Published 2026 | Version v4
Open dataset

Comparative Constitution Project Data

  • 1. University of Texas
  • 2. University of Chicago

Description

Description

The Comparative Constitutions Project (CCP) Database is the most comprehensive, longitudinal collection of constitutional texts and coded provisions for every sovereign state from 1789 to the present, compiled by the Comparative Constitutions Project since 2005. It includes full verbatim constitutions, standardized variable codings of institutional and rights‑related provisions, and metadata on adoption dates, amendments, and historical context, enabling rigorous cross‑national analysis of constitutional design and its outcomes.

The datasets are actively maintained and updated yearly. 

Variables

Name Description
COWCODE Correlates of War country code (correlatesofwar.org).
COUNTRY Country name
YEAR Year
SYST Identifies new constitutional systems. 0. No new constitutional system 1. New constitutional system
SYSTID Unique identification number for the constitutional system
SYSTYEAR Year in which the constitutional system was promulgated
EVNT Identifies constitutional events. 0. No constitutional event 1. Constitutional event
EVNTID Unique identification number for the constitutional event
EVNTYEAR Year of promulgation of the most recent constitutional event
EVNTTYPE Type of constitutional event (if any) (1-7, see codebook)
WG Indicates whether the observation is part of the Ward and Gleditsch sample
-Coding and Sampling Variables- For a list of all Coding and Sampling Variables see codebook

Details

Resource type Open dataset
Title Comparative Constitution Project Data
Alternative title CCP
Creators
  • Elkins, Zachary1 ORCID icon
  • Ginsburg, Tom2 ORCID icon
  • Publisher Comparative Constitutions Project
    Year of publication 2026
    Research fields Political Science Economic & Social History
    Formats Comma-separated values (CSV) (.csv) Stata 16 data files
    External resource https://comparativeconstitutionsproject.org/download-data/

    Additional details

    Related works

    Is referenced by
    Journal article: 10.2139/ssrn.4360242 (DOI)