1998-2017 Belt and Road Initiative countries Fragile States Index and global terrorism attack events

(1)During 1998–2017, the number of events was the highest on Mondays and the lowest on Fridays. In addition, the incidence of events was high between Monday and Thursday but the lowest on Fridays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, the number of events was the largest in January, May, July, and November, and the lowest in June and September; the incidence of terrorist attacks in April to May and July to August is high. (2) Terrorist attacks showed a 10-year cycle during the study period. Terrorist attacks in the last 10 years of the study period were broader in scope and higher in number compared to the previous 10 years. In addition, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and northeastern Europe saw many new terrorist attacks during the latter 10 years. (3) The number of terrorist attacks by bombing/explosion was the largest, followed by armed attack; assassination, kidnapping, and infrastructure attacks were the least frequent. The core areas of the terrorist attacks were Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. (4) The driving force analysis revealed that the indicators “security apparatus,” “human flight and brain drain,” and “external intervention” contributed the most to BRI terrorist attacks.