COW Datasets


One of the principal activities of the Correlates of War Project is the extension and maintenance of the core COW data sets that have proved invaluable to the broader scientific community. The data sets listed on this page are all available for download. For information on other unreleased data sets on which the COW project is conducting research, see the "Ongoing Research" page. Some other data sets on these topics are available through the "Related Data" page.


COW Country Codes : The list of states with COW abbreviations and ID numbers is available here.

State System Membership (v2011): This data set records the fluctuating composition of the state system since 1816. It also identifies countries corresponding to the standard Correlates of War country codes. Access the system membership data here.

The New COW War Data, 1816 - 2007 (v4.0): The new list of wars that will be included in the COW war databases is here. Non-state War data set (v4.0), Intra-state War data set (v4.0), Inter-state War data set (v4.0), and Extra-state War data set (v4.0) are now available.

Militarized Interstate Disputes (v4.01): This data set records all instances of when one state threatened, displayed, or used force against another. Version 4 covers the 1816-2010 period, and can be downloaded from this page.

Militarized Interstate Dispute Locations (v1.1): This data set records the geographic locations of MIDs in latitude/longitude coordinates. Version 1.1 covers the 1816-2001 period, and can be downloaded from this page.

National Material Capabilities (v4.0): Power is considered by many to be a central concept in explaining conflict, and six indicators - military expenditure, military personnel, energy consumption, iron and steel production, urban population, and total population - are included in this data set. It serves as the basis for the most widely used indicator of national capability, CINC (Composite Indicator of National Capability) and covers the period 1816-2007. Access the capabilities data here.

World Religion Data (v1.1): This data set aims to provide detailed information about religious adherence worldwide since 1945. This data set is hosted by Zeev Maoz, University of California-Davis, and Errol A. Henderson, Pennsylvania State University. It may be downloaded here.

Formal Alliances (v4.1): This data set records all formal alliances among states between 1816 and 2012, including mutual defense pacts, non-aggression treaties, and ententes. This data set is hosted by Douglas Gibler, University of Alabama. It may be downloaded here.

Territorial Change (v4.01): This data set records all peaceful and violent changes of territory from 1816-2008. This data set is hosted by Paul Diehl, University of Illinois. Access the territorial change data here.

Direct Contiguity (v3.1): The Direct Contiguity data set registers the land and sea borders of all states since the Congress of Vienna, and covers 1816-2006. This data set is hosted by Paul Hensel, University of North Texas. Access the direct contiguity data here.

Colonial/Dependency Contiguity (v3.0): The Colonial/Dependency Contiguity data set registers contiguity relationships between the colonies/dependencies of states (by land and by sea up to 400 miles) from 1816-2002. Access the colonial/dependency contiguity data here.

Intergovernmental Organizations (v2.3): Although the number of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) grew dramatically during the late 20th century, they have been part of the world scene for much longer. This data set tracks the status and membership of such organizations from 1815-2005. Access information about this data here. This data set is hosted by Timothy Nordstrom, University of Mississippi, Jon Pevehouse, University of Wisconsin and Megan Shannon, University of Mississippi.

Diplomatic Exchange (v2006.1): The Diplomatic Exchange data set tracks diplomatic representation at the level of chargé d'affaires, minister, and ambassador between states from 1817-2005. Access information about this data here. This data set is hosted by Reşat Bayer, Koç University.

Bilateral Trade (v3.0): This data set tracks total national trade and bilateral trade flows between states from 1870-2009. Access trade data here. This data set is hosted by Katherine Barbieri, University of South Carolina, and Omar Keshk, Ohio State University.