PPDB logoPolitical Parties Database

Open-source database of political parties worldwide.

Index › Data guide
PPDB / Editing reference

The spreadsheet is the database.

Add one party per row. Keep the two header rows intact, use stable IDs and leave optional cells empty rather than inserting placeholders.

Field reference
Column
Type
How PPDB uses it
COUNTRY
Required multiline text
Put one country on each line. Every country is searchable and filterable; the first is used for alphabetical sorting and legislature totals.
ID
Required
Stable, unique record ID, e.g. atOVP. Changing it changes the party URL.
NAME
Required
English-language party name.
NATIVE_NAME / LITERAL_NAME / ACRONYM
Text
Native-language name, optional literal English translation and abbreviation.
LEGISLATURE / LOWER_HOUSE / UPPER_HOUSE / MEP
Number
Current seat counts. Use LEGISLATURE for unicameral systems and leave non-applicable chambers blank.
LOGO / COLORCODE
Path or URL / hex
Use an external URL or a local path such as /media/logos/atFPO.png, plus a party colour such as #005EA8.
ESTABLISHMENT / REGISTERED / DELEGALISED / DISSOLUTION
Date
Optional milestone dates. ESTABLISHMENT and DISSOLUTION accept paired dates on matching lines for refounded parties. Full dates, month-year values and year-only values are supported; the displayed precision is preserved.
LABELS
Multiline text
Put one label on each line. Use Nationalism | North Korean nationalism to display the name on the right while filtering and grouping by the label on the left. A line containing # is hidden from the Index; on the record page, text after # is shown as a comment without the # character. Both forms can be combined: Militarism | Songun # (until 2013).
TYPE
Multiline text
Record type used for display and filtering. Use Political movement | Association to display Association while filtering and grouping by Political movement. Blank cells default to Party; put multiple types on separate lines.
STATUS
Text
For example Parliamentary, Extra-parliamentary, Regional, Local or Dissolved.
RELATIONS
Long text
Optional relationship notes displayed below Representation in the left column.
DESCRIPTION
Long text
Main record text. Blank lines create paragraphs.
Ideology
Long text
Optional prose section displayed between Overview and Leadership.
LEADERSHIP
Long text
Plain-text leadership notes shown after the optional Ideology section.
FORMER_LOGO
Multiline text
Put one earlier logo on each line as logo|comment|until. Keep the middle field empty when there is no comment: logo||until.
FORMER_NAMES
Long text
Earlier official or widely used party names.
WEBSITE / ARCHIVED_WEBSITE
URLs
Current official website and, separately, its archived version.
FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE / XTWITTER / INSTAGRAM / TIKTOK / TELEGRAM / VK
URLs
Official social-media pages displayed as separate links in Party details.
ALLIANCES
Multiline wiki links
Put one international alliance on each line. The linked record supplies the badge colour. A line containing # is hidden from the Index but remains on the party page with the text after # shown as a comment.
LAST_EDITED
Date
Optional maintenance date shown at the bottom of the record.
SOURCES
URLs
Put one source URL on each line.
Legislature totals

The Legislatures sheet stores the names and totals for unicameral legislatures and for each chamber, plus European Parliament totals. PPDB combines them with party values and displays entries such as 57 / 183.

Local logo storage

Upload logo files to public/media/logos/, then put a path such as /media/logos/atFPO.png in the LOGO cell. These files are deployed with the site and do not depend on an external image host.

Internal links

Use one of these forms of the compact wiki-like syntax inside prose fields:

[[atOVP]]
[[atOVP|Austrian People's Party]]
[[czCSSD|CSSD|#FF0000]]

Without custom text, PPDB displays the target party's acronym, or its name when no acronym exists. The optional third field overrides the colour square with a six-digit hex colour. References to IDs without a record are shown as red links.

The Redirects sheet maps an old or alternative ID to Redirect to. Such links open the target record but use ID colorcodefor their square. A blank redirect colour falls back to the target record's colour.

Former logos

Put one logo on each line of FORMER_LOGO:

/media/logos/Logo1.svg|Used under the former party name|2020-05
/media/logos/Logo2.svg||2004

The comment is optional, but both separators are required. The final field accepts a full date, month and year, a year alone, or may be left empty.

International alliances

Put one wiki-style record link on each line of ALLIANCES:

[[intUCPCPSU|UCP–CPSU]]
[[suCPSU|CPSU]] # (until 1991)

The first alliance appears on the Index and party page. A line containing # is shown only on the party page, where the comment follows the alliance name without the hash character.

Import rules
  • Rows without an ID are ignored.
  • Duplicate IDs stop the build with a clear error.
  • COUNTRY, ID and NAME are validated as required.
  • Empty sections do not appear on the public page.
  • Bold and italic spreadsheet text is preserved without importing font sizes.