Codebook for the UCDP Battle-Deaths Dataset:
Definitions, sources and methods for theUCDP Battle-Death estimates
Version 5.0
1 July 2009

Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)
Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University

This codebook presents the variables in the UCDP Battle-deaths dataset, and clarifies thedefinitions and methods, and provides explanations concerning the treatment of the sources
consulted. The document focuses specifically on the coding of estimates for battle-related deaths,
published since 2005 in the Human Security Report (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Funding
for the UCDP Battle-Death Dataset was provided by the Human Security Centre at the Universityof British Columbia.

When using the data, please refer to it with its correct name: the UCDP Battle-deaths
dataset with the correct version number, and provide the URL for the UCDP website.

(this version finalised by Ralph Sundberg)

The UCDP Armed Conflict Battle-Deaths Dataset
The definition of conflict inclusion in this dataset follows the UCDP definition of armed conflict.
Variables A-I, M-S and U in this dataset are extracted directly from the UCDP-PRIOArmed
Conflict Dataset: more information about the definitions and coding rules is available in theUCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset 1946-2008 Codebook (version 4-2007)1.
A.1 Conflict ID
The unique identifier of all conflicts, as given in the UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
A.2 Dyad ID
The unique identifier of a dyad in a conflict, as given in the UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
B. Location_INC
The name of the country/countries whose government(s) has a primary claim to theobject in dispute (the incompatibility), as given in the UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
C. SideA
The name of the country/countries of Side A in a conflict. Always the government sidein internal conflicts, as given in the UCDP-PRIO UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
D. SideA2nd
The name of the country/countries supporting side A in the conflict, as given in the
UCDP-PRIO UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
E. SideB
The name of the country or opposition organizations of side B in a conflict, as given in
the UCDP-PRIO UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
F. SideB2nd
The name of the country/countries supporting side B in the conflict, as given in theUCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
G. IncompA general coding of the conflict issue, if the conflict is an incompatibility overgovernment or over territory, as given in the UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
Incompatibility over government is coded as 1, and incompatibility over governmentas 2.
H. Terr
The name of the territory over which the conflict is fought, provided that theincompatibility is over territory, as given in the UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
I. Year1

For more information about the UCDP-PRIO Dataset, see Gleditsch et al. (2002)

The year of observation.
J. bdBestThe UCDP Best estimate for battle-related deaths in the conflict/dyad in the given year.
K. bdLow
The UCDP Low estimate for battle-related deaths in the conflict/dyad in the givenyear.
L. bdHighThe UCDP High estimate for battle-related deaths in the conflict/dyad in the given
year.
M. Type
The UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset identifies four different types of conflict:extrasystemic (1), interstate (2), internal (3) and internationalized internal (4). See theUCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset codebook for specific definitions of the four types.
N. Battlelocation
The name of the country/countries in which battle-related deaths that can be related to theincompatibility have been recorded.
O. GWNoAThe Gleditsch and Ward country code of SideA (see UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset
codebook for list of countries and codes).
P. GWNoA2nd
The Gleditsch and Ward country code of the state/states supporting SideA (see UCDP-PRIO
Armed Conflict Dataset codebook for list of countries and codes).
Q. GWNoBThe Gleditsch and Ward country code of SideB (see UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset
codebook for list of countries and codes).
R. GWNoB2nd
The Gleditsch and Ward country code of the state/states supporting SideB (see UCDP-PRIO
Armed Conflict Dataset codebook for list of countries and codes).
S. GWNoLoc
The Gleditsch and Ward country code of the country in which the incompatibility is located (seeUCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset codebook for list of countries and codes).
T. GWNoBattle
The Gleditsch and Ward country code of the country/countries in which battle-related deaths
relating to the incompatibility have been recorded (see UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset
codebook for list of countries and codes).

U. Region
Identifying the region of the location. The following regions are given in the UCDP-PRIO
Armed Conflict Dataset; Europe (1), Middle East (2), Asia (3), Africa (4), and theAmericas (5).
V. Version
Identifies the version of the dataset.

Definition of Armed Conflict
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) defines an armed conflict as a contested
incompatibility that concerns government and/or territory over which the use of armed force
between the military forces of two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, hasresulted in at least 25 battle-related deaths each year.
The separate elements of this definition are defined as follows.
(a) Incompatibility that concerns government and/or territory. The incompatibility
must concern government and/or territory and it refers to the stated generally
incompatiblepositions of the parties. An incompatibility that concerns government
refers to the typeof political system, the replacement of the central government or
the change of thecomposition of the current government. An incompatibility thatconcerns territoryrefers to the status of a territory, for example, the change of thestate in control of acertain territory (interstate conflict), secession or autonomy(intrastate conflict).
(b) Use of armed force. This refers to the use of arms by the military forces of theparties in order to promote the parties’ general position in the conflict, resulting inat least 25 deaths in a year. Arms are defined as any material means of combat, forexample, manufactured weapons as well as sticks, stones, fire, water, and so on.
(c) Party. This refers to the government of a state or an opposition organization oralliance of opposition organizations. The government of a state is that party whichis generally regarded as being in central control, even by those organizations
seeking to take over power. If this criterion is not applicable, the government is theparty controlling the capital of the state. In most cases where there is a government,
the two criteria coincide. An opposition organization is any non-governmentalgroup which has announced a name for the group and its political goals and has
used armed force to achieve them.
(d) State. A state is an internationally recognized sovereign government controllinga specified territory or an internationally non-recognized government controlling aspecific territory which is not disputed by an internationally recognized sovereign
government, which previously controlled the same territory.

