Listing of Variables by Grouping

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Area & Population

Urbanization

Revenue and Expenditures

Trade Data

Energy Production & Consumption

Industrial, Labor, and Military Size

Railroad Data

Highway Vehicles

Telegraph & Telephones

Mail Flow Data

Media

School Enrollment

Literacy

Physician Data

Income & Currency

Domestic Conflict

Election Data

Legislative Process

Political Data

International Status Indicators

Industrial Production

Prices, Gold and Debt

Percent Annual Change

 


Country

Not all of the country labels are invariant through time. Alternative labels are utilized,
as follows, for the periods indicated:
Austrian Empire for Austria-Hungary, 1815-1866
Dahomey for Benin, 1960-1974
Central African Republic for Central African Empire, 1960-1975
Republic of China for China, 1912-1948
Congo (Brazzaville) for Congo Republic, 1960-1970
Santo Domingo for Dominican Republic, 1844-1921
United Arab Republic for Egypt, 1958-1960
Abyssinia for Ethiopia, 1898-1935
Persia for Iran, 1815-1913
Cambodia for Kampuchea, 1953-1970
Khmer Republic for Kampuchea, 1971-1974
Malagasy Republic for Madagascar, 1960-1970
Federation of Malaya for Malaysia, 1957-1962
Vietnam Republic for South Vietnam, 1954-1974
Ceylon for Sri Lanka, 1948-1970
Tanganyika for Tanzania, 1961-1962
Siam for Thailand, 1815-1913
Ottoman Empire for Turkey, 1815-1913
Russia for USSR, 1815-1913
Yemen for Yemen Arab Republic, 1921-1961
South Yemen for Yemen PDR, 1967-1969
Congo (Kinshasa) for Zaire, 1960-1970
Rhodesia for Zimbabwe Rhodesia, 1965-1978

Year

Year of the statistic

Code

Country codes are invariant through time.

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Area & Population

S02F1

Area in Square Kilometers
Scaling: 1000 Area data were initially assembled in either square kilometers (Field
S02F1) or square miles (Field S02F2) and converted from one to the other
on the basis of the factors .3861 (from K2 to M2) and 2.590 (from M2 to
K2). As in a limited number of other original data fields (identified
below), where an unusually large number of individual sources were
consulted, no bibliographic references are provided for most of the area
data. A substantial portion of the latter for the earlier years were,
however, derived from the Almanach de Gotha, the Journal of the Royal
Statistical Society (London), and The Statesman's Yearbook. Entries
with < tag in the bibliographic column are unscaled.

S02F2

Area in Square Miles
Scaling: 1000
Entries with < tag in the bibliographic column are unscaled.

S02F3

Population
Scaling: 1000

S02F4

Population Density
Scaling: 0.1 Field S02F4 (population density) is calculated directly from Fields
S02F2 (area in square miles) and S02F3 (population).

S02F5

Area of Empire in Square Miles
Scaling: 1000 Area and population of empire data are provided for only 13 countries:
Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands,
Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey (Ottoman Empire), United Kingdom, and
United States, thus omitting a few marginal cases such as the dual
monarchies of Denmark-Iceland (to 1944) and Sweden-Norway (to 1905).
For the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires, the core
territories and imperial domains are contiguous, hence the data in
Fields S02F5, S02F6, and S02F7 duplicate those in Fields S02F1, S02F2,
and S02F3, respectively. The other ten countries are more conventionally
identified as "colonial" powers, most of whose possessions are
non-contiguous "overseas" territories.

S02F6

Population of Empire
Scaling: 1000

S02F7

Population Density of Empire
Scaling: 0.1 Field S02F7 (population density of empire) is calculated directly from
Fields S02F5 (area of empire in square miles) and S02F6 (population of
empire).

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Urbanization

S03F1

Population, Cities of 100,000 & Over
Scaling: 1000 Urbanization data. Fields S03F1, S03F3, S03F5, and S03F7 (plus Field
S04F2 ) give aggregate population figures for cities of 100,000 and
over, 50,000 and over, 25,000 and over, and 10,000 and over. Thus
"cities of 50,000 and over" includes "cities of 100,000 and over",
"cities of 25,000 and over" includes "cities of 50,000 and over" in
addition to "cities of 100,000 and over", and so forth. Fields S03F2,
S03F4, and S03F6 (plus Fields S04F1 and S04F3) give per capita data for
the same classes of cities. The inclusion of data for cities of 20,000 and over as well as for
cities of 25,000 and over was originally mandated by a lack of
uniformity in reporting categories in the sources utilized. Since
preparation of the original version of the file, however, a series of
missing data estimates, proportionally calculated across urbanization
categories, have been prepared. The procedure for calculating these
entries (identified by an "F" in the tag column) is discussed in Banks
and Carr, op. cit. In assembling the urbanization data, considerable difficulty was
encountered with regard to the definition of "city" or "urban area".
Insofar as possible, data for core cities or urban areas are employed,
excluding greater metropolitan or suburban populations. In cases where
the reference units are not adequately defined, every effort has been
made to cross-check the relevant figures against those reported in other
sources. It cannot be claimed, however, that the reliability problem is
completely surmounted, particularly for recent years, when deliberate
redefinition by reporting agencies has tended to yield longitudinal
discontinuities.

