(from the codebook:) The data in this study were gathered by Ruth Leger Sivard under the sponsorship of the following U.S. organizations: Arms Control Association, Institute for World Order, Members of Congress for Peace Through Law Education Fund, The Rockerfeller Foundation; and the Canadian organization, Peace Research Institute Dundas.
The dataset consists of 43 variables recording information on national attributes and social and military expenditures in 1974. Variables inlude raw values, per capita scores, and rankings. Information was reported for 138 countries, an addition of six countries from the previous study: "World Military and Social Expenditures, 1976."
The selection of both data and sources reflect the author's best judgement based on a background of experience in the fields of economic development and disarmament. A limiting factor is the availability of data. Complete coverage of the wide spectrum of social problems with which the government must deal with today is not possible, but it is believed that the selection of data provided is representative of trends and levels and can be used to gauge comparative priorities. Although the statistical tables for this study were largely prepared in late 1976, the latest year for which adequate worldwide coverage was possible for many of the social statistics was 1974, and for some it was 1973. Social data tend to lag behind the military. Projections to 1974 were therefore sometimes necessary for the social statistics, while military expenditures and armed forces, as well as GNP and population, were generally available through 1975.
The codebook for this dataset is available through the UBC Library catalogue, with call number UA15.U55 W675 1977.
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