Geopolitical Risk Index 1985-2025

Since the monthly counting of the Geopolitical Risk Index (GPR) started in 1985, the index peaked in October 2001, immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in the United States. The attack is perceived to be the deadliest terrorist attack in the 20th and 21st century, and ultimately caused the start of the so-called war on terror, with U.S. invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) following in the aftermath.

Russia-Ukraine war

The GPR was also high in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the end of February that year. The attack on an independent state meant that the relations between Russia and the West reached a new low after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and several sanctions were imposed on Russia.

1991: a turbulent year

Apart from the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the index reached its highest level in January 1991. This was a result of the ongoing Gulf War following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, but also Soviet troops storming the Lithuanian capital in order to stop the country's secession from the Soviet Union. Additionally, a massacre of Tutsi in Rwanda highlighted the growing tensions in the East African country, which ultimately resulted in the genocide in 1994.