Terrorism in Europe - Statistics & Facts
In 2022, the number of terrorist attacks in the European Union reached 28 attacks, the second lowest number of attacks in years. As a consequence of this, the number of terrorist fatalities in Europe was just four in 2022. Italy had the highest number of terrorist attacks in Europe in 2022, at 12, compared with six in France, and four in Greece. To put this in a global context, the country with the most terrorist attacks, Democratic Republic of Congo, suffered 984 attacks in 2022, followed by Syria which had 915. Overall, there were estimated to have been around 7,342 terrorist attacks across the world resulting in over 21,943 deaths in 2022.
This trend is not isolated to specific countries but is present throughout the continent. A recent example is the United Kingdom, where right-wing groups clashed with police during a week of riots in 2024, resulting in over 1,000 arrests. The unrest was sparked by a violent crime—the murder of three young girls in Southport—and fueled by misinformation campaigns that triggered the protests. Meanwhile, Italy, historically less affected by terrorism, recorded the highest number of attacks in 2022, mostly perpetrated by left-wing extremist groups, underscoring the widespread nature of this issue.
Terrorism wave of the mid 2010s
In terms of fatalities, four of the ten worst terrorist attacks in Europe since 1980 took place between 2015 and 2017. The worst of these were the November Attacks in Paris in 2015, where gunmen directed by ISIS murdered 130 people at various sites throughout the French capital. This single attack had a higher death toll than the overall number of terrorist fatalities in the whole of Europe between 2010 and 2014. The Paris attacks were followed by various other atrocities in Europe that were inspired by ISIS, with the deadliest examples being Nice and Brussels in 2016, followed by the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. The attack in Nice in particular highlighted the danger of vehicle attacks to European societies, in that they required little planning, few resources and were often undertaken by a single attacker, or lone-wolf.Extreme polarization and terrorism
Since 2020, there has been a significant rise in both right-wing and left-wing terrorism, making these extremist groups the primary threat to public security in Europe by 2023. This growing polarization, as seen in the 2024 European Parliament Elections, has fueled political extremism across the region. For instance, the surge in politically motivated offenses throughout 2023 has heightened public fear of radicalized groups and the potential for terrorist attacks.This trend is not isolated to specific countries but is present throughout the continent. A recent example is the United Kingdom, where right-wing groups clashed with police during a week of riots in 2024, resulting in over 1,000 arrests. The unrest was sparked by a violent crime—the murder of three young girls in Southport—and fueled by misinformation campaigns that triggered the protests. Meanwhile, Italy, historically less affected by terrorism, recorded the highest number of attacks in 2022, mostly perpetrated by left-wing extremist groups, underscoring the widespread nature of this issue.
