Union of International Associations

What Union of International Associations does

The Union of International Associations (UIA) is an independent, not-for-profit research institution founded in 1907 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, that documents and disseminates information on global civil society. It maintains standardized profiles of more than 78,500 international organizations, both intergovernmental (IGOs) and non-governmental (INGOs), drawn from 300 countries and territories, with approximately 1,200 new entries added annually and a 35% average response rate from organizations verifying their own profiles. Under a formal mandate from the United Nations, UIA produces the Yearbook of International Organizations and operates with a lean staff of approximately 15, governed by a Council, Bureau, and Secretary-General (Jacques de Mévius, in role since December 2005).

UIA's core products are the Yearbook of International Organizations (daily-updated database of 78,500+ organizations plus six-volume print edition), the International Congress Calendar (~600,000 events from 1851 to 2038 including ~3,500 future events), the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential (56,000+ world problems, 31,000+ strategies, 3,200+ human values), and the International Meetings Statistics Report (67th edition, published annually since 1960). Supporting products include the UIA Survey on International Association Meeting Issues, Customized Data Services (city/country reports, data extractions, data streaming), the UIA Academy, Associations Round Tables, and several open research services (Open Yearbook, Open Calendar, Fraud Monitor, IGO Search Engine, Civil Society Glossary, Link Directory). The technology base is database-driven with web-based search platforms, and a REST API for programmatic Yearbook access is planned for 2026.

UIA's business model combines subscription publication sales, Associate and Active Membership fees, research and consultation contracts, grants from international organizations, and donations. Yearbook Online subscriptions range from €860 (30 days) to €3,442 (annual), with an Extended Edition at €4,300 bundling back-editions to 2002; print Yearbook for academic libraries is distributed through Brill at €3,442/$3,997. Associate Membership is capped at €10,000 annually by statute and Active Membership at €350, with a free International Meetings Statistics Report included for Associate Members. Free open-access products serve as a conversion funnel into paid tiers. Customer segments are horizontally distributed across university libraries, academic researchers, government bodies, international NGOs, and the meetings industry.

Name

Union of International Associations

Legal name

UNION DES ASSOCIATIONS INTERNATIONALES (UAI) / UNION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (UIA) / UNIE VAN DE INTERNATIONALE VERENIGINGEN (UIV)

Website

https://uia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1907

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Union of International Associations is a Brussels-based non-profit research institution, founded in 1907 under a UN mandate, that documents and publishes standardized data on 78,500+ international organizations, 600,000+ events, and global civil society through subscription databases, statistics reports, and an Encyclopedia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Publication Sales and Subscriptions: Revenue from selling the Yearbook of International Organizations (online subscriptions and print editions), International Congress Calendar access, International Meetings Statistics Reports, and customized data extractions. Online Yearbook subscriptions range from €860 (30 days) to €3,442 (annual). Print Yearbook distributed through Brill at €3,442 for academic libraries.
2. Associate Membership Fees: Annual subscriptions from Associate Members (organizations, foundations, institutions, enterprises) who gain access to publications and services. Maximum subscription for Associate Members capped at €10,000 per Article 9 of statutes. Active Members pay up to €350 annually.
3. Grants and Donations: Grants from international organizations and public/private authorities, plus donations from supporters. UIA is a not-for-profit institution with vision of universal order based on human dignity, solidarity, and freedom of association.
4. Research and Consultation Contracts: Payments for research, study and consultation contracts entered into with members, international organizations, and public or private institutions for customized data services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UIA is a not-for-profit research institution that documents and publishes authoritative information on international associations and global civil society. Its core offerings are the Yearbook of International Organizations (profiles of 78,500+ organizations), the International Congress Calendar (600,000+ events from 1851-2038), the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential, and the annual International Meetings Statistics Report. These are delivered via online databases with paid subscriptions, print editions for libraries, customized data extraction services, and membership programs.

