Significant Kidnappings
by Nationality for 2015

The charts show the nationality of hostages in significant kidnappings around the world in 2015. It covers incidents tracked in the ICD Hostage Component from 2015 as of 24 Feb. 2015. It does not show hostages whose kidnappings have not yet been made public.

So far in 2015, there have been 51 significant kidnappings. Egyptian nationals have been the most kidnapped at 45% (23). The Philippines and Bulgaria tied for second at 12% (6). South Korea came in third at 6% (3) followed by Russia, Greece and France tied for fourth at 4% (2). The US, Sweden and China tied for fifth at 2% (1).

China, which topped the list in 2014, may continue to see an increase through 2015. Western nationals were specifically identified on 26 Apr. 2014 by al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri as a prime target to secure the release of jihadi prisoners and this approach has also been taken by other jihadist groups. Most importantly it has been proven a successful method by jihadists. Consequently, there will likely be an increase in Westerners taken to secure prisoner releases as well as continued targeting of nationals from countries that pay ransom. This will be further exacerbated by efforts of the Islamic State (IS) to kidnap Westerners for these and propaganda reasons.

Overall, an increased effort by jihadist groups to take hostages from a wide array of countries to use in exchange for their own prisoners significantly increases the risk of kidnappings around the world for 2015.

Methodology Note:
Significant kidnappings typically include those conducted or likely conducted by terrorist or rebel groups of individuals who fall outside of local national targets. They are kidnappings that are generally more complex and involve additional resources and planning due to the nature of the nationality of the victim or the prominence of his or her employer. This analysis only looked at kidnappings that occurred during the period and not the total number of hostages still being held in these countries. Mass kidnappings of 25 or more people were not counted. This report also does not reflect hostages who have been taken but not publicly acknowledged as being kidnapped. Actual kidnapping numbers are usually higher then shown here as a result. Full records for all kidnappings used in this chart are in the ICD Hostage Component.

The IntelCenter Database (ICD) allows users to easily create charts tracking hostage job/role, nationality, location of kidnapping and many other metrics related to terrorist and rebel kidnappings. As of 24 Feb. 2015, the ICD has detailed records on more than 400 hostages. IntelCenter also provides analytical support services on terrorist and rebel messaging efforts.

Reporting and original source materials are contained in the IntelCenter Database (ICD). Sign up for a free 10-day trial of the ICD and see additional details by clicking here.