Last year was Europe’s worst for terrorism in almost a decade, with shootings overtaking bombings as the preferred method of attack, according to a new report.

Aon’s 2016 Terrorism and Political Violence Risk Map shows that since the start of last year 52% of terrorist assaults in Western countries have been “armed attacks”, compared with 34% bombings.

Far-right activism and the threat of civil unrest stemming from the European migrant crisis have also driven up ratings.

Overall, 18 countries’ risk ratings went up, marking the first net increase since 2013. Risk ratings dropped in 13 countries.

Aon Risk Solutions Director of Crisis Management Scott Bolton says this year’s risk map demonstrates “increasing regional instability” and “a growing spectrum of potential risks”.

“The threats highlighted in the map should encourage business leaders with global footprints to adopt a more strategic risk management approach to limit the impact of attacks on their people, operations and assets,” he said.

“Understanding how they are exposed to the peril is key to achieving this outcome.”

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