Definition of Battle-Related Deaths
Battle-related deaths refer to those deaths caused by the warring parties that can be directly
related to combat over the contested incompatibility.2 This includes traditional battlefield fighting,guerrilla activities (e.g. hit-and-run attacks/ambushes) and all kinds of bombardments of militarybases, cities and villages etc. Urban warfare (bombs, explosions, and assassinations) does notresemble what happens on a battlefield, but such deaths are considered to be battle-related. The
target for the attacks is either the military forces or representatives for the parties, though there isoften substantial collateral damage in the form of civilians being killed in the crossfire,
indiscriminate bombings, etc. All fatalities – military as well as civilian – incurred in suchsituations are counted as battle-related deaths.

Sources
The data presented by UCDP is based on information taken from a selection of publicly
available sources, printed as well as electronic. The sources include news agencies,
journals, research reports, and documents of international and multinational organizations
and NGOs. This includes documents of the warring parties (governments and oppositionorganizations) when such sources are available, since they serve as a crucial complement
when identifying statements about the parties’ incompatible positions. Global, regionaland country-specific sources are used for all countries.
Both the independence and the transparency of the sources are deemed crucial. Eachsource is judged according to the context in which it is published, that is, according to thepotential interests of the source in misrepresenting political or violent events. Since mostsources are secondary sources, UCDP attempts to trace reports back to the primary sourcein order to decide whether they are reliable. In cases of biased sources or in situations
where there is unreliable information, the events are normally only included in the highestimate.
Little information on the exact number of deaths in conflict is usually available, and media
coverage varies considerably from country to country. It is important to emphasize thatthe fatality estimates given by UCDP is based on publicly accessible sources. Due to thelack of available information, it is possible that there are more fatalities than the UCDP
high estimate, but it is very unlikely that there is fewer than the UCDP best estimate. One
important caveat is that the precision of the numbers belies the uncertainty of theestimates; while UCDP estimates are based on aggregated totals of all incidents recordedin our sources, we acknowledge that numerous events is not reported in the media. Figures
are revised retroactively each year as new information becomes available.

2Battle-related deaths, which concern direct deaths, are not the same as war-related deaths, which includes both
direct as well as indirect deaths due to disease and starvation, criminality, or attacks deliberately directed against
civilians only (one-sided violence).

In addition to deciding the level of reliability of available sources, the project strives toidentify the existence of censorship. Thus, other sources than regular news sources must
be used to establish what is occurring in a country. Documents and reports issued byinternational and multinational organizations and NGOs are consulted for this purpose.

Methods
The data on armed conflicts are compiled by calendar year. They include data on conflict
location, type of incompatibility, year the incompatibility was formed, year the warring
party began its use of armed force, warring parties, secondary support, negotiations, andbattle-related deaths during the year.
The data on battle-related deaths constitute the largest part of the data collection. The
Factiva news database (previously known as the Reuters Business Briefing)3 is indispensable forthe collection of general news reports. To extract the relevant articles from Factiva, the projectuses an automated events data search using VRA® technology.4 This software makes it possible
to retrieve all reports which contain information about individuals killed or injured. Each news
report is then read by UCDP staff, and every event that contains information about individuals
killed is coded manually into an events dataset. For every event, the following information isrecorded: the date of the event, the reporting source, the primary source, the actors involved,
where the event took place, what occurred, and an estimate of fatalities. Ideally, these individual
figures are corroborated by two or more independent sources. These fatalities are later aggregatedinto a low, high, and best estimate for every calendar year.
The aggregated figures are also compared to total figures that appear in official documents,
special reports and the news media. This serves as a contribution to clarify the context in which
events occur, thus facilitating proper interpretation of the reporting in published sources.

Best, Low and High Estimate of Battle-related Deaths
The general rule for UCDP’s estimation of battle-related deaths is moderation. All battle-related
deaths have to be verified in one way or another, and all estimates reported are based on UCDP
expertise of each particular conflict. As a general rule, all figures are disaggregated as far as
possible and any figures that are not trustworthy are disregarded in the coding process. Due to thegreat uncertainty of reports from conflict areas, the project provides three estimates concerning
battle-related deaths for each year.

34

Factiva is a news and information service database which contains over 8,000 sources.

The VRA software system automatically generates specific events data and displays them in summary form.
For more information on automated events data and coding, see Bond et al. (2003).

(a) Best estimate. The UCDP Best estimate consist of the aggregated most reliable numbers forall battle-related incidents during a year. If different reports provide different estimates, anexamination is made as to what source is most reliable. If no such distinction can be made, UCDP
as a rule include the lower figure given.
(b) Low estimate. The UCDP Low estimate consists of the aggregated low estimates for all battlerelated incidents during a year. If different reports provide different estimates and a higher
estimate is considered more reliable, the low estimate is also reported if deemed reasonable.
(c) High estimate. The UCDP High estimate consists of the aggregated high estimates for all
battle-related incidents during a year. If different reports provide different estimates and a lower
estimate is considered more or equally reliable, the high estimate is also reported if deemedreasonable. If there are incidents when there is some uncertainty about what parties have beeninvolved, these are also included in the high estimate.

References:Bond, Doug; Joe Bond; Churl Oh; J. Craig Jenkins & Charles Lewis Taylor, 2003. “Integrated
Data for Events Analysis (IDEA): An Event Typology for Automated Events DataDevelopment”, Journal of Peace Research 40 (6): 733-745.
Gleditsch, Nils Petter; Peter Wallensteen; Mikael Eriksson: Margareta Sollenberg & HåvardStrand, 2002. ”Armed Conflict 1946-2002, A New Dataset”, Journal of Peace Research 39(5): 615-637.