Uppsala Conflict Data Program The Uppsala Conflict Data Program ( UCDP ) is a data collection project on organized violence housed at Uppsala University in Sweden . The program aims to gather information on armed conflict and make it publicly available online and in its annual report , “ States in Armed Conflict . ” The UCDP collects both quantitative and qualitative data on organized violence ( e . g . fatality statistics , georeferenced event data , armed actor and conflict descriptions ) that is used by social science researchers , journalists and policymakers . Background . The UCDP began recording information on ongoing violent conflicts in the 1970s . It became clear that more systematic and global data on armed conflicts was necessary for conducting research in the expanding academic discipline of peace and conflict studies . Initially the program collected data only on so - called “ armed conflict ” , defined as fighting exceeding 25 battle - related deaths between two actors of which at least one had to be a state . In later years the data gathering grew , and the program also began collecting data on “ non - state conflicts ” ( where neither party was a state ) and “ one - sided violence ” ( where an organized group attacked unarmed civilians ) . The UCDP ’ s data is published annually in such renowned publications as the " SIPRI Yearbook " " Journal of Peace Research " . The UCDP also makes its data publicly available through its website and in its annual publication , " States in Armed Conflict " . Organization . The UCDP is located at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research , at Uppsala University in Sweden . The program is led by the Dag Hammarskjöld Professor of Peace and Conflict Research , Peter Wallensteen , and employs approximately 15 research assistants and researchers . A number of scholars and Ph . D . candidates are also attached to the program and tasked with carrying out research for the collection of conflict data . In addition to collecting data the program disseminates knowledge on trends and dynamics of armed conflict to the public via lectures at academic and government forums . Cooperation . The UCDP works closely with the Peace Research Institute in Oslo ( PRIO ) and the Human Security Report Project , based within the School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada . The UCDP collaborates with PRIO to create its datasets and provides the Human Security Centre with data for its annual publication , the Human Security Report . The UCDP ’ s data is published annually in collaboration with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and appears in the " SIPRI Yearbook " . Research . Hundreds of scholars have used the UCDP ’ s data for research . The UCDP couples data collection with research on conflict resolution and the dynamics of conflicts . Much of the research done by UCDP staff is published in the UCDP ’ s States in Armed Conflict annual report , the annual SIPRI Yearbook , and the Journal of Peace Research . Publications . UCDP data has been published in the SIPRI Yearbook since 1988 . Since 1993 a list of all armed conflicts also appears in the acclaimed Journal of Peace Research . Data on non - state conflicts appears in the Human Security Report from 2004 . The UCDP also releases ( annually ) its own report , the States in Armed Conflict publication . UCDP data is also frequently used by journalists , government agencies and other organizations to produce overviews of peace and conflict in the world . One prominent index that uses UCDP data is the Global Peace Index . The UCDP ’ s Definitions of Organized Violence . The program divides armed conflict into three categories : “ state - based conflict ” , “ non - state conflict ” and “ one - sided violence ” . State - based conflict refers to what most people intuitively perceive as “ war ” ; fighting either between two states , or between a state and a rebel group that challenges it . The UCDP defines an armed state - based conflict as : “ An armed conflict is a contested incompatibility that concerns government and / or territory where the use of armed force between two parties , of which at least one is the government of a state , results in at least 25 battle - related deaths in one calendar year ” . The program ’ s definition differs somewhat from other data collection programs , such as the Correlates of War Project , which only counts conflicts where at least 1 , 000 deaths have been recorded during one calendar year . In UCDP data such an armed conflict is labelled as having the intensity level of “ war ” , whilst armed conflicts that reap between 25 and 999 battle - related deaths are seen as having the intensity of a “ minor ” armed conflict . Non - state conflicts are those conflicts in which none of the warring parties is a state . Examples of non - state conflicts include , the Fatah - Hamas conflict of 2006 and 2007 , inter - ethnic group conflicts such as the Lou Nuer – Murle conflict of 2009 - 2012 , and inter - cartel violence in the Mexican Drug War . One - sided violence is defined as : “ The use of armed force by the government of a state or by a formally organized group against civilians which results in at least 25 deaths in a year ” . Examples include the Governments of Sudan , Myanmar , and Syria against civilians as well as non - state organizations such as Los Zetas , Al Qaeda , and the Lord ' s Resistance Army against civilians . List of state - based conflicts in 2011 . In 2011 the UCDP reported 37 active state - based armed conflicts : Europe • Russia ( territory : Caucasus Emirate ) Middle East • Iran ( government ) • Iraq ( government ) • Israel ( territory : Palestine ) • Syria ( government ) • Turkey ( territory : Kurdistan ) • Yemen ( government ) Asia • Afghanistan ( government ) • Cambodia , Thailand ( territory : common border ) • India ( territory : Kashmir ) • India ( government ) • Myanmar ( territory : Karen ) • Myanmar ( territory : Kachin ) • Myanmar ( territory : Shan ) • Pakistan ( territory : Baluchistan ) • Pakistan ( government ) • Philippines ( territory : Mindanao ) • Philippines ( government ) • Tajikistan ( government ) • Thailand ( territory : Patani ) Africa • Algeria ( government ) • Central African Republic ( government ) • Ethiopia ( territory : Ogaden ) • Ethiopia ( territory : Oromiya ) • Ivory Coast ( government ) • Libya ( government ) • Mauritania ( government ) • Nigeria ( government ) • Rwanda ( government ) • Senegal ( territory : Casamance ) • Somalia ( government ) • Southern Sudan ( government ) • Sudan ( government ) • Sudan ( territory : Abyei ) • Uganda ( government ) Americas • Colombia ( government ) • USA ( government ) Out of these 37 armed conflicts a total of six ( Yemen , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Libya , Somalia and Sudan ) reached the intensity level of “ War ” , meaning that more than 1 , 000 battle - related deaths were recorded in 2011 . In 2012 six conflicts also reached the intensity level of “ War . ” Criticism . Edward Herman , Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School , University of Pennsylvania and his colleague David Peterson , co - authors of " The Politics of Genocide " have accused the UCDP of using “ politicized [ . . . ] methodologies ” in an effort to “ minimize U . S . - and Western - led warmaking and killing . ” Exemplifying these assertions they compare the classification of US involvement in Guatemala and the perception of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan by the program . UCDP on the Internet . The UCDP ’ s homepage is located at http : / / www . ucdp . uu . se . The UCDP also has an on - line database of organised violence , accessible at http : / / www . ucdp . uu . se / gpdatabase / search . php . The database provides free information on state - based and non - state conflicts , as well as one - sided violence . It also includes descriptive information on causes and histories of conflicts and one - sided violence and brief descriptions of rebel groups , governments and related items . UCDP for iPhone and Android . As of July 2010 the UCDP Conflict Database is available as an iPhone application and an Android application .