Information on more than 180,000 Terrorist Attacks
The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) is an open-source database including information on terrorist attacks around the world from 1970 through 2017. The GTD includes systematic data on domestic as well as international terrorist incidents that have occurred during this time period and now includes more than 180,000 attacks. The database is maintained by researchers at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), headquartered at the University of Maryland. More Information
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Geography: Worldwide
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Time period: 1970-2017, except 1993
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Unit of analysis: Attack
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Variables: >100 variables on location, tactics, perpetrators, targets, and outcomes
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Sources: Unclassified media articles (Note: Please interpret changes over time with caution. Global patterns are driven by diverse trends in particular regions, and data collection is influenced by fluctuations in access to media coverage over both time and place.)
Definition of terrorism:
"The threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation."
See the GTD Codebook for important details on data collection methodology, definitions, and coding schema. Acknowledgements
The Global Terrorism Database is funded through START, by the US Department of State (Contract Number: SAQMMA12M1292) and the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of University Programs (Award Number 2012-ST-061-CS0001, CSTAB 3.1). The coding decisions and classifications contained in the database are determined independently by START researchers and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official views or policies of the United States Government.
GTD Team
The GTD has been leveraged extensively in scholarly publications, reports, and media articles. Putting Terrorism in Context: Lessons from the Global Terrorism Database, by GTD principal investigators LaFree, Dugan, and Miller investigates patterns of terrorism and provides perspective on the challenges of data collection and analysis. The GTD's data collection manager, Michael Jensen, discusses important Benefits and Drawbacks of Methodological Advancements in Data Collection and Coding.
Use of the data signifies your agreement to the following terms and conditions.
END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
IMPORTANT – THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU ("You") AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, a public agency and instrumentality of the State of Maryland, by and through the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (“START,” “US,” “WE” or “University”). PLEASE READ THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (“EULA”) BEFORE ACCESSING THE Global Terrorism Database (“GTD”). THE TERMS OF THIS EULA GOVERN YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE GTD WEBSITE, THE DATA, THE CODEBOOK, AND ANY AUXILIARY MATERIALS. BY ACCESSING THE GTD, YOU SIGNIFY THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, ACCEPT, AND AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS EULA, DO NOT ACCESS THE GTD.
GTD means Global Terrorism Database data and the online user interface (www.start.umd.edu/gtd) produced and maintained by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). This includes the data and codebook, any auxiliary materials present, and the user interface by which the data are presented.
LICENSE GRANT. University hereby grants You a revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable right and license to access the GTD and use the data, the codebook, and any auxiliary materials solely for non-commercial research and analysis.
RESTRICTIONS. You agree to NOT:
a. publicly post or display the data, the codebook, or any auxiliary materials without express written permission by University of Maryland (this excludes publication of analysis or visualization of the data for non-commercial purposes);
b. sell, license, sublicense, or otherwise distribute the data, the codebook, or any auxiliary materials to third parties for cash or other considerations;
c. modify, hide, delete or interfere with any notices that are included on the GTD or the codebook, or any auxiliary materials;
d. use the GTD to draw conclusions about the official legal status or criminal record of an individual, or the status of a criminal or civil investigation;
e. interfere with or disrupt the GTD website or servers and networks connected to the GTD website; or
f. use robots, spiders, crawlers, automated devices and similar technologies to screen-scrape the site or to engage in data aggregation or indexing of the data, the codebook, or any auxiliary materials other than in accordance with the site’s robots.txt file.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES:
a. All information sourced from the GTD should be acknowledged and cited as follows: "National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland. (2018). The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd"
b. You agree to acknowledge any copyrightable materials with a copyright notice “Copyright University of Maryland 2018.”
c. Any modifications You make to the GTD for published analysis must be clearly documented and must not misrepresent analytical decisions made by START.
d. You agree to seek out an additional agreement in order to use the GTD, the data, the codebook or auxiliary materials for commercial purposes, or to create commercial product or services based on the GTD, the data, the codebook or auxiliary materials.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. The University owns all rights, title, and interest in the GTD, the data and codebook, and all auxiliary materials. This EULA does not grant You any rights, title, or interests in the GTD or the data, the codebook, user interface, or any auxiliary materials other than those expressly granted to you under this EULA.
DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.
a. THE GTD, THE CODEBOOK, USER INTERFACE, OR ANY AUXILIARY MATERIALS ARE MADE AVAILABLE ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. UNIVERSITY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES – WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ORAL OR WRITTEN, IN FACT OR ARISING BY OPERATION OF LAW – WITH RESPECT TO THE GTD, THE CODEBOOK, AND ANY AUXILIARY MATERIALS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY. UNIVERSITY MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE GTD, THE CODEBOOK, ANY AUXILIARY MATERIALS, OR USER INTERFACE WILL OPERATE ERROR FREE OR IN AN UNINTERRUPTED FASHION.
b. In no event will the University be liable to You for any incidental, special, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages of any kind, including lost profits or business interruption, even if advised of the possibility of such claims or demands, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, arising in connection with Your access to and use of the GTD, the codebook, user interface, or any auxiliary materials or other dealings. This limitation upon damages and claims is intended to apply without regard to whether other provisions of this EULA have been breached or proven ineffective. In no event will University’s total liability for the breach or nonperformance of this EULA exceed the fees paid to University within the current billing cycle.
c. Every reasonable effort has been made to check sources and verify facts in the GTD; however, START cannot guarantee that accounts reported in the open literature are complete and accurate. START shall not be held liable for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions or resulting from any use, misuse, or alteration of GTD data by the USER. The USER should not infer any additional actions or results beyond what is presented in a GTD entry and specifically, the USER should not infer an individual referenced in the GTD was charged, tried, or convicted of terrorism or any other criminal offense. If new documentation about an event becomes available, START may modify the data as necessary and appropriate.
d. University is under no obligation to update the GTD, the codebook, user interface, or any auxiliary materials.
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TERM AND TERMINATION
a. This EULA and your right to access the GTD website and use the data, the codebook, and any auxiliary materials will take effect when you access the GTD.
b. University reserves the right, at any time and without prior notice, to modify, discontinue or suspend, temporarily or permanently, Your access to the GTD website (or any part thereof) without liability to You.
MISCELLANEOUS
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START has released the first in a series of training modules designed to equip GTD users with the knowledge and tools to best leverage the database. This training module provides a general overview of the GTD, including the data collection process, uses of the GTD, and patterns of global terrorism. Participants will learn basic data handling and how to generate summary statistics from the GTD using PivotTables in Microsoft Excel.
Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Contact the GTD staff at gtd@start.umd.edu.