Dataviz.Garden
Powered by 🌱Roam GardenACLED CodeBook
ACLED Event Types
ACLED Actors
A range of actors including state forces, rebels, militias, identity groups, demonstrators, civilians, and external and other forces.
Types
The group type is recorded in the ’INTER1’ and ‘INTER2’ columns, while their dual engagement is noted in the ‘INTERACTION’ column.
ACLED considers the goal and organization of each group to be the basis for their classification.
Codes
Inter Code 1: State Forces
Inter Code 2: Rebel Groups
Inter Code 3: Political Militias
Inter Code 4: Identity Militias
Inter Code 5: Rioters
Inter Code 6: Protesters
Inter Code 7: Civilians
Inter Code 8: External/Other Forces
Interactions
The joined interaction code is the combination of the two ‘INTER’ codes associated with the two main actors. Single actor type codes are recorded in ‘INTER1’ and ‘INTER2’ columns, and the compounded number is recorded in the ‘INTERACTION’ column. For example, if a country’s military fights a political militia group, and the respective ‘INTER1’ and ‘INTER2’ codes are “1” and “3”, respectively, the compounded Interaction is recorded as “13”.
Event Geography
There are up to six different types of spatial information recorded for each ACLED event:
- the continental sub-region in which the event occurred;
- the country in which the event occurred and its associated ISO code;
- the name of the first, second and third level administrative zones that the specific location is found in according to GIS-based assessments and updated administrative codes;
- the name of the specific location of an event;
- the geographic coordinates of that specific location; and
- a spatial precision code.
Event Time
Three forms of temporal information are found in each ACLED code:
- the date of each event;
- the year; and
- the temporal precision.
Reported Fatalities
Fatality data are typically the most biased, and least accurate, component of any conflict data.
ACLED Data Columns
{{table}}
Column Name
Content
ISO A
numeric code for each individual country
EVENT_ID_CNTY
An individual identifier by number and country acronym (updated annually)
EVENT_ID_NO_CNTY
An individual numeric identifier (updated annually)
EVENT_DATE
The day, month and year on which an event took place
YEAR
The year in which an event took place
TIME_PRECISION A
numeric code indicating the level of certainty of the date coded for the event
EVENT_TYPE
The type of event
SUB_EVENT_TYPE
The type of sub-event
ACTOR1
The named actor involved in the event
ASSOC_ACTOR_1
The named actor associated with or identifying ACTOR1
INTER1
A numeric code indicating the type of ACTOR1
ACTOR2
The named actor involved in the event
ASSOC_ACTOR_2
The named actor associated with or identifying ACTOR2
INTER2
A numeric code indicating the type of ACTOR2
INTERACTION
A numeric code indicating the interaction between types of ACTOR1 and ACTOR2
REGION
The region of the world where the event took place
COUNTRY
The country in which the event took place
ADMIN1
The largest sub-national administrative region in which the event took place
ADMIN2
The second largest sub-national administrative region in which the event took place
ADMIN3
The third largest sub-national administrative region in which the event took place
LOCATION
The location in which the event took place
LATITUDE
The latitude of the location
LONGITUDE
The longitude of the location
GEO_PRECISION
A numeric code indicating the level of certainty of the location coded for the event
SOURCE
The source of the event report
SOURCE SCALE
The scale (local, regional, national, international) of the source
NOTES
A short description of the event
FATALITIES
The number of reported fatalities which occurred during the event
Information Sources
four main types of sources:
- local, regional, national and continental media reviewed on a daily basis;
- reports from NGOs or international organisations used to supplement media reporting;
- selected social media accounts, including Twitter and Telegram;
- information and data provided through partnerships with local conflict observatories in hard-to-access cases.
Attribution Policy
ACLED data are free and open to the public for non-commercial use.
If using ACLED data in any way, direct or manipulated, the data must be clearly acknowledged