The Database of Political Institutions (DPI): 2023
Metadata & use
| Identifier | https://doi.org/10.60966/8tx1xs4i |
|---|---|
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
| Citation |
Cruz, Cesi, et al. (2026). The Database of Political Institutions (DPI): 2023. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/8tx1xs4i |
| Published date | 2026-03-11 |
| Modified date | 2026-10-02 |
| Tags/Keywords | Democracy · Elections · Legislatures · Political Institutions · Political Parties · Electoral Systems · Checks and Balances · Comparative Politics |
| Language |
|
| In Series | Database of Political Institutions |
| Temporal coverage | 1975-2023 |
| Country |
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Senegal
Ghana
Australia
Greece
New Zealand
Grenada
Guatemala
Myanmar (Burma)
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Bahrain
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Austria
Nicaragua
India
Colombia
Indonesia
Iran
Sierra Leone
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Côte d’Ivoire
Jamaica
Japan
Bangladesh
Comoros
Azerbaijan
Singapore
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Congo - Brazzaville
Slovakia
Niger
Liberia
Bahamas
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Argentina
Costa Rica
Mali
Nigeria
Malta
Mauritania
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Slovenia
Panama
Croatia
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Barbados
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Solomon Islands
Romania
Russia
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
Belgium
South Sudan
Mauritius
Spain
Sri Lanka
Cyprus
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Belize
Mexico
Tanzania
Czechia
Thailand
Gambia
Cuba
Netherlands
Timor-Leste
Togo
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Türkiye
Moldova
Denmark
Benin
Rwanda
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Namibia
St. Lucia
Mongolia
Yemen
Bhutan
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Bolivia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Samoa
Djibouti
Bulgaria
Mozambique
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cape Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic
Belarus
Chad
Dominican Republic
Chile
China
Congo - Kinshasa
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Armenia
Saudi Arabia
Estonia
Eswatini
Nepal
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Georgia
Germany
Ecuador
Morocco
United Arab Emirates
|
| Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Publisher |
Inter-American Development Bank
|
| Author |
Cruz, Cesi
Keefer, Philip
Scartascini, Carlos
Simpser, Alberto
|
| Data collection type | Administrative Data |
| Statistical type | Panel Data |
| Data structure | Structured Data |
| Data notes |
What is the Database of Political Institutions (DPI)?The Database of Political Institutions (DPI) is a country-year dataset describing the political systems of more than 180 countries from 1975 to 2023: the chief executive, the parties in government and opposition, the legislature, electoral rules and federalism. What does one row represent?One country in one year. Most values describe the situation on January 1 of that year; the election variables (LEGELEC and EXELEC) record whether an election was held during the year. Which countries are included?More than 180 countries in every world region, including all of the IDB's borrowing member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The panel also includes historical states such as the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and the German Democratic Republic; rows for years after a state ceased to exist hold mostly -999 or blank values. What time period does it cover?Every year from 1975 to 2023. This edition of the DPI database extends the 2020 edition to 2023. What variables does it include?More than 120 variables, grouped into the chief executive, the government and opposition parties, the legislature and elections, electoral rules, federalism, and composite measures such as checks and balances, fractionalization, polarization and political stability. The codebook defines each one. How is checks and balances measured?CHECKS counts veto players. It equals 1 where the legislature or the executive is not competitively elected (LIEC or EIEC below 6). Otherwise it adds one for the chief executive, one if the chief executive is competitively elected and one if the opposition controls the legislature, plus further counts for legislative chambers and for coalition parties, which depend on whether the system is presidential or parliamentary. CHECKS_LAX applies the same rule with a threshold of 5. The codebook gives the full rule. How are missing and not-applicable values coded?A blank cell means no information was available. -999 or NA means the variable does not apply, as for colonies, Soviet republics before independence, or countries in civil war or political crisis. Binary variables use 1 for yes and 0 for no. How can I download the DPI data?The DPI data is available as an Excel workbook and a CSV file with the same content, with a PDF codebook defining every variable. The CSV can also be queried through the portal's DataStore API. Under what licence is it published?Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The data can be shared and adapted for any purpose, provided the source is credited. How do I cite this dataset?Cruz, Cesi, et al. (2026). The Database of Political Institutions (DPI): 2023. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/8tx1xs4i |