Brazil faces an increased risk of unrest in the run up to this summer's World Cup tournament, Aon warned as it issued it annual Terrorism and Political Violence Map
31 JANUARY 2014 | BY JUDITH UGWUMADU
According to the data, Brazil was the only Latin American country to see its risk rating increase from medium to severe because the violent anti-government protests seen last year are likely to continue in 2014. Unrest this year could coalesce around key events such as the FIFA World Cup and the October general elections.
Aon looked at 200 countries and territories and measured political violence and terrorism using colour-coded ratings, split into three 'peril icons': terrorism and sabotage; strikes, civil commotion and malicious property damage; and insurrection, coup and war. The firm said 80 countries faced terrorism perils in 2014, down by 12% compared to 2013.
Japan, Mozambique and Bangladesh all saw an increase in their risk scores, but there were decreases in the scores attached to eight sub-Saharan African countries. Despite this, Africa remains a continent of high political violence and terrorism risk, Aon said.
Empirically, the Middle East is the region most afflicted by terrorism in the world, with a 28% share of all terrorist attacks recorded worldwide in 2013.
In terms of business sectors, retail and transport were more significantly affected last year. A third of terrorist attacks affected the retail sector, while 18% hit transport.
In contrast with other regions, Europe saw notable improvements with 11 countries having its civil commotion perils removed. But terrorism remained a variable threat in the Eurasia region, with Russia and Turkey the most affected by threat in 2013. Additionally, the Winter Olympics which begin today in Russia and will involve significant mass transportation moves, is seen as a potential terrorist target.
Overall, country scores for Asia Pacific and Oceania region remained broadly stable with only four changes out of 29 countries and territories covered.
Neil Henderson, head of Aon Risk Management Solutions crisis management terrorism team, said: 'The map shows that while the terrorism threat in the West has declined, other regions are witnessing significant increases in terrorist violence and activity.
'This insight allows our clients to plan overseas expansion or international growth and supports them in their efforts to be resilient to a terrorist or political violence threat.'