Product overview

The Union of International Associations offers a suite of interconnected research and information products focused on global civil society and international organizations. The core portfolio consists of the Yearbook of International Organizations (authoritative database on 78,500+ international organizations), the International Congress Calendar (600,000+ events from 1851-2038), the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential (56,000+ world problems interlinked with strategies and values), and the International Meetings Statistics Report (annual statistical analysis). Free tier access is available through Open Yearbook and Open Calendar. Additional services include Customized Data Services, UIA Academy for educational partnerships, Associations Round Table events, and various open research services (Fraud Monitor, IGO Search Engine, Civil Society Glossary, Link Directory). Past publications and archives are available for research purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yearbook of International Organizations: Authoritative overview of international organizations providing detailed information on over 78,500 organizations from 300 countries and territories.
• International Congress Calendar
• International Meetings Statistics Report
• Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential

Products and services

• Yearbook of International Organizations
• International Congress Calendar
• International Meetings Statistics Report
• Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential
• UIA Survey on International Association Meeting Issues
• Customized Data Services
• UIA Academy
• Associations Round Table

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 78,500 international organizations documented with detailed profiles
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered foundational and core.

• Mankind 2000foundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1972Collaboration initiated in 1972 with Mankind 2000 foundation to develop the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential. This partnership seeded the initial content for the Encyclopedia project, judged at the time as an 'impossible project' but which resulted in the first publication in 1976 under the title Yearbook of World Problems and Human Potential.
• BrillcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBrill serves as the official publisher for the Yearbook of International Organizations print editions and academic library subscriptions. This partnership enables global distribution of UIA's flagship publication to university and research libraries worldwide. Brill handles sales and distribution for print products while UIA maintains direct sales for online subscriptions.
• United NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUIA has a formal mandate from the United Nations to produce the Yearbook of International Organizations. The Yearbook includes all non-profit international organizations recognized by the UN or its specialized agencies. UIA also maintains representation at UN offices in New York, Geneva, and Vienna.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Council on Foundations: Council on Foundations is a large, established US-based membership association for the philanthropic sector. Comparable to UIA as a membership-based association providing research, publications, and networking services to its member organizations.
• OECD (civil society and development data programs): OECD produces large-scale international data products on development, civil society, and global governance with an authoritative intergovernmental mandate. Comparable to UIA in mandate and product type, but at much greater scale and with government funding.

Direct peers

• Devex: Devex provides news, data, and intelligence on the global development and aid sector. Like UIA, it serves development professionals, governments, and researchers with subscription-based research products and curated databases.
• International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL): ICNL is a US-based international research organization producing authoritative reports and data on the legal environment for civil society worldwide — a comparable model of subscription-funded research products targeted at policy, academic, and association audiences.
• Candid (formerly Foundation Center + GuideStar): Candid is the closest functional peer — a nonprofit research organization that maintains comprehensive, curated databases on nonprofit organizations, foundations, and philanthropies. Both UIA and Candid sell subscription-based information products to researchers, grantmakers, and government users.
• Foundation Center (now part of Candid) — historical: Listed separately to highlight the historical Foundation Center: a long-running subscription database on foundations and grants, directly comparable in product model to the UIA Yearbook for an adjacent civil society segment.
• World Association of NGOs (WANGO): WANGO is a membership-based international association itself, focused on building the global NGO community. It overlaps directly with UIA's mandate of representing and documenting international civil society organizations.

Emerging players

• Yearbook of Migration / IOM publications: IOM and similar UN agency yearbook/publication programs follow a comparable model of publishing authoritative, regularly updated directories of international organizations active in a thematic domain. Useful comparable for the yearbook-as-UN-mandate product model.
• ReliefWeb: ReliefWeb is a humanitarian information service run by the UN OCHA that curates data on international organizations and humanitarian response. Partial overlap with UIA's mandate of documenting international organization activity, but narrowly focused on humanitarian contexts.

Others

• WorldCat (OCLC) — civil society library research segment: OCLC's WorldCat is a global library catalog widely used by the same academic researcher audience that buys the UIA Yearbook. While not a direct competitor, OCLC represents the broader library research infrastructure in which UIA's print and digital products are embedded.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/uiabrussels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/union-of-international-associations---uia
• Xx.com/uia_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Union of International Associations