S03F2

Population, Cities of 100,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S03F3

Population, Cities of 50,000 & Over
Scaling: 1000

S03F4

Population, Cities of 50,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S03F5

Population, Cities of 25,000 & Over
Scaling: 1000

S03F6

Population, Cities of 25,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S03F7

Population, Cities of 20,000 & Over
Scaling: 1000

S04F1

Population, Cities of 20,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S04F2

Population, Cities of 10,000 & Over
Scaling: 1000

S04F3

Population, Cities of 10,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S04F6

National Gov't Revenue & Expenditure
Scaling: 1000

S04F7

National Gov't Revenue & Expenditure Per Capita
Scaling: 0.01 Field S04F7 (national government revenue and expenditure per capita) is
also a dependent (calculated) field based on fields S04F5 and S04F6. In

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Revenue and Expenditures

S05F1

National Gov't Revenue
Scaling: 1000 This segment deals with national government revenue and expenditure,
exclusive of "extraordinary" expenditures financed by direct foreign aid
or loans. Fields S05F2 and S05F5 contain national government revenue and
expenditure data, respectively. Fields S05F3 and S05F5 contain the same
items on a per capita basis. Field S05F7 contains the ratio of national
defense expenditure to total national expenditure. The tern "national
government" should be construed as referring exclusively to central
government. Thus, monies collected and dispersed locally by national
government agencies (as in certain unitary systems) are, wherever
possible, excluded.
Revenue and expenditure data, particularly when expressed in U.S. dollar
equivalents, are peculiarly susceptible to both random and systematic
error. Such data contained in the Cross-National Times-Series Data
Archive file are no exception, and should be used with appropriate
caution. The possibility of error could, of course, have been
substantially reduced had conversion to a common currency unit not been
attempted, but the resultant lack of comparability would severely limit
the utility of the data in question.
In general, official rates of exchange are employed only when deviations
therefrom are presumed to be minimal. Otherwise, free (occasionally
black) market rates are employed, except in cases of such extreme
fluctuation as to preclude the assembly of meaningful series. Needless
to say, the overwhelming proportion of data omitted for this reason
occurs in the 1919-1939 period.
Since the British pound sterling was the principal basis of
international exchange in the pre-World War I period, most data for the
period were assembled accordingly and were converted into dollar
equivalents at the rate of 4.87 dollars per pound. Some data for
1.919-1939 and most data for the post-World War II period were assembled
by means of direct conversion to dollar equivalents. It should be noted
that here, as elsewhere, there are no "base-year" figures; in other
words, there is no adjustment for incremental inflation/ deflation in
either the British pound (before 1919) or the U.S. dollar (after 1919).
Since 1973, IMF average period market rates have been utilized wherever
feasible.

S05F2

National Gov't Revenue

S05F3

National Gov't Revenue Per Capita
Scaling: 0.01

S05F5

National Gov't Expenditure
Scaling: 1000

S05F6

National Gov't Expenditure Per Capita
Scaling: 0.01 In U.S. dollars

S05F7

National Defense Expenditure/National Gov't Expenditure
Scaling: 0.001

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Trade Data

S06F2

Imports
Scaling: 10000 This segment is composed entirely of trade data, exclusive of
transshipments and bullion transfers. Field S06F2 containing imports.
Field S06F5 containing exports. Field S06F6 contain the same items
on a per capita basis. Field S06F7 contains a periodic update of the proportion of world trade
(imports and exports) for each country for each year. Since the
denominator employed is simply a summation of imports and exports for
all independent nations included in the archives it falls somewhat short
of being a total summation of world trade. It may be assumed, however,
that the proportion contributed by non-independent territories for most
years is relatively small. As in the case of the revenue and
expenditure data, conversion to U.S. dollar equivalents involves a
certain degree of risk as regards the introduction of both random and
systematic error, but without such conversion the data would be largely
worthless for comparative purposes.

S06F3

Imports Per Capita
Scaling: 0.01 In U.S. dollars

S06F5

Exports
Scaling: 10000

S06F6

Exports Per Capita
Scaling: 0.01 In U.S. dollars

S06F7

Proportion of World Trade
Scaling: 0.00001

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Energy Production & Consumption

S07F1

Energy Production, Metric Tons Coal Equivalent
Scaling: 1000 This segment deals with energy (production and consumption) and national
defense expenditure. Fields S07F1 and S07F3 contain data on overall
energy production and consumption, respectively, as conventionally
measured in metric tons of coal equivalent. Fields S07F2 and S07F4
contain the same items in kilograms per capita. United Nations definitions are employed throughout: Production data are based on the production of coal, lignite,
crude petroleum, natural gas and hydro and nuclear energy; where peat
used as fuel is important, it is included with coal and lignite.
Consumption data are based on the apparent consumption of coal, lignite,
petroleum products, natural gas and hydro and nuclear energy. Coke,
manufactured gas and electricity internally traded are considered to
have been consumed by the importing country. Bunkers supplied to
foreign-going ships are excluded from consumption. (UN Statistical
Yearbook: 1971, p. 44). Field S07F5 embraces national defense expenditure, as calculated from
fields S05F4, S05F5 and S05F7. While deriving the data in this way
unquestionably results in some loss of precision, the latter was not
considered sufficiently consequential to offset the added labor required
to assemble collateral data directly from external sources. Field S07F6 contains the Field S07F5 data converted to per capita form.

