Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your UPSC Current Affairs knowledge nugget for today on Global Terrorism Index 2026.(Relevance: UPSC frequently asks questions on reports and indices. The key takeaways from these reports are also essential fodder for your Mains examination for intricate points. In 2023, UPSC has asked questions on the World Water Development Report; in 2019, the question was on the Global Competitiveness Report. Therefore, it is important for you to get a comprehensive understanding of these indices.)Recently, the 13th annual edition of the Global Terrorism Index was published. The index highlights that terrorism remains a persistent global threat, despite an overall decline in activity. The number of countries experiencing at least one terrorist incident increased to 66, the highest level since 2018. In this context, let’s know about the index and its key highlights.Key Takeaways:1. The Institute for Economics and Peace, established in 2007 by Steve Killelea AM, publishes global reports that influence the “global narratives on matters of security, defence, terrorism and development.” These reports include the Global Peace Index, Global Terrorism Index, and Ecological Threat Report.2. The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a comprehensive, data-driven assessment that provides a detailed summary of key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last decade, drawing on data from 163 countries.3. According to the index, terrorism remains a significant global threat. In 2025, 5,582 people were killed in terrorist attacks across 2,944 incidents. Although sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of terrorism, there was some improvement.4. In 2025, global deaths and incidents both fell, however the distribution of terrorism remains uneven, with activity becoming more concentrated and shifting across regions, even as many countries recorded improvements in their overall impact from terrorism.Story continues below this ad5. Pakistan surpassed Burkina Faso as the country with the highest impact of terrorism in 2025. This is the first time Pakistan has been ranked at number one on the Index. It has been ranked among the ten countries most impacted by terrorism every year since the inception of the index. Ten countries most impacted by Terrorism. (Source: Global terrorism index 2026 )6. The Sahel region accounted for more than half of all deaths in 2025 from terrorism, compared to under one per cent of deaths in 2007.7. According to the Index, the average radicalisation timeline has contracted dramatically: from 18 months in 2005 to 13 months in 2016. Today, radicalisation can occur within a matter of weeks.ALSO READ | Knowledge Nugget | Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0: Why the government’s flagship water scheme is back in focus8. Several of the world’s most persistent terrorism hotspots are concentrated along border regions: the Colombia–Venezuela frontier, the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands, the Central Sahel tri-border area, and the Lake Chad Basin. All these hotspots share common features: porous borders, under governed territory, and connected communities that span national boundaries.Story continues below this ad (AI-generated image)9. According to the index, borderlands often represent authority gaps: remote areas where state control is weakest. Difficult terrain and distance from major cities create spaces where terrorist groups can recruit, train, and operate with relative freedom.10. India ranks 13th in the GTI 2026. India recorded significant improvements on the Index, with falls in the number of terrorist attacks. In GTI 2025, India was ranked 14th. (Source: Global Terrorism index 2026)11. Notably, in 2025, South Asia was the most impacted by terrorism and had the highest average score in the Index. It has been the region most affected by terrorism since 2016. However, despite being the most affected region, the impact of terrorism declined in 2025, with four countries recording improvements and only Pakistan recording a deterioration of its Index score.BEYOND THE NUGGET: Global Peace Index (GPI) 20251. The 10th edition of the GPI 2025 released by the Institute for Economics and Peace covers 163 countries, comprising 99.7 per cent of the world’s population.Story continues below this ad2. The report states, there is a deterioration of global peacefulness by 0.36 per cent, marking the 13th deterioration in peacefulness in the last 17 years, with 74 countries improving and 87 deteriorating in peacefulness.3. Iceland continues to lead and set global standards in maintaining its position as the world’s most peaceful country, a position it has held since 2008. Iceland is followed by Austria, New Zealand and Switzerland. Western and Central Europe is the most peaceful region in the world, home to eight of the ten most peaceful countries.ALSO READ | Knowledge Nugget | LPG in Focus: What it is, how it is produced, and why India depends on imports4. India ranks 115th globally with a GPI score of 2.229, a 0.58 per cent improvement in its level of peacefulness over the past year. This marks a gradual upward trajectory from its rankings of 116 in 2024, 126 in 2023, 139 in 2020, and 141 in 2019.5. According to the report, “South Asia recorded the largest average deterioration of all the regions, with significant falls in peacefulness in both Bangladesh and Pakistan”. It is the second least peaceful region in the world. The least peaceful country in the region is Afghanistan.Post Read QuestionConsider the following indices:1. Human Development Index2. Global Terrorism Index3. Global Peace Index4. Global Gender Gap IndexStory continues below this adHow many of the following indices are published by the Institute for Economics and Peace?(a) Only one(b) Only two(c) Only three(d) All fourAnswer Key(b)(Sources: economicsandpeace.org, Knowledge Nugget: Why Global Peace Index 2025 is important for your UPSC exam)Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for March 2026. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com