GTD1 and GTD2

Open GTD1 | Open GTD2
(best viewed using Internet Explorer)

See also the Terms of Use

The Global Terrorism Database is currently divided into two separate datasets, referred to as GTD1 and GTD2. The reason for this is historical: the initial data covering the period from 1970-1997 was constructed primarily from incidents recorded over that period by the Pinkerton Global Information Service. When it came time to update the database from 1998 onwards, which would involve monitoring global events and collecting new data, the database team made the decision to utilize new criteria for collecting data and to collect additional types of data. This was done because the analytical and research community now know a lot more about the optimal requirements for terrorism research and analysis than when the original (1970-1997) data was collected.

The data collected and coded under this newer scheme became known as GTD2, with the earlier dataset referred to as GTD1. The following phases of the GTD will involve recoding the earlier data according to the newer protocols until there is a single standardized database of worldwide terrorist incidents from 1970 to the present. Until then, users are encouraged to utilize both datasets, while bearing in mind that the criteria for incident inclusion differ between them and that GTD2 contains certain variables absent from GTD1.

The major differences between GTD1 and GTD2 are summarized in the following table:

	GTD1	GTD2
Period Covered	1970 – 1997 (not 1993)	1998 – 2004 (expanding to 2007 by Spring 2009)
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.	No set definition; configurable approach covering several definitions of terrorism.
Criteria for Inclusion	Incidents that substantially concur with the above definition.	Two necessary criteria and two out of three sufficient criteria required to be met (see GTD2 Methodology).
Required Sources	Single open-source report.	Multiple independent open-source reports or single "highly credible" source.
Number of Fields Collected	Approx. 44 descriptive records per incident.	The same as for GTD1 plus an additional 84 records.
Total Number of Incidents (May 2007)	68,986	10,000

Open GTD1 | Open GTD2
(best viewed using Internet Explorer)

top