S07F2

Energy Production in Kilograms Per Capita

S07F3

Energy Consumption, Metric Tons Coal Equivalent
Scaling: 1000

S07F4

Energy Consumption, in Kilograms Per Capita

S07F5

National Defense Expenditure
Scaling: 10000

S07F6

National Defense Expenditure Per Capita

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Industrial, Labor, and Military Size

S08F1

Percent GDP Originating in Industrial Activity
Location 442-450 Coverage 1905-1981 This segment contains industrial, labor force, and size of military
data. Field S08F1 contains percent GDP originating in industrial
activity, while field S08F2 contain the same information on a per capita
basis. "Industrial activity" is defined as embracing categories 2-4 of
the revised (1968) International Standard Industrial Classification of
all Economic Activities (ISIC), which include mining and quarrying;
manufacturing; and electricity, gas, and water.
Fields S08F3-S08F5 contain percent work force engaged in agriculture,
industry, and other activity, respectively. "Industry" is here defined
as embracing revised ISIC categories 2-3 and 5, which include mining and
quarrying; manufacturing; and construction, while "agriculture" is
defined in terms of revised ISIC category 1, which includes agriculture,
forestry, and fishing. "Other activity" is simply the sum of the
foregoing subtracted from 100%.
It should be noted that certain sources report on "civilian labor force
employed" while others report on "number of employees" (based on
statistics of establishments). The latter normally embrace only a
limited portion of the labor force and, for that reason, have not been
utilized.
Field S08F6 contains data on size of the military, while field S08F7
contains the same information on a per capita basis. The "military" is
defined as embracing all active-duty members of a nation's armed forces
(army, navy, air corps) and excludes all semi- or paramilitary forces,
save in a limited number of cases (such as Japan and Panama) where de
facto military establishments are not formally acknowledged. In the
case of Switzerland, which does not maintain a continuously active
military establishment, estimates of active-duty reserves are utilized.

S08F2

Per Capita GDP Originating in Industrial Activity
In U.S. dollars

S08F3

Percent Work Force in Agriculture
Scaling: 0.1

S08F4

Percent Work Force in Industry
Scaling: 0.1

S08F5

Percent Work Force in Other Activity
Scaling: 0.1

S08F6

Size of Military
Scaling: 1000

S08F7

Size of Military/Population
Scaling: 0.0001

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Railroad Data

S09F1

Railroad Mileage
This segment contains industrial, labor force, and size of military
data. Field S09F1 contains percent GDP originating in industrial
activity, while field S09F2 contain the same information on a per capita
basis. "Industrial activity" is defined as embracing categories 2-4 of
the revised (1968) International Standard Industrial Classification of
all Economic Activities (ISIC), which include mining and quarrying;
manufacturing; and electricity, gas, and water.
Fields S09F3-S09F5 contain percent work force engaged in agriculture,
industry, and other activity, respectively. "Industry" is here defined
as embracing revised ISIC categories 2-3 and 5, which include mining and
quarrying; manufacturing; and construction, while "agriculture" is
defined in terms of revised ISIC category 1, which includes agriculture,
forestry, and fishing. "Other activity" is simply the sum of the
foregoing subtracted from 100%.
It should be noted that certain sources report on "civilian labor force
employed" while others report on "number of employees" (based on
statistics of establishments). The latter normally embrace only a
limited portion of the labor force and, for that reason, have not been
utilized.
Field S09F6 contains data on size of the military, while field S09F7
contains the same information on a per capita basis. The "military" is
defined as embracing all active-duty members of a nation's armed forces
(army, navy, air corps) and excludes all semi- or paramilitary forces,
save in a limited number of cases (such as Japan and Panama) where de
facto military establishments are not formally acknowledged. In the
case of Switzerland, which does not maintain a continuously active
military establishment, estimates of active-duty reserves are utilized.

S09F2

Railroad Mileage Per Square Mile
Scaling: 0.0001

S09F3

Rail Passenger-Miles
Scaling: 1000000

S09F4

Rail Passenger-Kilometers
Scaling: 1000000

S09F5

Rail Ton-Miles
Scaling: 1000000

S09F6

Rail Ton-Kilometers
Scaling: 1000000

S09F7

Rail Ton-Miles Per Capita
Scaling: 0.1

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Highway Vehicles

S10F1

Passenger Cars
Scaling: 1000 This segment deals with highway vehicles. Fields S10F1 and S10F3 are
based on the total number of passenger and commercial vehicles,
respectively, while fields S10F2 and S10F4 contain the same two items in
per capita form. Field S10F5 (all highway vehicles) is the sum of
fields S10F1 and S10F3, while field S10F6 is based on all highway
vehicles per capita.
Motorcycles and motorized construction equipment are excluded from all
categories of this segment. Taxis (though technically "commercial
vehicles") are counted as passenger cars. Buses, vans, lorries, etc.,
are all classified as commercial vehicles, even though some may be
privately owned and not used for commercial purposes.

