Is poverty the main cause of terrorism?
No. In the 49 countries designated by the United Nations as least developed, hardly any terrorism occurs.11 Moreover, after statistically controlling for the level of civil liberties in a country, international terrorist activity is unrelated to per capita income, infant mortality, literacy, or any other index related to poverty.12 In the words of Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations, “The poor have enough burdens without being considered likely terrorists simply because they are poor.
