About the UIA

The Union of International Associations (UIA) – non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental – is an extraordinary scientific research institute and documentation centre. It focuses on a topic of increasing relevance: the nature and evolution of international civil society. Since 1907, it has been a pioneer in the provision of information on international organizations and their global challenges.

International associations, now often referred to as INGOs (international non-governmental organizations) and IGOs (inter-governmental organizations), play a role in every facet of 21st century life in all parts of the world. The UIA documents this development, recording information about organizations, their concerns, their philosophies, and their goals. The results of this research and documentation are made available to the public in print, online, and on CD-ROM.

In its on-going efforts to facilitate understanding and use of its complex data sets, the UIA has become a cutting-edge technical centre with high standing in the information science community.