S10F2

Passenger Cars Per Capita
Scaling: 0.00001

S10F3

Commercial Vehicles
Scaling: 1000

S10F4

Commercial Vehicles Per Capita
Scaling: 0.00001

S10F5

All Highway Vehicles
Scaling: 1000

S10F6

All Highway Vehicles Per Capita
Scaling: 0.00001

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Telegraph & Telephones

S11F1

Telegraph Mileage
Scaling: 100 Field S11F1 of this segment deals with telegraph mileage, the latter
being defined as miles of line (both public and private), rather than as
miles of wire. Telegraph mileage per square mile is given in field
S11F2. It may be noted that virtually no data could be found for either
variable for the post-World War II period, presumably reflecting the
declining importance of the telegram as a means of communication during
the contemporary era. Fields S11F4 and S11F5 deal with the number of
telegrams and telegrams per capita, respectively. In both cases, every
effort has been made to report purely domestic telegraphic activity,
excluding foreign sent and received, as well as in-transit messages.
However, in some cases (particularly in the pre-World War I period) the
sources do not adequately distinguish between the several message
categories, and occasional over-reporting may be expected. The latter
is a serious reliability problem as regards certain Latin American
countries during the latter years of the nineteenth century, when an
unusually high proportion of telegrams fall into the foreign-sent and
foreign-received categories.
The number of telephones and telephones per capita are located in fields
S11F6 and S11F7, and, generally speaking, exhibit a high degree of
reliability because of their ultimate source: the reasonably accurate
local telephone directory. It should be noted, however, that there is
some likelihood of under-reporting in the early years of telephonic
communication, when a disproportionate number of instruments were owned
or operated by private businesses and government offices.

S11F2

Telegraph Mileage Per Square Mile
Scaling: 0.0001

S11F4

Telegrams
Scaling: 1000

S11F5

Telegrams Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S11F6

Telephones
Scaling: 100

S11F7

Telephones Per Capita
Scaling: 0.00001

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Mail Flow Data

S12F1

First Class Mail (with next field, 17 digits)
Scaling: 1000 Only the first four fields of this segment contain data, and all four
involve mail flow information. Fields S12F1 and S12F3 deal with first
class mail and all mail, respectively, while fields S12F2 and S12F4 deal
with the same items on a per capita basis.
As in the case of telegraphic communication, the coding criteria call
for the exclusion of foreign sent/received and in-transit items,
although in cases where official government figures are used, at least
some foreign items appear to be included. Newspapers carried by mail are included as bona fide (non-first class)
postal matter, but since figures for the latter are occasionally
lacking, some discrepancies are to be expected in the "all mail"
category. Post cards are, of course, construed as "first class" items
and prior to World War I constituted a large part of the latter class of
mail in many European countries (most notably Germany).

S12F2

First Class Mail

S12F3

First Class Mail Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

S12F4

All Mail (with next field, 17 digits)
Scaling: 1000

S12F5

All Mail

S12F6

All Mail Per Capita
Scaling: 0.001

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Media

S13F1

Radios
Scaling: 1000 Fields S13F1 and S13F3 of this segment contain data on radio and
television sets, respectively, while fields S13F2 and S13F4 deal with
the same items on a per capita basis. Field S13F is devoted to
newspaper circulation per capita, field S13F6 concerns book production
by number of titles published, and field S13F7 deals with the latter on
a per capita basis. All data in this segment are for comparatively
recent years (the earliest, number of radio receivers, goes back only to
1938, while the most recent, television receivers, dates from 1960).
There is a tendency for news circulation to be under-reported, since
data for weekly and biweekly publications are not included. It should
also be noted that book production figures generally include children's
and school text books, and are not restricted to either first edition or
hardbound titles. It should be emphasized, however, that the data
reference only number of titles, not volumes in print.

S13F2

Radios Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

S13F3

Television Sets
Scaling: 10

S13F4

Television Sets Per Capita
Scaling: 0.00001

S13F5

Daily Newspaper Circulation Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

S13F6

Book Production by Titles

S13F7

Book Production by Titles Per Capita

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School Enrollment

S14F1

Primary School Enrollment
Scaling: 1000 All of the fields in this segment, as well as the first four fields of
Segment 15 deal with school enrollment. Fields S14F1 and S14F3 contain
data on primary and secondary enrollment, respectively, while fields
S14F2 and S14F4 deal with the same items on a per capita basis. Field
S14F5 aggregates fields S14F1 and S14F3, yielding primary and secondary
enrollment, while field S14F6 presents the same data in per capita form.
Field S14F7 offers primary enrollment as a proportion of primary and
secondary enrollment. Although significant improvement has been registered in recent years as
regards the standardization of reporting categories in educational
statistics, many difficulties remain in attempting to assemble truly
comparable data, particularly of a longitudinal character. Insofar as
possible, data on preprimary, vocational or technical, part-time, and
adult education students have been omitted from the archive listings.
With the foregoing exceptions, every efforts has been made to assemble
data on the basis of relevant UNESCO criteria: First level: Education whose main function is to provide basic
instruction in the tools of learning (e.g., at elementary school,
primary school). Its length may vary from 4 to 9 years, depending on
the organization of the school system in each country. Second level: Education based upon at least four years of previous
instruction at the first level, and providing general or specialized
instruction, or both (e.g., at middle school, secondary school, high
school, . . . ). Third level: Education which requires, as a minimum condition of
admission, the successful completion of education at the second level,
or evidence of the attainment of an equivalent level of knowledge (UN
Statistical Yearbook: 1971, p. 774). Regrettably, the UN criteria for categorizing second-level instruction
changed during 1964-65. In general, 1964 "secondary level" figures are
equated with 1965 and later "second level: general" education figures,
but not uniformly so. Also, the omission of vocational education
introduces an element of bias, since more and more contemporary students
are being enrolled in this category, especially in the socialist
countries.

