Men, who according to the Iraqi security forces are suspected ISIS militants, walk in a line during a presentation to the media at Iraqi military intelligence directorate in Baghdad.

Recruits into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group are better educated than their average countryman, contrary to popular belief, according to a new World Bank study.

Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group, said the newly released study titled “Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism”.

The study, which aimed to identify socio-economic traits that might explain why some are drawn to the Syria-based extremist group, made clear that poverty and deprivation were not at the root of support for the group.

Almost without exception, fighters joining ISIS in Syria and Iraq-based forces had several more years of education in their home countries – whether in Europe, Africa or elsewhere in the Middle East – than the average citizen.

The data shows clearly, the report said, that “poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism.”

Out of 331 recruits described in a leaked ISIS database, only 17 percent did not finish high school, while a quarter had university-level educations.

Only those from Eastern Europe were below the average, and only marginally so, according to the study.

“Foreign recruits from the Middle East, North Africa and South and East Asia are significantly more educated than what is typical in their region,” the Bank report said.

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