ISIS has seen its territorial "caliphate" shrink drastically over the past few months and the group has been especially weakened by the fall of Raqqa and Mosul. That has prompted an exodus with at least 5,600 of its foreign fighters returning to their home countries, according to a new report from the Soufan Center. 33 countries have reported arrivals over the last two years.
Following the liberation of important administrative centers such as Raqqa, 19,000 of the estimated 40,000 foreign fighters who joined the group from 110 countries have been identified, though what happened to most them remains unknown. 3,414 Russian fighters took up arms with ISIS and 400 have now returned home, as have 760 of Saudi Arabia's 3,244 fighters.
At least 5,000 individuals from across the European Union flocked to aid the group in creating its caliphate and at least 1,200 of them have now returned home. Out of all European countries, the United Kingdom has seen the highest number of returning fighters, 425. Seven of the estimated 129 American ISIS fighters have also returned to the United States. At this point, it is difficult to judge the threat level posed by these returnees, but countries are going to have to act quickly and formulate strategies to address it.
Related Infographics
FAQ
- The Statista "Chart of the Day", made available under the Creative Commons License CC BY-ND 3.0, may be used and displayed without charge by all commercial and non-commercial websites. Use is, however, only permitted with proper attribution to Statista. When publishing one of these graphics, please include a backlink to the respective infographic URL. More Information
- The Statista "Chart of the Day" currently focuses on two sectors: "Media and Technology", updated daily and featuring the latest statistics from the media, internet, telecommunications and consumer electronics industries; and "Economy and Society", which current data from the United States and around the world relating to economic and political issues as well as sports and entertainment.
- For individual content and infographics in your Corporate Design, please visit our agency website www.statista.design
Any more questions?
Get in touch with us quickly and easily.
We are happy to help!
Do you still have questions?
Feel free to contact us anytime using our contact form or visit our FAQ page.
Your contact to the Infographics Newsroom
Statista Content & Design
Need infographics, animated videos, presentations, data research or social media charts?