S14F2

Primary School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

S14F3

Secondary School Enrollment
Scaling: 1000

S14F4

Secondary School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

S14F5

Primary + Secondary School Enrollment
Scaling: 1000

S14F6

Primary + Secondary School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

S14F7

Primary/Primary + Secondary School Enrollment
Scaling: 0.01

S15F1

University Enrollment
Scaling: 1000 Fields S15F1 and S15F3 of this segment deal with university and total
school enrollment, respectively, while fields S15F2 and S15F4 report the
same items on a per capita basis.
Field S15F5 contains literacy data, calculated, wherever possible, on
the basis of non-literates, 15 years of age and over. Literacy is
defined in the UN Demographic Yearbook (from which most of the
post-World War II data are extracted) as "ability both to read and to
write". While this is not an entirely adequate definition, it is
unrealistic to assume that the caliber of most reporting agencies could
sustain a more precise one. Indeed, for the limited amount of pre-World
War I literacy data that is included in the file, overall reliability
must be assessed with extreme caution.
Field S15F6 deals with inhabitants per physician, while its reciprocal
(physicians per capita) appears in field S15F7. The latter is deemed a
somewhat more useful cross-national indicator than the former (which
appears in the UN Statistical Yearbook), since the direction of the
array, for most countries, accords with that of other "developmental"
indicators (tending to yield positive rather than negative correlation
coefficients).

S15F2

University Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

S15F3

All School Enrollment
Scaling: 1000

S15F4

All School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: 0.0001

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Literacy

S15F5

Percent Literate
Scaling: 0.1

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Physician Data

S15F6

Inhabitants Per Physician
Scaling: 10

S15F7

Physicians Per Capita

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Income & Currency

S16F1

National Income Per Capita
This segment contains data on components of national income and
currency. Field S16F1 is devoted-to national income per capita, field
S16F2 to gross domestic product (at factor cost) per capita, and field
S16F3 to gross national product (at market prices) per capita. These
three basic components of aggregate product are defined as follows: Gross national product at market prices is the market value of the
product, before deduction of provisions for the consumption of fixed
capital, attributable to the factors of production supplied by normal
residents of the given country. It is identically equal to the sum of
consumption expenditure and gross domestic capital formation, private
and public, and the net exports of goods and services plus the net
factor incomes received from abroad. Gross domestic product at factor cost is the value at factor cost of the
product, before deduction of provisions for the consumption of fixed
capital, attributable to factor services rendered to resident producers
of the given country. It differs from the gross domestic product at
market prices by the exclusion of the excess of indirect taxes over
subsidies. National income is the some of the incomes accruing to factors of
production supplied by normal residents of the given country before
deduction of direct taxes. (UN Yearbook of National Accounts Statistics:
1969, V. 1, P. xi). The interrelationships of the three aggregates are as follows: GNP at
market prices less net factor income from abroad and indirect taxes net
of subsidies equals GDP at factor cost. The latter, in turn, less
depreciation, plus net factor income from abroad, equals national income
(ibid, p. 819). All data for these three indices for the period
1970-1973 are estimated because of changes in the above definitions in
1970, which make current aggregate product figures inconsistent with
earlier figures.
Field S16F4 deals with per capita currency in circulation, expressed in
U.S. dollars at the free market rate, save in a limited number of cases
where the free rate tends very closely to approximate the official rate.
Field S16F5 gives the age of a nation's currency in months. "Age" is
defined in terms of the number of months that have elapsed since the
introduction of a new monetary system or since an upward or downward
revaluation of 5% or more. In cases of multiple revaluations totaling
5% or more during a given year, the count of months is from the last
such revaluation.
Field S16F6 gives a nation's official exchange rate, expressed in local
currency per U.S. dollar. Field S16F7 gives the free or black market
rate in local currency per U.S. dollar, primarily as reported (since
1946) in Pick's Currency Yearbook.

S16F2

Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (Factor Cost)
In U.S. dollars

S16F3

Gross National Product Per Capita (Market Prices)
In U.S. dollars

S16F4

Currency in Circulation Per Capita
Scaling: 0.01 In U.S. dollars

S16F5

Age of Currency in Months

S16F6

Official Exchange Rate, Local Currency Per $U.S.
Scaling: 0.01

S16F7

Free of Black Market Rate, Local Currency Per $U.S.
Scaling: 0.01

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Domestic Conflict

S17F1

Assassinations
All seven fields of Segment 17 (plus field S18F1) contain domestic
conflict event data. While no bibliographic tags are utilized in
connection with these data, all are derived from the daily files of The
New York Times. The eight variable definitions (adopted from Rudolph J.
Rummel, "Dimensions of Conflict Behavior Within and Between Nations",
General Systems Yearbook, VIII [19631, 1-50) are as follows: Assassinations. Any politically motivated murder or attempted murder of
a high government official or politician.

S17F2

General Strikes
Any strike of 1,000 or more industrial or service workers that involves
more than one employer and that is aimed at national government policies
or authority.

