artical on terrorism
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Summary
Over the past decade, terrorists killed an average of 21,000 people worldwide each year.
The global death toll from terrorism over the past decade ranged from 8,000 in 2010 to a high of 44,000 in 2014.
In 2017, terrorism was responsible for 0.05% of global deaths.
Terrorism tends to be very geographically-focused: 95% of deaths in 2017 occurred in the Middle East, Africa or South Asia.
In most countries terrorism accounts for less than 0.01% of deaths, but in countries of high-conflict, this can be as much as several percent.
Airline hijackings were once common but are very rare today.
Public concern about terrorism is high – in many countries more than half say they are concerned about being a victim.
Media coverage of terrorism is often disproportionate to its frequency and share of deaths.
All our charts on Terrorism
What is terrorism?
In our overview of terrorism, we try to understand how the number of terrorist acts varies around the world and how it has changed over time. To do this, we need a clear and consistent definition of what terrorism is, and how it’s different from any other form of violence. This is not straightforward.
Terrorism is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” We quickly see that this definition is unspecific and subjective.1 The issue of subjectivity in this case means that there is no internationally recognised legal definition of terrorism. Despite considerable discussion, the formation of a comprehensive convention against international terrorism by the United Nations has always been impeded by the lack of consensus on a definition.2