{"id": 1009178, "name": "Region", "unit": "", "createdAt": "2025-01-29T15:22:46.000Z", "updatedAt": "2026-03-05T16:54:55.000Z", "coverage": "", "timespan": "1870-2021", "datasetId": 6918, "columnOrder": 0, "shortName": "region", "catalogPath": "grapher/wpf/2025-01-17/famines_by_regime_gdp_population/famines#region", "descriptionShort": "Region where the famine occurred.", "type": "string", "dataChecksum": "9753856311649029773", "metadataChecksum": "-8907357205941985826", "datasetName": "Deaths from famines by regime, GDP and population growth", "updatePeriodDays": 365, "datasetVersion": "2025-01-17", "nonRedistributable": false, "display": {}, "schemaVersion": 2, "presentation": {"topicTagsLinks": ["Famines"]}, "dimensions": {"years": {"values": [{"id": 1919}, {"id": 1915}, {"id": 1974}, {"id": 1876}, {"id": 1975}, {"id": 2020}, {"id": 1897}, {"id": 1920}, {"id": 1928}, {"id": 1934}, {"id": 1937}, {"id": 1958}, {"id": 1899}, {"id": 1895}, {"id": 1998}, {"id": 1896}, {"id": 1945}, {"id": 1888}, {"id": 1973}, {"id": 1983}, {"id": 2021}, {"id": 1914}, {"id": 1941}, {"id": 1917}, {"id": 1943}, {"id": 1942}, {"id": 1981}, {"id": 1968}, {"id": 2016}, {"id": 1995}, {"id": 1894}, {"id": 1912}, {"id": 1870}, {"id": 1940}, {"id": 1891}, {"id": 1918}, {"id": 1913}, {"id": 1969}, {"id": 1991}, {"id": 2011}, {"id": 1910}, {"id": 1988}, {"id": 2014}, {"id": 1939}, {"id": 1984}, {"id": 1992}, {"id": 2003}, {"id": 2012}, {"id": 1905}, {"id": 1931}, {"id": 1921}, {"id": 1946}, {"id": 1944}]}, "entities": {"values": [{"id": 370642, "name": "Armenia 1919", "code": null}, {"id": 372649, "name": "Austria-Hungary 1915-1918", "code": null}, {"id": 370693, "name": "Bangladesh 1974", "code": null}, {"id": 370650, "name": "Brazil 1876-1879", "code": null}, {"id": 370681, "name": "Cambodia 1975-1979", "code": null}, {"id": 370668, "name": "Central African Republic 2020-2023", "code": null}, {"id": 370690, "name": "China 1876-1879", "code": null}, {"id": 370709, "name": "China 1897-1901", "code": null}, {"id": 370675, "name": "China 1920-1921", "code": null}, {"id": 370696, "name": "China 1928-1930", "code": null}, {"id": 371320, "name": "China 1934-1936", "code": null}, {"id": 370713, "name": "China 1937-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 370666, "name": "China 1958-1962", "code": null}, {"id": 370697, "name": "China 1975", "code": null}, {"id": 371321, "name": "Congo Free State 1899-1905", "code": null}, {"id": 370669, "name": "Cuba 1895-1898", "code": null}, {"id": 370700, "name": "Democratic Republic of Congo 1998-2007", "code": null}, {"id": 370670, "name": "East Africa 1896-1900", "code": null}, {"id": 370687, "name": "East Timor 1975-1979", "code": null}, {"id": 370676, "name": "Eastern Europe 1945-1947", "code": null}, {"id": 371313, "name": "Ethiopia 1888-1892", "code": null}, {"id": 370703, "name": "Ethiopia 1958", "code": null}, {"id": 370655, "name": "Ethiopia 1973", "code": null}, {"id": 370682, "name": "Ethiopia 1983-1985", "code": null}, {"id": 370640, "name": "Ethiopia 2021-2023", "code": null}, {"id": 370644, "name": "German East Africa 1914-1916", "code": null}, {"id": 371317, "name": "German occupied USSR  1941-1944", "code": null}, {"id": 370694, "name": "Germany 1917-1919", "code": null}, {"id": 370708, "name": "Germany, USSR 1941-1944", "code": null}, {"id": 370704, "name": "Greater Syria 1915-1918", "code": null}, {"id": 371324, "name": "Greece 1941-1944", "code": null}, {"id": 370663, "name": "India 1876-1878", "code": null}, {"id": 370685, "name": "India 1888-1889", "code": null}, {"id": 370710, "name": "India 1896-1897", "code": null}, {"id": 370672, "name": "India 1899-1901", "code": null}, {"id": 370698, "name": "India, Bangladesh 1943", "code": null}, {"id": 370716, "name": "Indonesia 1942-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 371316, "name": "Japan 1941-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 370662, "name": "Mozambique 1981-1985", "code": null}, {"id": 371311, "name": "Nigeria 1968-1970", "code": null}, {"id": 370702, "name": "Nigeria 2016-2019", "code": null}, {"id": 370705, "name": "North Korea 1995-1997", "code": null}, {"id": 370660, "name": "Ottoman Empire 1894-1896", "code": null}, {"id": 370667, "name": "Ottoman Empire 1912-1923", "code": null}, {"id": 370680, "name": "Ottoman Empire 1915-1916", "code": null}, {"id": 370652, "name": "Persia 1870-1872", "code": null}, {"id": 370643, "name": "Persia 1917-1919", "code": null}, {"id": 370683, "name": "Philippines 1899-1902", "code": null}, {"id": 371319, "name": "Poland (ghettos and