Find Politically Exposed Persons worldwide

We consolidate global data sources about public office holders into an easy-to-use dataset.

What are Politically Exposed Persons?

Politically exposed persons (PEP) is a term from the financial services industry to describe individuals who have been entrusted with a prominent public function. This might include members of cabinets, parliaments, senior public servants and military personnel, or managers of state-owned companies.

Being classified as a PEP does not imply any misconduct. However, the concept is important because PEPs and members of their families should be the subject of enhanced public scrutiny. Identifying PEPs and conducting enhanced due diligence on the origins of their wealth is mandated by financial crime laws in most countries.

Our take on PEP data

The scope of PEP data is less well-defined compared to anti-money laundering datasets such as sanctions lists. Our goal is therefore to make the scope and depth of our data coverage transparent and publish the underlying methodology.

By mapping out the political positions that should be included on a country-by-country basis, we define quality metrics that measure coverage across time, jurisdiction and level of government.

We focus on automating the collection of PEP data rather than relying on the manual monitoring political events and election results. Our ultimate objective is to help expand the coverage of political persons in community-driven data resources like Wikidata. This way, the information ultimately becomes a commodity, produced via a distributed process.

Data coverage

Our top priority is comprehensive coverage of PEPs at national level of influence.

PositionsPEPsRCAs
Africa
Eastern Africa
British Indian Ocean Territory44-
Burundi593611
Comoros4494-
Djibouti69122-
Eritrea4153-
Ethiopia921539
French Southern Territories24-
Kenya1791,2627
Madagascar814564
Malawi784068
Mauritius701491
Mayotte229-
Mozambique1247373
Rwanda712783
Réunion3115-
Seychelles45781
Somalia775214
Somaliland7102-
South Sudan1291,16312
Tanzania879975
Uganda1291,11212
Zambia80369-
Zimbabwe848969
Middle Africa
Angola1389406
Cameroon1301,07612
Central African Republic1436583
Chad1274134
Congo1117982
DR Congo1972,28812
Equatorial Guinea1867136
Gabon973626
Sao Tome and Principe4399-
Zaire-3-
Northern Africa
Algeria1057399
Egypt1141,02250
Libya793594
Morocco841,15140
Sudan1636532
Tunisia8178626
Western Sahara413-
Southern Africa
Botswana621426
Eswatini511642
Lesotho742616
Namibia663582
South Africa1,2763,29539
Western Africa
Benin642737
Burkina Faso754733
Cabo Verde53178-
Canary Islands735-
Côte d’Ivoire993785
Gambia452782
Ghana1011,28321
Guinea8931911
Guinea-Bissau59216-
Liberia531783
Mali843923
Mauritania732633
Niger774075
Nigeria16,12125,93074
Saint Helena415-
Senegal983659
Sierra Leone792991
Togo863623
Americas
Caribbean
Anguilla1325-
Antigua and Barbuda38631
Aruba2644-
Bahamas651061
Barbados76902
British Virgin Islands1741-
Caymans69106-
Cuba8764413
Curaçao832-
Dominica4870-
Dominican Republic693003
Grenada42501
Guadeloupe384-
Haiti522405
Jamaica631445
Martinique11-
Montserrat1118-
Puerto Rico81812
Saint Barthélemy321-
Saint Kitts and Nevis35484
Saint Lucia46613
Saint Martin (French Part)426-
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines39452
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)741-
Trinidad and Tobago861791
Turks and Caicos Islands19481
United States Virgin Islands620-
Central America
Belize631796
