DHAKA: The Global Terrorism Index (GTI), a publication released by non-profit think tank Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) says Bangladesh is at considerable risk of terrorist activity.

The country has been ranked 23 among 162 nations in the Global Terrorism Index.

The index scores 162 countries, covering 99.6 percent of the world’s population, and examines trends from 2000 to 2013.

The indicators used include the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and property damage.

Key factors analysed in the report were Weak state capacity, Illegitimate and corrupt governments, Powerful externalactors upholding corrupt regimes, Extremist ideologies, Historical violence and conflict, Inequality in power, Repression by foreign occupation or colonial powers, Discrimination based on ethnic or religious origin, Failure of the state to integrate dissident groups of emerging social classes and Social injustice.

The report also said, “Based on measuring these factors IEP has identified the following 13 countries as being at risk of substantial

increased terrorist activity from current levels: Angola, Bangladesh, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Iran, Israel, Mali, Mexico, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Uganda.”

The report, however, dismissed any correlation between poverty and terrorism saying, “there is no systematic link to poverty measures and several broader economic development factors such as the Human Development Index or its subcomponents such as mean years of schooling or life expectancy”.

“Similarly, economic indicators such as GDP growth also do not correlate,” it added.

GTI report further said, “The most statistically significant correlates with terrorism include measures of social hostilities and lack of inter-group cohesion and group grievances, but also measures of state sponsored violence such as extrajudicial killings, political terror scale and poor human rights”.

BDST: 1602 HRS, NOV 18, 2014