Philippines 9th out of 162 countries in terrorism index

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is among the top 10 countries where terrorism has had most impact the past year, a study released on Tuesday showed.

The Global Terrorism Index 2014 by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace ranked the Philippines ninth in 162 countries, and accounted for 1.6 percent of global deaths by terrorism last year.

Iraq ranked first with a score of 10 in the index, followed by Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria, respectively. Ranked sixth to eighth were India, Somalia and Yemen, while Thailand placed tenth in the index.

"Terrorism has increased significantly in the Philippines between 2012 and 2013, with almost twice as many incidents," the study noted.

The country received a score of terrorism index 7.29 out of 10, increasing from a score of 6.73 in last year's study.

About 499 incidents in the Philippines causing the deaths of 292 individuals were believed as terrorist-led. The number of deaths also more than doubled since 2012.

"There were 438 cities that suffered a terrorist attack in 2013, of which only 104 had one attack," the researchers said.

The study measures direct and indirect impact of terrorism in terms of lives lost, injuries, property damage and psychological after-effects of terrorism. It covers 99.6 percent of world population.

Incidents counted in the study are those deemed to be of "an intentional act of violence or threat of violence by a non-state sector" or sub-national actors aiming to attain political, economic, religious or social goal.

Cotabato City in Mindanao saw the highest number of terrorist attacks with 11 separate attacks that claimed the lives of 11 people.

The study noted that terrorism in the country is "intrinsically tied with nationalist and separatist claims" by people living in Mindanao.

"However, terrorism is spread across the country," it said.

The study also identified communist organization New People's Army as the "largest individual group" suspected to be behind terrorist acts in 2013.

READ: NPA largest group behind terrorist attacks in Philippines

The study also counts the Philippines as among those that "may experience increases in terrorism due to ongoing conflict."