the largest global decrease in terrorism deaths, with fatalities cut in half, while civilian losses dropped by 84%. Experts suggest that the al-Qaeda-linked Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) has deliberately reduced its attacks on civilians to win 'hearts and minds' and solidify its regional gains.
The report noted a tactical shift among extremist groups towards launching coordinated and complex attacks on military bases amid intensified counter-insurgency operations. Drones have been increasingly utilized; JNIM has ramped up its aerial operations using drones over 100 times in the past three years in the Sahel. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded 16 drone-related incidents carried out by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) since 2014, ten of which were drone attacks, while the rest were reconnaissance and intelligence missions in preparation for ground attacks on military targets, according to Laad Serawat, senior analyst at ACLED for the Africa file.