If it seems like terrorist attacks are happening more and more often, it's because they are.

Last year marked the biggest annual rise in deaths caused by terrorism, with more than 32,000 people killed in attacks around the world.

The Institute for Economics and Peace has compiled its annual Global Terrorism Index and looked at the figures from 2000 to the end of 2014. It found terrorism is rising dramatically and private citizens are increasingly the targets.

But only a tiny fraction of terrorist attacks occur in Western nations, and of those, only one in five is perpetrated by Islamic extremists.

How many people are killed by terrorist attacks?

In 2014, 32,685 people were killed in terrorist attacks. That's an 80 per cent increase on the year before, when 18,111 people were killed.

The number of people dying due to terrorism has increased dramatically in the past 15 years. But it's still significantly below the global homicide rate; 13 times more people die from homicide than from terrorism.

Who is being killed in terrorist attacks?

The vast majority of terrorist attacks occur in five countries: Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria.

Although there are more terrorist attacks in Iraq, there are more deaths in Nigeria, where Boko Haram and Funali operate.

Boko Haram is the deadliest terrorist group in the world, surpassing the killing of Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East. (Most of the deaths in Syria are accounted for as battlefield deaths.)

Countries with the highest number of deaths by terrorism, 2014 ( Global Terrorism Index )

Where is it getting better and where is it getting worse?

There was a significant fall in the number of deaths from terrorist attacks in Pakistan, down 25 per cent from 2013 to 2014, which can be attributed to the fracturing of Tehrik-i-Taliban.

But more people than ever are being killed in Nigeria by Boko Haram attacks.

The yearly increase in the number of people killed in Nigeria is more than the number of people who were killed from terrorism around the world in 2005.

Largest increases and decreases in deaths by terrorism ( Global Terrorism Index )

Who and what are the targets of the terrorists?

Increasingly, the average person in the street. Private citizens are the main target for terrorists, the focus of one-third of all attacks.

Police, government and business targets are often the subject of terrorists attacks too, more so than people and property associated with religion or the military.

The most lethal terrorist groups, Boko Haram and IS, target private citizens, which has seen the number of deaths jump in the past two months.

Terrorism against private citizens and property on the rise ( Global Terrorism Index )

Are Western countries bearing the brunt of terrorist attacks?

No. Averaged over the past 15 years, only 4.4 per cent of attacks and 2.6 per cent of deaths were in Western countries.

However, attacks in Western countries are among the deadliest. Four major terrorists attacks (the September 11 attacks in the US, the Madrid train bombings, the Norwegian massacre and the London bombings) account for 90 per cent of those deaths.

Deaths from terrorism in Western countries ( Global Terrorism Index )

What motivates terrorists to attack in Western countries?

Seventy per cent of attacks in Western countries are 'lone wolf' attacks.

Political beliefs motivate most of these, in particular anti-government and white supremacist sentiments.

Islamic fundamentalism was the motivation for 19 per cent of deaths, or about one in five victims of lone wolf attackers in Western countries.

Deaths by 'lone wolf' terrorists in Western countries ( Global Terrorism Index )

What happens in the countries where terrorism is most common?

Not surprisingly, where deaths caused by terrorism are increasing (Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria), there's a corresponding increase in people seeking asylum.

About 70 per cent of registered refugees come from the 20 deadliest countries for terrorist attacks.