Costa Rica621808
El Salvador501615
Guatemala583958
Honduras653162
Mexico1465,579101
Nicaragua531674
Panama452054
Northern America
Bermuda41811
Canada3244,064152
Greenland93254-
Saint Pierre and Miquelon546-
United States8,35359,6321,928
South America
Argentina1451,665100
Bolivia554583
Brazil25,115118,490198
Chile1,0548,19284
Colombia5,91115,92243
Ecuador7543732
Falklands631-
French Guiana110-
Guyana531051
Paraguay582411
Peru941,21040
Suriname481906
Uruguay8686,46118
Venezuela13573616
Asia
Central Asia
Kazakhstan8863618
Kyrgyzstan693764
Tajikistan571571
Turkmenistan473116
Uzbekistan7939911
Eastern Asia
China25213,418240
Hong Kong6960856
Japan5203,483215
Macao456-
Mongolia592786
North Korea11588422
South Korea1472,533161
Taiwan1572,249122
Tibet113-
South-eastern Asia
Brunei Darussalam5413417
Cambodia6930911
Indonesia5172,275186
Laos573572
Malaysia2011,70667
Myanmar11358213
Philippines1821,821148
Singapore15,11519,60118
Thailand11876053
Timor-Leste562975
Vietnam871,20420
Southern Asia
Afghanistan1087388
Bangladesh912,07655
Bhutan3814512
India32215,052462
Iran1241,83775
Maldives592437
Nepal871,55321
Pakistan1794,51776
Sri Lanka981,12094
Western Asia
Abkhazia27128-
Armenia7881,87534
Artsakh9671
Azerbaijan9541344
Bahrain7423815
Cyprus9634722
Georgia3,9197,23258
Iraq7674918
Israel160973157
Jordan9943242
Kurdistan11-
Kuwait6827015
Lebanon7445340
Northern Cyprus61021
Oman6917111
Palestine12047158
Qatar5812116
Saudi Arabia9756566
South Ossetia (Occupied Georgia)1878-
Syria7854426
Türkiye1253,91484
United Arab Emirates9920232
Yemen9358417
Europe
Central Europe
Austria1,0243,120144
Czechia1683,028168
Czechoslovakia11,673124
East Germany157723
Germany4209,881283
Hungary1671,199102
Poland2223,890261
Slovenia27253239
Eastern Europe
Belarus2321,20343
Bulgaria1,9427,28152
Crimea434-
Donetsk (Occupied Ukraine)10612
Luhansk (Occupied Ukraine)7191
Moldova696909
Romania3,6847,64362
Russia37714,367852
Slovakia1,2462,44247
Soviet Union174,953710
Transnistria221171
Ukraine1392,746172
Yugoslavia255451
Northern Europe
Denmark6331,985169
Estonia82701178
Faroe Islands1092791
Finland11613,110157
Guernsey10921
Iceland8333825
Ireland11784252
Isle of Man20941
Jersey221071
Latvia6859427
Lithuania28839,75430
Northern Ireland18277-
Norway2611,480168
Sark146-
Scotland59315-
Svalbard221
Sweden2401,856168
United Kingdom9677,7441,224
Wales501457
Åland Islands1162-
Southern Europe
Albania6457014
Andorra571033
Bosnia and Herzegovina1112515
Croatia2,2423,49615
Gibraltar1452-
Greece2501,597147
Holy See (Vatican)5154-
Italy5873,771198
Kosovo49452-
Malta1022337
Montenegro4,10611,2963
North Macedonia2,2359,7923
Portugal1441,42139
San Marino311721
Serbia891,14930
Serbia and Montenegro2999
Spain2,9027,989459
Western Europe
Belgium8152,30382
France84,60261,449938
Liechtenstein3416515
Luxembourg11537636
Monaco4013410
Netherlands7332,82687
Switzerland1131,47474
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand
Australia4692,702132
Christmas Island33-
Cocos Islands33-
New Zealand144721111
Norfolk Island513-
Melanesia
Fiji753051
New Caledonia666-
Papua New Guinea1042596
Solomon Islands481291
Vanuatu351332
Micronesia
Guam757-
Kiribati38982
Marshall Islands29582
Micronesia35662
Nauru8253-
Northern Mariana Islands630-
Palau32501
Polynesia
American Samoa524-
Cook Islands4354-
French Polynesia777-
Niue1732-
Pitcairn726-
Samoa441615
Tokelau56-
Tonga538713
Tuvalu35492
Wallis and Futuna Islands742-
Supranational
European Union713,9972
Global182024
United Nations151175