S17F3

Guerrilla Warfare
Any armed activity, sabotage, or bombings carried on by independent
bands of citizens or irregular forces and aimed at the overthrow of the
present regime.

S17F4

Government Crises
Any rapidly developing situation that threatens to bring the downfall of
the present regime - excluding situations of revolt aimed at such
overthrow.

S17F5

Purges
Any systematic elimination by jailing or execution of political
opposition within the ranks of the regime or the opposition.

S17F6

Riots
Any violent demonstration or clash of more than 100 citizens involving
the use of physical force.

S17F7

Revolutions
Any illegal or forced change in the top governmental elite, any attempt at such a change, or any successful or unsuccessful armed rebellion
whose aim is independence from the central government.

S18F1

Anti-Government Demonstrations
Any peaceful public gathering of at least 100 people for the primary
purpose of displaying or voicing their opposition to government policies
or authority, excluding demonstrations of a distinctly anti-foreign
nature.

S18F2

Weighted Conflict Index
The weighted conflict index is calculated in the following manner: Multiply the value of the number of Assassinations by 24,
General Strikes by 43,
Guerrilla Warfare by 46,
Government Crises by 48,
Purges by 86,
Riots by 102,
Revolutions by 148,
Anti-Government Demonstrations by 200. Sum the 8 weighted values and divide by 9. The result is the value
(with decimal) stored as the Weighted Conflict Index.

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Election Data

S18F3

Voter Turnout
Scaling: 0.001

S18F4

Registered Voters
Scaling: 1000 Fields S18F4-S18F7 contain electoral data. Fields S18F4 and S18F6 give,
on the one hand, the number of registered voters (in some cases, such as
the United States, those eligible to register and vote), and, on the
other, the number of valid votes cast (for the most recent election
during the year in question) for the lower house of the national
legislature. Fields S18F5 and S18F7 deal with the same items on a per
capita basis.

S18F5

Registered Voters/Population
Scaling: 0.001

S18F6

Votes Cast, Lower House of Legislature
Scaling: 1000

S18F7

Votes Cast, Lower House of Legislature/Population
Scaling: 0.001

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Legislative Process

S19F1

Number of Seats, Largest Party in Legislature
This segment deals primarily with the legislative process. Field S19F1
contains the number of seats held by the largest party in the lower
house of each country's national assembly. Field S19F2 contains the
total number of seats in the lower house, except in cases where no
parties exist (or did not exist at the last election), where a zero is
entered (in such cases the absence of a legislature is indicated by zero
entries in fields S19F3 and S19F4). In one-party systems with
legislative membership in excess of 999, the latter figure is employed
in fields S19F1 and S19F2.
Fields S19F3-S19F6 contain ordinal-scaled data.

S19F2

Size of Legislature (Lower House)

S19F3

Effectiveness of Legislature
(3) Effective
(2) Partly Effective
(1) Largely Ineffective
(0) No Legislature It may be noted that the data in field S19F3 are substantively similar
to the data in field S22F4. The two data sets are not, however,
identical. They were initially coded at different times and
incorporated into the file as components of different sub-files.
Nonetheless, it is anticipated that the contents of field S19F3 of this
segment will, at some future date, be deleted for reason of redundancy.

S19F4

Competitiveness of Nominating Process
(3) Competitive
(2) Partly Competitive
(1) Essentially Non-Competitive
(0) No Legislature

S19F5

Party Coalitions
(3) More than one party, no coalitions
(2) More than one party, government coalition, opposition
(1) More than one party, government coalition, no opposition
(0) No coalition, no opposition

S19F6

Party Legitimacy
(3) No parties excluded
(2) One or more minor or "extremist" parties excluded
(1) Significant exclusion of parties (or groups)
(0) No parties, or all but dominant party and satellites excluded

S19F7

Size of Legislature/Number of Seats, Largest Party
Scaling: 0.01 Field 7 is an index of seats held by the largest party, obtained by
dividing field S19F2 by field S19F1. The principal reason for
calculating the index in this manner (rather than as a percentage of
seats held) is to ensure that the indices for countries with no parties
(or no legislatures) and countries with one-party systems will be
adjacent, rather than at opposite extremes of the array. Thus a country
with no parties has a score of 0, a one-party system has a score of 1.0,
a system with 40 out of 100 seats held by the majority party has a score
of 2.5, etc.

S20F1

Composite Index, Items 120-123
The first three fields of this segment contain secondary data derived
from items appearing in Segment 19. Field S20F1 is a total of the
ordinal scores contained in fields S19F3-S19F6 and, as such, may be
construed as a simple, non-factoral, measure of political polyarchy or
pluralism. Field S20F2 contains seven-year averages of the data in
field S19F7, while field S20F3 contains seven-year totals of the data in
field S20F1.

S20F2

Seven-Year Average, Item 124

S20F3

Seven-Year Total, Item 125

S20F5

Party Fractionalization Index
Scaling: 0.0001 Field S20F5 is a party fractionalization index, based on the formula
proposed by Douglas Rae in "A Note on the Fractionalization of Some
European Party Systems", Comparative Political Studies, 1 (October
1968), 413-418. The index is constructed as follows:
m
F = 1 - sum (ti)2
i=l where ti = the proportion of members associated with the ith party in
the lower house of the legislature.

