Which has higher number of terrorist attacks, France or United States?

United States, at 26 attacks against 19 attacks in France as of 2021.

What is the difference in number of terrorist attacks between France and United States?

7 attacks, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for France and United States?

51 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of terrorist attacks. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

France vs United States: Number of terrorist attacks

France

19 attacks

in 2021

United States

26 attacks

in 2021

France rank

29th

United States rank

26th

Number of terrorist attacks over time

France
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 26 attacks against 19 attacks in France, a difference of 7 attacks.

That makes United States's figure about 1.4 times France's.

The two have swapped places 10 times across 51 shared years of data; in 1970 it was United States ahead.

France ranks 29th and United States ranks 26th of 188 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, France averaged higher in 2 and United States in 4.

Head to head by decade

Decade	France	United States	Difference	Ahead
1970s	47.5 attacks	147.5 attacks	100 attacks	United States
1980s	85.4 attacks	51.7 attacks	33.7 attacks	France
1990s	102.11 attacks	41.33 attacks	60.78 attacks	France
2000s	23.1 attacks	23.4 attacks	0.3 attacks	United States
2010s	24.8 attacks	42 attacks	17.2 attacks	United States
2020s	21.5 attacks	64.5 attacks	43 attacks	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of terrorist attacks, France or United States?: United States, at 26 attacks against 19 attacks in France as of 2021.
What is the difference in number of terrorist attacks between France and United States?: 7 attacks, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and United States?: 51 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2021.
How do France and United States rank globally for number of terrorist attacks?: France ranks 29th and United States ranks 26th of 188 countries.
Where does this data come from?: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of terrorist attacks. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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France vs United States: Number of terrorist attacks. Statizoid, drawing on National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/terrorist-attacks/france/united-states/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/terrorist-attacks/france/united-states/">France vs United States: Number of terrorist attacks</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Number of terrorist attacks
Unit: attacks
Source: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) (2022) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 188 places, 9,021 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

Total number of terrorist attacks.