Report: More than 20,000 Foreign Fighters in Syria/Iraq
The International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) at King's College London has released results of a report estimating that more than 20,000 foreign fighters have joined Sunni militant groups in Syria and Iraq.
The International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) at King's College London has released results of a report estimating that more than 20,000 foreign fighters have joined Sunni militant groups in Syria and Iraq. The figure now exceeds the number of foreign fighters who fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, “the largest mobilization of foreign fighters in Muslim majority countries since 1945,” according to ICSR and the Munich Security Conference. Almost 20 percent are nationals or residents of West European countries. The following data on foreign fighters by country, compiled by ICSR, is included in the Munich Security Report.
Western Europe
Country | Estimate | Per capita* |
Austria | 100-150 | 17 |
Belgium | 440 | 40 |
Denmark | 100-150 | 27 |
Finland | 50-70 | 13 |
France | 1,200 | 18 |
Germany | 500-600 | 7.5 |
Ireland | 30 | 7 |
Italy | 80 | 1.5 |
Netherlands | 200-250 | 14.5 |
Norway | 60 | 12 |
Spain | 50-100 | 2 |
Sweden | 150-180 | 19 |
Switzerland | 40 | 5 |
United Kingdom | 500-600 | 9.5 |
*Up to; per million population.
The Rest of the World
Country | Estimate |
Afghanistan | 50 |
Albania | 90 |
Algeria | 200 |
Australia | 100-250 |
Bahrain | 12 |
Bosnia | 330 |
Canada | 100 |
China | 300 |
Egypt | 360 |
Israel/Palest. Territories | 120 |
Jordan | 1,500 |
Kazakhstan | 250 |
Kosovo | 100-150 |
Kuwait | 70 |
Kyrgyzstan | 100 |
Lebanon | 900 |
Libya | 600 |
Macedonia | 12 |
Morocco | 1,500 |
New Zealand | 6 |
Pakistan | 500 |
Qatar | 15 |
Russia | 800-1,500 |
Saudi-Arabia | 1,500-2,500 |
Serbia | 50-70 |
Somalia | 70 |
Sudan | 100 |
Tajikistan | 190 |
Turkey | 600 |
Turkmenistan | 360 |
Tunisia | 1,500-3,000 |
Ukraine | 50 |
United Arab Emirates | 15 |
United States of America | 100 |
Uzbekistan | 500 |
Yemen | 110 |
Click here for ICSR's complete findings and information on its methodology
Click here for the 2015 Munich Security Report
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