S20F7

Type of Regime
Field S20F7, together with all seven fields of Segment 21 and the first
six fields of Segment 22, embrace 14 nominal and ordinal political
variables coded as follows: Type of Regime
(1) Civilian. Any government controlled by a nonmilitary component
of the nation's population.
(2) Military-Civilian. Outwardly civilian government effectively
controlled by a military elite. Civilians hold only those posts (up to
and including that of Chief of State) for which their services are
deemed necessary for successful conduct of government operations. An
example would be retention of the Emperor and selected civilian cabinet
members during the period of Japanese military hegemony between 1932 and
1945.
(3) Military. Direct rule by the military, usually (but not
necessarily) following a military coup d’état. The governing structure
may vary from utilization of the military chain of command under
conditions of martial law to the institution of an ad hoc administrative
hierarchy with at least an upper echelon staffed by military personnel.
(4) Other. All regimes not falling into one or another of the
foregoing categories, including instances in which a country, save for
reasons of exogenous influence, lacks an effective national government.
An example of the latter would be Switzerland between 1815 and 1848.

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Political Data

S21F1

Number of Coups d'Etat
The number of extraconstitutional or forced changes in the top
government elite and/or its effective control of the nation's power
structure in a given year. The term "coup" includes, but is not
exhausted by, the term "successful revolution". Unsuccessful coups are
not counted.

S21F2

Number of Major Constitutional Changes
The number of basic alterations in a state's constitutional structure,
the extreme case being the adoption of a new constitution that
significantly alters the prerogatives of the various branches of
government. Examples of the latter might be the substitution of
presidential for parliamentary government or the replacement of
monarchical by republican rule. Constitutional amendments which do not
have signficant impact on the political system are not counted.

S21F3

Head of State
(1) Monarch. Chief of state is a monarch (either hereditary or
elective) or a regent functioning on a monarch's behalf.
(2) President. Chief of state is a president who may function as chief
executive or merely as titular head of state, in which case he will
possess little effective power. The presiding officer of a legislative
assembly or state council may qualify for the coding, even though the
formal title may be that of "chairman".
(3) Military. A situation in which a member of the nation's armed
forces is recognized as the formal head of government. In case of
conflict between (2) and (3), coding is determined on the basis of
whether the incumbent's role is intrinsically military or civilian in
character.
(4) Other. In practice, this category is used when no distinct head of
state can be identified. It includes any distinct head of state not
included in (1)-(3), such as a theocratic ruler, as well as non-military
bodies serving in a collegial capacity.

S21F4

Premier
(1) Formal executive is premierial.
(2) Formal executive is non-premierial.

S21F5

Effective Executive (Type)
Refers to the individual who exercises primary influence in the shaping
of most major decisions affecting the nation's internal and external
affairs. The "other" category may refer to a situation in which the
individual in question (such as the party first secretary in a Communist
regime) holds no formal governmental post, or to one in which no truly
effective national executive can be said to exist.
(1) Monarch
(2) President
(3) Premier
(4) Military
(5) Other

S21F6

Effective Executive (Selection)
(1) Direct E)(!Election. Election of the effective executive by popular
vote or the election of committed delegates for the purpose of executive
selection.
(2) Indirect Election. Selection by an elected assembly or by an
elected but uncommitted electoral college.
(3) Nonelective. Any means of selection not involving a direct or
indirect mandate from an electorate.

S21F7

Degree of Parliamentary Responsibility
Refers to the degree to which a premier must depend on the support of a
majority in the lower house of a legislature in order to remain in
office.
(0) Irrelevant. Office of premier does not exist.
(1) Absent. Office exists, but there is no parliamentary
responsibility.
(2) Incomplete. The premier is, at least to some extent,
constitutionally responsible to the legislature. Effective
responsibility is, however, limited.
(3) Complete. The premier is constitutionally and effectively dependent
upon a legislative majority for continuance in office.

S22F1

Size of Cabinet
Refers to the number of ministers of "cabinet rank", excluding
undersecretaries, parliamentary secretaries, ministerial alternates,
etc. Include president and vice-president under a presidential system,
but not under a parliamentary system. Chiefs of state excluded, except
under presidential system.

S22F2

Number of Cabinet Changes
The number of times in a year that a new premier is named and/or 50% of
the cabinet posts are occupied by new ministers.

S22F3

Changes in Effective Executive
The number of times in a year that effective control of the executive
Dower changes hands. Such a change requires that the new executive be
independent of his predecessor.

S22F4

Legislative Effectiveness
(0) None. No legislature exists.
(1) Ineffective. There are three possible bases for this coding: first,
legislative activity may be essentially of a "rubber stamp" character;
second, domestic turmoil may make the implementation of legislation
impossible; third, the effective executive may prevent the legislature
from meeting, or otherwise substantially impede the exercise of its
functions.
(2) Partially Effective. A situation in which the effective executives
power substantially outweighs, but does not completely dominate that of
the legislature.
(3) Effective. The possession of significant governmental autonomy by
the legislature, including, typically, substantial authority in regard
to taxation and disbursement, and the power to override executive
vetoes of legislation.

S22F5

Legislative Selection
(0) None. No legislature exists.
(1) Nonelective. Examples would be the selection of legislators by the
effective executive, or by means of heredity or ascription.
(2) Elective. Legislators (or members of the lower house in a bicameral
system) are selected by means of either direct or indirect popular
election.

