The UN report states that the main factor driving people to join extremist groups in Africa is poverty, not religion.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) wrote that this report is based on surveys conducted with thousands of people in eight African countries, including Mali, Nigeria, and Somalia.
Only seventeen percent of respondents said that religion was the reason for joining extremist groups, while forty percent stated that poverty was their main motivation.
According to the report, education also plays a crucial role, and just one additional year of schooling significantly reduces the likelihood of individuals joining an extremist group.
In 2021, nearly half of the deaths attributed to extremist groups, which regional governments label as terrorists, occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.