Definition
RIOTS consists of a set of 22 separate variables, each covering one year from 1997 to 2018. The variables report the number of days, within the specified year, in which riots or protests occurred within a 10-kilometer circular buffer around each DHS cluster location. By adding RIOTS to your data cart, you are in effect adding 22 separate variables (RIOTS_1997 to RIOTS_2018), one variable for each year. The 2018 data in IPUMS-DHS end on September 15, 2018.
Data for RIOTS are obtained from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project ACLED [URL omitted from DDI.], downloaded on September 15, 2018. The RIOTS variable counts incidents of organized demonstrations (against political entities, businesses, or private institutions) involving non-violent protestors or rioters (demonstrators employing violence), as well as spontaneous acts of violence by disorganized groups (targeting property or clashing with other groups or security institutions).
Also, ACLED [URL omitted from DDI.] data provide differing levels of "geo-precision" or locational accuracy. IPUMS-DHS includes all levels of locational accuracy in its variable RIOTS. Please refer to ACLED [URL omitted from DDI.] for additional details on ACLED's procedures, methods of data collection, and data revision.
RIOTS, like the other IPUMS-DHS contextual variables, is calculated and based on sources external to the DHS data. For more information on IPUMS-DHS contextual variables and how they are constructed, refer to the documentation [URL omitted from DDI.] on these variables.
