Terrorism - number of fatalities worldwide 2006-2021

23,692 people were killed by terrorists worldwide in 2021. This was significantly lower than the peak in 2018, when nearly 33,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks worldwide. The number of terrorist attacks worldwide declined overall since 2014.

What is terrorism?

Terrorism is defined as unlawful violence or systematic use of terror against civilians or politicians for ideological or political reasons, with the intention to create fear. Terrorism is practiced by political extremists, nationalistic and religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments.

Deadliest terrorist attack

The terrorist attack against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11, 2001 was the deadliest attack registered in the period between 1970 and 2020. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attack. The second deadliest attack was the Tikrit attack by the Islamic State in Iraq in 2014, killing 1,700 people.