S22F6

Number of Legislative Elections
The number of elections held for the lower house of a national
legislature in a given year.

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International Status Indicators

S22F7

International Status Ranking (S&S)
Field S22F7 together with segment 23 (fields S23F1-S23F7) embraces eight
international status indicators developed by J. David Singer and Melvin
Small in "The Composition and Status Ordering of the International
System: 1815-1940,11 World Politics, 18 (January 1966), 236-282. Singer
and Small provide entries, in each case, for every fifth year. Yearly
estimates were calculated and are provided in the Cross-National
Time-Series Data Archive file for the basic variable, "International
Status, Composite Score", which appears in field S23F2 of this segment.
For a discussion of these data and the coding criteria employed, see
Singer and Small, "The Composition and Status Ordering of the
International System: 1815-1940", World Politics, 18 (January 1966),
pp.236-282. Singer and Small provide entries for every fifth year; we
have added yearly estimates for field S23F2.

S23F1

International Status, Case Size

S23F2

International Status, Composite Score

S23F3

International Status, Composite Standardized Score

S23F4

International Status, Quintile

S23F5

International Status, Weighted Rank

S23F6

International Status, Weighted Status Ordering

S23F7

International Status, Weighted Quintile

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Industrial Production

S24F1

Electric Power Production (kWh)
Scaling: 1000000 This segment deals with components of industrial production. Field
S24F1 gives electric power production in millions of kilowatt hours.
Insofar as possible, the data include production for both public and
private purposes, and cover both thermal and hydroelectric output, thus
reflecting total gross generation of electricity, excluding station use
and transmission losses. Field S24F2 gives the same information in per
capita form.
Field 3 contains data on crude steel production, including, insofar as
possible, both ingots and steel for castings, whether obtained from
pig-iron or scrap. Wrought (puddled) iron is generally excluded. Field
S24F4 gives the same data in per capita form.
Field S24F5 contains data on the total production of hydraulic cements
used for construction-purposes (portland, metallurgic, aluminous,
natural, etc.). Field S24F6 gives the same data in per capita form.

S24F2

Electric Power Production (kWh) Per Capita
Scaling: .1

S24F3

Steel Production (metric tons)
Scaling: 1000

S24F4

Steel Production (metric tons) Per Capita
Scaling: .0001

S24F5

Cement Production (metric tons)
Scaling: 1000

S24F6

Cement Production (metric tons) Per Capita
Scaling: .0001

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Prices, Gold and Debt

S25F1

International Reserves, less Gold, in $US
Scaling: 1000000

S25F2

Gold Reserves, Fine Troy Ounces
Scaling: 1000

S25F3

Gold Reserves, end-of-year $US
Scaling: 1000000

S25F4

Gold Reserves, in $US, as % of Total Reserves
Scaling: .001

S25F5

External Public Debt (Disbursed) in $US
Scaling: 1000000

S25F6

Consumer Prices, 1975=100
Scaling: .1

S25F7

Consumer Prices, % Change over Previous Year
Scaling: .001

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Percent Annual Change

S26F1

% Annual Change Population
Scaling: .01 All of the fields in these segments contain derived data of a percent
annual increase character, based on a set of 25 variables selected from
those described above. Calculation is by means of a special computer
routine called DELTA, which is described elsewhere.

S26F2

% Annual Change Population Density
Scaling: .01

S26F3

% Annual Change Population, Cities of 100,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S26F4

% Annual Change Population, Cities of 50,000 & Over Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S26F5

% Annual Change National Government Revenue Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S26F6

% Annual Change National Government Expenditure Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S26F7

% Annual Change Imports Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S27F1

% Annual Change Export Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S27F2

% Annual Change National Gov't Revenue & Expenditure Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S27F4

% Annual Change Railroad Mileage Per Square Mile
Scaling: .01

S27F5

% Annual Change All Highway Vehicles Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S27F6

% Annual Change Telegraph Mileage Per Square Mile
Scaling: .01

S27F7

% Annual Change Telegrams Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F1

% Annual Change Telephones Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F2

% Annual Change All Mail Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F3

% Annual Change Daily Newspaper Circulation Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F4

% Annual Change Primary School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F5

% Annual Change Secondary School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F6

% Annual Change Prim+Sec School Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S28F7

% Annual Change University Enrollment Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S29F1

% Annual Change Energy Production in Kilograms Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S29F2

% Annual Change Energy Consumption in Kilograms Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S29F3

% Annual Change Percent GDP Originating In Industrial Activity
Scaling: .01

S29F4

% Annual Change Per Capita GDP Originating In Industrial Activity
Scaling: .01

S29F5

% Annual Change Percent Work Force in Agriculture
Scaling: .01

S29F6

% Annual Change Percent Work Force in Industry
Scaling: .01

S29F7

% Annual Change Rail Passenger-Kilometers
Scaling: .01

S30F1

% Annual Change Radios Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S30F2

% Annual Change Percent Literate
Scaling: .01

S30F3

% Annual Change Physicians Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S30F4

% Annual Change Gross Domestic Product Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S30F5

% Annual Change Gross National Product Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S30F6

% Annual Change Currency in Circulation Per Capita
Scaling: .01

S30F7

% Annual Change Age of Currency in Months
Scaling: .01



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