RAND Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents

For over 30 years, the RAND Corporation has been at the forefront of terrorism and counter-terrorism studies. In support of this work, RAND has developed and maintained a database of terrorism incidents stretching back to 1972, which is widely regarded as the gold standard for comprehensive information on international and domestic terrorism. Over the years, many public and private sponsors have contributed to the maintenance of the RAND Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents (RDWTI) and its predecessors, the RAND Terrorism Chronology and the RAND-MIPT Terrorism Incident Database.

With over 36,000 incidents of terrorism coded and detailed, the quality and completeness of the RDWTI is unparalleled. To maintain the RDWTI, RAND staff conduct extensive research on candidate terrorist attacks, drawing on staff with regional expertise, relevant language skills, and in-country field work experience. The new subscription-based RDWTI, launched in January 2009, is a fully searchable and interactive database, with the intention of providing quality and comprehensive data in the most useful form to the user.

Try the RDWTI!

In order to support ongoing development of this important resource, RAND now provides Web-based searches of the database as a subscription service. A fully functional demonstration version of the RDWTI, which accesses less than one tenth of the full dataset, is also available. Access to the full dataset is available to licensed institutional subscribers.

Try the Demo Version of RDWTI

Featured RDWTI Research

Political Reform in the Arab World is a Mixed Bag in Confronting Terrorism

Democratic political reforms can marginalize extremists and undermine support for political violence, but cosmetic reforms and backtracking on democratization can exacerbate the risk of terrorism.

Full Document News Release

A Framework for Planning Cost-Effective Rail Security Against a Terrorist Attack

U.S. communities depend on reliable, safe, and secure rail systems, but such systems are vulnerable to terrorist attack. A framework developed for rail security planners and policymakers can help guide cost-effective plans to secure their rail systems from attacks.

Full Document News Release Research Brief

How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qa'ida

All terrorist groups end. But how do they end? Most groups since 1968 have ended because they joined the political process or are defeated by police and intelligence services. This has significant implications for countering al Qa'ida.