TORONTO - There's security at home.

A decade after the 9/11 attacks, a new global ranking survey has deemed both Canada and the U.S. fairly safe from terrorist attacks.

The Terrorism Risk Index released by the British-based risk analysis and mapping firm Maplecroft, has put Canada in the 86th spot on the list, behind the U.S., which also rates a 'low risk' status of attack at No. 61.

Among the data Maplecroft experts looked at were the number of violent incidents in the past year in 198 countries, as well as the deadliness of those attacks.

However, authors of the index point out, as in the case of the recent violence in Norway, a country can go from tranquil to terrorized in a heartbeat.

Norway was placed at the 112th on the list -- before the July 22 attacks in Oslo.

"The risk is ever prevalent -- that's one of the challenges," Anthony Skinner, an associate director at Maplecroft and principal analyst, told QMI Agency.

He notes the data shows terrorism attacks are on the rise globally, with 11,954 incidents between April 2010 and March 2011, compared to 10,394 from the same months in 2009 to 2010.

Maplecroft is used by global corporations, governments, UN agencies and relief organizations to evaluate risks in some of the world's bloodiest regions.

Before pulling out of a combat roll in Afghanistan, the Canadian military was able to boast being able to dull a usually violent summer fighting season in the districts they watched over.

However, with an overall increase in incidents, Maplecroft ranks Afghanistan in the fourth most dangerous spot on earth in terms of terrorist attacks.

That puts it just behind first-place Somalia, then Pakistan and Iraq.

In the past year, Afghanistan catalogued 3,470 terrorism incidents -- the highest on the planet, though countries including Pakistan had a higher 'fatalities-per-incident' ratio.

In fact, those top four countries accounted for more than 75% of the world's fatalities from terrorism.

Skinner said the nature of terrorism means analysts are looking for trends and markers.

"We're not sitting with a crystal ball," he said.

And the index is not an overall indication of stability or safety, as North Korea (at 123), Haiti (120) and Mexico (117th) are listed above Canada in the list of potential terrorism targets.

Rounding out the safest countries are 53 nations that tied, including the island nation of Vanuatu and even Vietnam.