“The specter of terrorism loomed particularly large last year. Many of the tell-tale signs of extremism were on display across the world as a stubborn pandemic continued to foster political polarization and economic distress. Globally, the number of terrorist attacks increased (to 5,226), with almost half of the deaths from terrorism resulting from events in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, as we ended the year remembering the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, we witnessed another historic milestone: 2021 marked the first year in which there had been no successful far-right, left-wing or Islamist militant mass terrorist attacks leading to multiple deaths on U.S. soil since 2001.”

Wendy Peters, Executive Vice President (Terrorism and Political Violence), Willis Towers Watson