Classifying and documenting international organizations

A central part of UIA’s work is to profile international non-governmental (INGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), including general information on their contact details, aims and activities. This information is maintained in the UIA's extensive database of entries on over 60,000 international organizations, active in 300 countries and territories, in every field of human endeavour, and is made available in the Yearbook of International Organizations.

The Yearbook also has a bibliographic dimension, documenting international organizations’ publications (see Bibliography research), and a biographical dimension, documenting executives’ biographies (see Biography research).

However, creating something like the Yearbook poses problems relating to how to classify the information and which categories to use. One such difficulty stems from the sheer variety of organizational forms which need to be considered. The page on Types of International Organization describes the classification of organizations designed specifically for the Yearbook and the logic behind this system.

A second difficulty arises because of the multiplicity of concerns international organizations have, and their different ways of working. This is especially true when their interlinkages and interdisciplinary nature preclude effective use of conventional approaches. A special functional classification system was therefore developed that has been used to organize that information in a 'subject matrix'. This system is explained in more detail in a commentary written by Anthony Judge entitled Functional Classification in an Integrative Matrix of Human Preoccupations.

For general information about international organizations or the Yearbook, please consult the FAQ.