Dependence of terrorist activity in Central Africa on the type of settlement

The aim of the scientific article is to analyze the dependence of terrorist activity in Central Africa on the type of settlement. The methodology of the article corresponds to the nature of the goal and is aimed at analyzing the dependence of terrorist activity in Central Africa on the type of settlement using historical and statistical methods, methodology of structural and functional analysis, as well as event analysis. Africa is the least urbanized continent in the world, but the rate of urban population growth is much higher than on other continents. Studies of the relationship between urbanization and inequality in urban centers, for example, in terms of education and well-being, show that cities with such inequality are more likely to have high crime rates. The key difference between rural and urban settlements traditionally lies in the high proportion of those who are engaged in agriculture and food production. The author notes that there are no reliable empirical links confirming the correlation between the type of settlement and terrorist activity in Central Africa. Using the example of the process of forced urbanization in Central Africa, the author demonstrates the risks of the growth of terrorist activity in the context of the increasing socio-economic problems of the region. Despite the absence of a statistically significant link between the manifestations of terrorism in urban and rural settlements of Central Africa, there are good reasons to believe that the complex of migration and socio-economic problems associated with urbanization in the future can ensure the emergence of new hotbeds of terrorist activity in the largest cities of the region.