ACLED

ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) is a research initiative that collects and disseminates event-level data on political violence and protests around the world. The dataset records incidents such as battles, protests, riots, and strategic developments, and links each event to attributes including date, location, event type, participating actors, and reported fatalities or casualties.

Data are primarily gathered from open sources such as local and international news reports, government and NGO statements, and, when available, social media. Events are coded according to a standardized taxonomy of event types and actors, enabling cross-country comparisons and time-series analysis. The project updates its data regularly and maintains documentation on methodology and quality control.

ACLED data are used by researchers, policymakers, journalists, humanitarian organizations, and international agencies for analysis, risk assessment, and monitoring of political dynamics. Access is provided via an API and downloadable data files; portions of the data are freely accessible, while full datasets and tools are available to subscribers or partners.

Coverage is global, with varying levels of completeness by region and over time, reflecting reporting availability. Limitations include reliance on reported information, potential biases due to media coverage, under-representation in restricted or censored areas, and the challenges of classifying ambiguous events. ACLED publishes methodology notes and updates to address these issues and to document data provenance and coding decisions.