L2 dataset

Global Terrorism Database (GTD)

Overview of the GTD The Global Terrorism Database™ (GTD) is an open-source database including information on terrorist events around the world from 1970 through 2020. Unlike many other event databases, the GTD includes systematic data on domestic as well as transnational and international terrorist incidents that have occurred during this time period and now includes more than 200,000 cases. For each GTD incident, information is available on the date and location of the incident, the weapons used and nature of the target, the number of casualties, and--when identifiable--the group or individual responsible. Statistical information contained in the Global Terrorism Database is based on reports from a variety of open media sources. Information is not added to the GTD unless and until we have determined the sources are credible. Users should not infer any additional actions or results beyond what is presented in a GTD entry and specifically, users should not infer an individual associated with a particular incident was tried and convicted of terrorism or any other criminal offense. If new documentation about an event becomes available, an entry may be modified, as necessary and appropriate. The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) makes the GTD available via this online interface in an effort to increase understanding of terrorist violence so that it can be more readily studied and defeated. Characteristics of the GTD - Contains information on over 200,000 terrorist attacks - Currently the most comprehensive unclassified database on terrorist attacks in the world - Includes information on more than 88,000 bombings, 19,000 assassinations, and 11,000 kidnappings since 1970 - Includes information on at least 45 variables for each case, with more recent incidents including information on more than 120 variables - More than 4,000,000 news articles and 25,000 news sources were reviewed to collect incident data from 1998 to 2017 alone

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PublisherUniversity of Maryland
AccessFile download
LicenseUnspecified
Updated2026-06-08
Views1
Free to useAccount requiredLow legal risk

Topics

terrorisme (Q7283)attaque (Q1174599)guerre (Q198)occurrence (Q1190554)renseignement (Q4488757)

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Details

Access & cost

Pricing
free open access — N/A N/A / N/A

Legal & licence

Access Rights
Public
Legal Risk Notes
Even though efforts have been made to assure the continuity of the data from 1970 to the present, users should keep in mind that the collection was done in real time for cases between 1970 and 1997, was retrospective between 1998 and 2007, and is again in near real time from 2007 through 2020. This distinction is significant because some media sources have since become unavailable, undoubtedly impeding efforts to collect a complete census of terrorist attacks between 1998 and 2007. Moreover, since moving the ongoing collection of the GTD to the University of Maryland in the Spring of 2012, START staff have made significant improvements to the methodology that is used to compile the database. These changes, which are described both in the GTD codebook and in this START Discussion Point on The Benefits and Drawbacks of Methodological Advancements in Data Collection and Coding: Insights from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), have improved the comprehensiveness of the database. Thus, users should note that differences in levels of attacks and casualties before and after January 1, 1998, before and after April 1, 2008, and before and after January 1, 2012, are at least partially explained by differences in data collectionresearchers should adjust for these differences when modeling the data. Furthermore, cases from 1993 were lost prior to receiving the data from PGIS. Efforts thus far have been unsuccessful in fully recovering the 1993 data. Instead of providing a partial listing of cases for 1993, we refer the user to a table provided by PGIS of the total number of attacks in 1993 for each country (see the GTD Codebook's Appendix).
Conforms To
DCAT-3SourceCommons-SCF-0.1

Coverage

Spatial
world
Temporal
19700101-20200101
Wikidata Main Topics
terrorisme (Q7283)attaque (Q1174599)guerre (Q198)occurrence (Q1190554)renseignement (Q4488757)

Identifiers & provenance

Wikidata Id
Q7283
Prefill Status
Not checked
All metadata (3 more fields)

Evaluations

5.0
Quality rating1 evaluation