Where is our PEP data sourced from?

OpenSanctions automatically monitors and imports global databases into our data, such as lists of world leaders. We are also expanding our coverage of nationally published data, such as lists of parliamentarians or state governors. We enrich the PEP data with further information about the potential influence of officeholders, e.g. to reflect a person holding both a public office and running a business.

NamePublisherCountryUpdatesEntities
Argentina Members of ParliamentHCDN Argentinadaily258
Armenia Public Officials and AssociatesHetq Online  non-officialArmenia8,600
Austria Public OfficialsMeine Abgeordneten  non-officialAustriadaily1,680
Brazil Politically Exposed PersonsCGU Brazilweekly135,428
Bulgaria Judiciary Asset DeclarationsИВСС Bulgariaweekly7,010
Cayman Islands Members of ParliamentParliament of the Cayman Islands Caymansdaily81
Cayman Islands Senior Judicial OfficersCayman Islands Judicial Administration Caymansweekly46
China National People's Congress on WikipediaWikipedia  non-officialGlobal2,937
Colombian Joining the Dots PEPsDirectorio Legislativo/EITI  non-officialColombiadaily188
Colombian PEP DeclarationsDAFP Colombiadaily20,998
Croatia State Registry of Public OfficialsSukobu Interesa Croatiaweekly4,940
Cuba Members of the ParliamentProyecto Inventario  non-officialCubamonthly471
Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland PEPsFinanstilsynet Denmarkweekly1,869
Estonia Members of the RiigikoguRiigikogu Estoniadaily102
EU Prominent Public FunctionsOJEU European Uniondaily1,392
European Commitee of the Regions MembersCoR European Unionweekly665
European Parliament MembersEP European Unionweekly934
Every PoliticianMySociety  non-official58,345
French MayorsMIOM Franceweekly68,879
French National AssemblyNational Assembly of France Franceweekly4,075
French SenatorsSénat Franceweekly897
Georgia Public Official Asset DeclarationsACB Georgiaweekly23,842
German Legislators from AbgeordnetenWatchParlamentwatch e.V.  non-officialGermanydaily2,536
Hong Kong Legislative Council MembersHong Kong Legislative Council Hong Kongweekly195
Hong Kong Principal OfficialsGovHK Hong Kongweekly52
Iceland parliamentAlþingi Icelanddaily64
Indonesia 2018 Regional Head Election ResultsKPI Indonesia652
Israel Knesset MembersKnesset Israeldaily475
Latvian SaeimaSaeima Latviaweekly101
Lithuania Members of the SeimasSeimas Lithuaniaweekly142
Lithuania PEPs from the register of private interestsVTEK Lithuaniamonthly67,719
Mexico Chamber of DeputiesCámara de Diputados Mexicoweekly501
Mexico GovernorsCONAGO  non-officialMexico208
Mexico SenateSenado de La República Mexicoweekly129
Montenegro declarations of interests by public officialsACK Montenegroweekly15,335
Netherlands House of RepresentativesTweede Kamer Netherlandsweekly151
Nigeria Joining the Dots PEPs and PEP RelativesDirectorio Legislativo/EITI  non-officialNigeriadaily4,395
Nigerian Politically Exposed Persons data by ChipperChipper  non-officialNigeriadaily40,806
North Macedonia Elected and Appointed OfficialsSCPC North Macedoniaweekly11,437
PEPs from Chile Interest and Asset DeclarationsCPLT Chiledaily8,155
Romania FIU Public OfficialsONPCSB Romaniaweekly75
Singapore Government DirectorySGD Singaporeweekly34,253
Slovakia Public OfficialsNR SR Slovakiaweekly2,919
Slovenian Political Officials from ZvezoskopOštro  non-officialSlovenia370
South Africa Municipal LeadershipNT South Africaweekly1,565
South Africa National and Provincial LegislatorsPMG  non-officialSouth Africadaily1,960
Thailand Cabinet of MinistersSOC Thailanddaily62
Türkiye Grand National AssemblyTBMM Türkiyeweekly593
UN Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign AffairsDGACM monthly1,046
United States Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) ReportingOPM United Statesdaily14,152
Uruguayan Politically Exposed Persons (PEP)SENACLAFT Uruguayweekly6,814
US CIA World Factbook Heads of State and GovernmentCIA United Statesweekly871
US CIA World LeadersCIA United Statesdaily10,985
US Legislators by Plural (formerly OpenStates)Plural  non-officialUnited Statesweekly12,562
US Members of the CongressCongress United Statesdaily1,256
US Navy LeadershipNavy United Statesdaily583
US State Department Senior OfficialsState United Statesweekly462
Venezuela Members of the National AssemblyAsamblea Nacional de Venezuela Venezuelaweekly276
Wikidata Persons in Relevant CategoriesWikidata  non-officialdaily374,391
Wikidata Politically Exposed PersonsWikidata  non-officialdaily271,708

Official sources are government authorities and inter-governmental agencies. Non-official sources are community, civil-society or journalistic organisations, including:

  • Wikidata Politically Exposed Persons data is maintained by volunteers in a similar manner to the rest of the Wikimedia Foundation projects. OpenSanctions monitors specific positions in national and sub-national legislatures, executives and senior administrators for changes. As a volunteer-driven project, there are very limited guarantees of how up-to-date the information is.
  • mySociety's EveryPolitician project contains a significant foundation of data for national legislatures. However, its maintenance ended in June 2019 and the data is quickly becoming more outdated. We aim to remove or replace this dataset in time.

How do I use the data?

You can download the PEP bulk data or look up individual entries using the web search or API. Commercial users can license the dataset as part of the OpenSanctions bulk data license. We do not offer a separate licensing option for PEPs data alone.

Our methodology documentation explains how PEP position information can be used to select custom subsets of the data for specific use cases.

How can I help?

If you want to help map out political positions and their office holders, please consider using one of the following paths:

  • Want to add or enrich individual PEP profiles? Contribute to Wikidata's WikiProject Every Politician. This is a community-driven effort to maintain a database of political positions. Like all Wikipedia projects, it has community review and verification standards. Start by getting a sense of Wikidata's political data model, and allow for a delay of several days for Wikidata edits to be reflected in OpenSanctions.
  • Want to add a bulk data crawler? Our crawlers are open source code, using the zavod data collection framework (Python). Check out the data inclusion criteria, and the crawler writing tutorial. Our data source wishlist is a good source of inspiration.
  • Want to partner up? Please feel free to reach out to us to discuss other ideas for collaboration. As we are cleaning up and enhancing the position listings above using bulk data processing techniques, individual corrections sent via email will be of somewhat limited benefit.