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

United States, at 26 attacks against 21 attacks in Mexico as of 2021.

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

5 attacks, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Mexico 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.

Mexico vs United States: Number of terrorist attacks

Mexico

21 attacks

in 2021

United States

26 attacks

in 2021

Mexico rank

28th

United States rank

26th

Number of terrorist attacks over time

Mexico
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 26 attacks against 21 attacks in Mexico, a difference of 5 attacks.

That makes United States's figure about 1.2 times Mexico's.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 51 shared years of data; in 1970 it was United States ahead.

Mexico ranks 28th and United States ranks 26th of 188 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Mexico	United States	Difference	Ahead
1970s	11.4 attacks	147.5 attacks	136.1 attacks	United States
1980s	2.5 attacks	51.7 attacks	49.2 attacks	United States
1990s	29.44 attacks	41.33 attacks	11.89 attacks	United States
2000s	4 attacks	23.4 attacks	19.4 attacks	United States
2010s	14.3 attacks	42 attacks	27.7 attacks	United States
2020s	17 attacks	64.5 attacks	47.5 attacks	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of terrorist attacks, Mexico or United States?: United States, at 26 attacks against 21 attacks in Mexico as of 2021.
What is the difference in number of terrorist attacks between Mexico and United States?: 5 attacks, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Mexico and United States?: 51 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2021.
How do Mexico and United States rank globally for number of terrorist attacks?: Mexico ranks 28th 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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Mexico 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/mexico/united-states/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/terrorist-attacks/mexico/united-states/">Mexico 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.