The Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) Dataset 2.3

The Geo-PKO dataset provides data on UN peacekeeping deployments. It offers information on key attributes of peacekeeping deployments at the local level, including location, size, troop type, headquarters, troop-contributing countries and other variables.

UN Global Peacekeeping Deployments, 1994 - 2024

Data is derived from United Nations (UN) mission deployment maps, UN Secretary-General mission progress reports, and the Dag Hammarskjold Library Cartographic Section peacekeeping mission deployment maps.

UN Peacekeeping missions in 2024

2024 was a year of major developments for UN peacekeeping missions. The last MINUSMA personnel left Mali in January, completing a withdrawal process that started in July of 2023. In the DRC, MONUSCO retreated from the province of South Kivu in July as part of an ongoing national disengagement process. The Geo-PKO dataset allows us to track in detail how troop deployments in Mali and the DRC shifted over time.

Why explore peacekeeping at the local level?

While peacekeeping data exists widely at the country level, the Geo-PKO dataset is one of the first to enable scholars, students, analysts and the public to explore variations in peacekeeping at the sub-national level. This provides insight into themes such as troop composition and peacekeeping presence across geographic boundaries. When combined with DPCR’s other datasets, including the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme (UCDP) and the Violence Early-Warning System (ViEWS), Geo-PKO can also enable exploration of the relationship between sub-national peacekeeping and conflict. Click ”Explore Geo-PKO Data” at the top of the page to see animated maps of how troop deployments change spatially over time and within missions.

Missions in the Geo-PKO

The Geo-PKO dataset v 2.3 provides data on UN peacekeeping missions from 1994 to 2024. The first version, Geo-PKO v 1.1, was released in 2019 and covered only missions to intrastate armed conflicts in Africa. Version 2.0 was completed in 2020 to extend the dataset to cover all missions (dealing with intra- and interstate conflicts) globally. Subsequent versions have been released to include recent data.

Using the Geo-PKO dataset

Geo-PKO data can be explored visually at the Geo-PKO Dashboard, or downloaded in CSV, RDS, and XLXS format below. To read about and replicate analysis and visualisation using the Geo-PKO dataset in RStudio, click here. To access older versions of the dataset, please contact Lisa Hultman at lisa.hultman@pcr.uu.se.

The dataset is available at two levels of aggregation. The location-map level (the original dataset described in the codebook) includes information per deployment map released by the UN, which is recorded per deployment location (when maps are revised so that there are two versions for the same period, we only use the revised map). Maps normally cover periods of 3-6 months. The location-month set is expanded to include monthly observations for every location based on the last available source map, thus assuming that deployments are stable until the next map update.

Please note that data has been coded in accordance with digitally published United Nations peacekeeping deployment maps, and some limitations may be found. Troop numbers are based on units identified in each map, in line with standard UN and NATO military unit sizes. The dataset is current as of December 2024.

• Cil, D., Fjelde, H., Hultman, L., & Nilsson, D. (2020). Mapping blue helmets: Introducing the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) dataset. Journal of Peace Research, 57(2), 360–370.

Geo-PKO 2.3 location-map data and Codebook

• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 codebook (pdf) pdf, 338 kB.
• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 (csv) csv, 12 MB.
• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 (rds) rds, 349 kB.
• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 (xlsx) xlsx, 8 MB.

Geo-PKO 2.3 location-month data

• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 (csv) csv, 46 MB.
• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 (rds) rds, 816 kB.
• Geo-PKO_v.2.3 (xlsx) xlsx, 31 MB.

Studies using Geo-PKO data

• Beardsley, K., & Beardsley, J. (2023). Can peace operations mitigate the effect of armed conflict on malnutrition? Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire. Environment and Security, 1(1-2), 36-61.
• Bove, V., Di Salvatore, J., Elia, L. & Nisticò, R. (2024). Mothers at peace: International peacebuilding and post-conflict fertility. Journal of Development Economics, 167, 103226.
• Cil, D., Fjelde, H., Hultman, L., & Nilsson, D. (2020). Mapping blue helmets: Introducing the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) dataset. Journal of Peace Research, 57(2), 360–370.
• Duursma, A., & Smidt, H. (2024). Peacekeepers Without Helmets: How Violence Shapes Local Peacebuilding by Civilian Peacekeepers. Comparative Political Studies, 57(5), 778-817.
• Dworschak, C. & Cil, D. (2022). Force Structure and Local Peacekeeping Effectiveness: Micro-Level Evidence on UN Troop Composition. International Studies Quarterly, 66(4), sqac072.
• Fjelde, H., Hultman, L. & Nilsson, D. (2019). Protection through Presence: UN Peacekeeping and the Costs of Targeting Civilians. International Organization, 73(1), 103–131.
• Fjelde, H. & Smidt, H. M. (2022). Protecting the Vote? Peacekeeping Presence and the Risk of Electoral Violence. British Journal of Political Science 52(3), 1113-1132.
• Hultman, L., Leis, M. & Nilsson, D. (2022). Employing local peacekeeping data to forecast changes in violence. International Interactions, 48(4), 823-840.
• Kissling, J. R. & Smidt, H. M. (2023). (UN-)Protected Elections – Left for Good? Withdrawal of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Its Effects on Violence During Electoral Periods in War-Affected Countries. International Peacekeeping 30(2), 165-197.
• Lindberg Bromley, S., & von Uexkull, N. (2024). UN peacekeeping presence and local food security outcomes. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 42(2), 168-189. https://doi.org/10.1177/07388942241237727
• Oestman, J. (2023). Burden sharing in UN peacekeeping operations: Who deploys to violent locations? International Interactions, 49(4), 497-524.
• Reeder, B. W. & Polizzi, M. S. (2021). Transforming Zones of Exclusion to Zones of Inclusion? Local-Level UN Peacekeeping Deployments and Educational Attainment. International Studies Quarterly, 65(4), 867–880.
• Reeder, B. W., Hendricks, M. & Goldring, E. (2022). All Peacekeeping is Local: Measuring Subnational Variation in Peacekeeping Effectiveness. International Studies Quarterly, 66(2), sqac010.
• Sundberg, R. (2020). UN Peacekeeping and Forced Displacement in South Sudan. International Peacekeeping, 27(2), 210-237.
• Van Baalen, S. (2024). Civilian Protest in Civil War: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire. American Political Science Review, 118(2), 815–830. doi:10.1017/S0003055423000564

Replication Files for the data presentation article

• Replication_Geo-PKO_analysis_JPR.dta dta, 5 MB.
• Replication_Geo-PKO_analysis_JPR.do do.

Contributors to Geo-PKO

Jonas Baumann, Deniz Cil, Hanne Fjelde, Nguyen Ha, Lisa Hultman, Brandon Ives, Desirée Nilsson, Tanushree Rao, Kajsa Tidblad-Lundholm, Lou van Roozendaal, Meri Mentula, Eva Branchereau, and Merijn Tax.