concentration camps) 1940-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 370673, "name": "Poland 1940-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 371323, "name": "Russia 1891-1895", "code": null}, {"id": 371310, "name": "Russia 1918-1920", "code": null}, {"id": 370651, "name": "Russia 1941-1944", "code": null}, {"id": 370659, "name": "Sahel 1913-1914", "code": null}, {"id": 370641, "name": "Sahel 1969-1974", "code": null}, {"id": 370647, "name": "Serbia, Balkans 1914-1918", "code": null}, {"id": 370692, "name": "Somalia 1991-1993", "code": null}, {"id": 370648, "name": "Somalia 2011-2012", "code": null}, {"id": 370714, "name": "Somaliland, African Red Sea Region 1910-1919", "code": null}, {"id": 371315, "name": "South Sudan 1988-1998", "code": null}, {"id": 370689, "name": "South Sudan 2014-2018", "code": null}, {"id": 370679, "name": "Spain 1939-1942", "code": null}, {"id": 371309, "name": "Sudan 1888-1892", "code": null}, {"id": 370706, "name": "Sudan 1984-1985", "code": null}, {"id": 370699, "name": "Sudan 1992-1994", "code": null}, {"id": 370654, "name": "Sudan 2003-2005", "code": null}, {"id": 370677, "name": "Syria 2012-2023", "code": null}, {"id": 370686, "name": "Tanzania 1905-1907", "code": null}, {"id": 371314, "name": "USSR (Kazakhstan) 1931-1933", "code": null}, {"id": 371327, "name": "USSR (Southern Russia & Ukraine) 1921-1922", "code": null}, {"id": 371325, "name": "USSR (Southern Russia) 1931-1933", "code": null}, {"id": 371312, "name": "USSR 1939-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 371318, "name": "USSR 1940-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 371326, "name": "USSR 1941-1947", "code": null}, {"id": 370707, "name": "USSR 1946-1947", "code": null}, {"id": 370691, "name": "Uganda 2003-2006", "code": null}, {"id": 371322, "name": "Ukraine 1931-1933", "code": null}, {"id": 370656, "name": "Vietnam 1944-1945", "code": null}, {"id": 370661, "name": "Yemen 2016-2021", "code": null}]}}, "origins": [{"id": 2538, "title": "The WPF Famine Dataset", "description": "The World Peace Foundation has compiled a comprehensive dataset cataloging famines and mass starvation events since 1870. Their main dataset focuses on events that caused 100,000 or more deaths.\n\nThe dataset faces several methodological challenges that require careful consideration. Historical data quality varies significantly across different periods and regions, making direct comparisons challenging. Different measurement methods and inconsistent data collection practices further complicate the analysis. A particularly notable observation is that the worse a humanitarian emergency becomes, the more difficult it becomes to gather reliable data about it. These challenges are compounded by the complexity of defining famine boundaries and categorizing different types of mass starvation events.\n\nThe framework for defining famines in this dataset encompasses three main categories: conventional famines driven by food crises, mass starvation caused by war or genocide, and massive humanitarian emergencies. These events are distinguished from chronic poverty by being distinct episodes rather than ongoing conditions. The methodology uses a threshold of 100,000 deaths for practical purposes, considering both direct starvation deaths and related health crisis mortality. The dataset has evolved from using \"lowest credible estimate\" to \"most credible estimate\" for death tolls, and employs placeholder estimates of \"100,000+\" when exact figures are unavailable.\n\nThe classification of famine causes follows a structured approach, identifying immediate triggers, contributory factors, and structural causes. The dataset recognizes four main triggers: adverse climate, government policies, armed conflict, and genocide. Importantly, the authors note that famine causes are often complex and interconnected, rarely attributable to a single factor.\n\nGiven these methodological considerations, the authors emphasize that this compilation should be viewed more as a catalogue than a strict dataset, suitable for drawing general conclusions rather than precise statistical analyses. The dataset remains open for expert review and input, functioning as a living document that can be updated as new information becomes available.", "producer": "World Peace Foundation", "citationFull": "Historic Famines dataset. World Peace Foundation (2025).", "urlMain": "https://worldpeacefoundation.org/", "dateAccessed": "2025-10-03", "datePublished": "2025", "license": {"name": "permission obtained from the authors"}}]}