HXL hashtag dictionary (version 1.1final)

Release 1.1 beta, 2017-12-22 (permalink, previous version)

Contents

1. Introduction

(See hxlstandard.org/standard/1_1beta/ for a list of all parts of the HXL standard. There is also an alphabetical index of hashtags and attributes at the end of this document.)

Intended audience: This document is for information management professionals, software developers, and others who need to explore HXL hashtags and attributes in depth. For day-to-day use, the HXL postcard provides a simple overview of the same information.

The definitions of the core hashtags and attributes for the Humanitarian Exchange Language (HXL) appear here. You add these tags in a row after the last header row in a spreadsheet, then include the spreadsheet data below it. The information here comes from the HXL core schema, a machine-readable version of these same definitions. (The core schema also contains hashtags and attributes that are deprecated or still in a pre-approval stage.)

A basic HXL hashtag looks like “#adm1” (for a subnational administrative level one) or “#affected” (for the number of people affected by a crisis). You can refine the meaning of hashtags by adding attributes after the hashtag, like “+f” (applies to females) or “+children” (applies to children). For example, “#affected +f” means the number of female people affected, while “#affected +f +children” further refines the meaning to the number of female children (in other words, girls) affected. The order of attributes does not matter.

For more information about using HXL hashtags and attributes, please see HXL tagging conventions. The Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) also provides a live online tool, HXL Tag Assist, that you can use to explore how humanitarians have used HXL hashtags and attributes in the datasets they’ve shared.

1.1. Special notes

Language attributes—like +i_en for English, +i_fr for French, and +i_ar for Arabic—are not included in this document. For information on how to construct them from ISO 639 language codes, see “Attributes for languages” in the HXL tagging conventions.

Some hashtags have required datatypes. These apply currently to the #date hashtag, which must always tag a column of dates; to the humanitarian caseload hashtags #affected, #inneed, #targeted, #reached, which must always tag a column of numbers; and to the financial-amount hashtag #value, which must also tag a column of numbers. The data type, if present, appears as part of the hashtag definition.

Some hashtags have default vocabularies: those are taxonomies of the values that are expected to appear in the column below the hashtag when you add the +code attribute: for example, the default vocabulary for #adm1 +code is +v_pcode (UN place codes from IASC Common Operational Datasets), but you can override any defaults by supplying a different +v_ attribute. For more information on vocabulary attributes, see “Attributes for controlled vocabularies” in the HXL tagging conventions document. Note that the +v_ attributes appear in the HXL master vocabulary list rather than here.

If you cannot find what you need here, you can extend HXL with new hashtags like #x_toxicity. For more information on extending HXL, see “Creating extension tags” in the HXL tagging conventions. (There is no need to add “x_” when you create new attributes.)

If you’d like to add interactive help to your own HXL-enabled web site or online tool, you can link directly to the definition of any hashtag or attribute by including this document’s URL, and adding an HTML fragment identifier (anchor) replacing “#” with “tag_” for the hashtag, or “+” with “att_” for the attribute. For example, to link directly to the definition of the “#modality” hashtag, use the fragment identifier “#tag_modality“, resulting in the full URL /standard/1_1beta/dictionary/#tag_modality; to link directly to the definition of the “+funder” attribute, use the fragment identifier “#att_funder“, resulting in the full URL /standard/1_1beta/dictionary/#att_funder.

See Credits in the HXL tagging conventions for information about HXL Working Group member organisations and other contributors.

2. Core HXL hashtags

(A cheatsheet of these hashtags is also available on a postcard.)

This section lists the core HXL hashtags grouped into the following topic areas:

1.1. Places

#adm1 ?

Top-level subnational administrative area (e.g. a governorate in Syria). Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_pcode with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #adm1 +codeadministrative level 1 P-code

Suggested attributes for #adm1
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

#adm2 ?

Second-level subnational administrative area (e.g. a subdivision in Bangladesh). Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_pcode with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #adm2 +nameadministrative level 2 name

Suggested attributes for #adm2
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

#adm3 ?

Third-level subnational administrative area (e.g. a subdistrict in Afghanistan). Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_pcode with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #adm3 +codeadministrative level 3 P-code

Suggested attributes for #adm3
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

#adm4 ?

Fourth-level subnational administrative area (e.g. a barangay in the Philippines). Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_pcode with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #adm4 +nameadministrative level 4 name

Suggested attributes for #adm4
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

#adm5 ?

Fifth-level subnational administrative area (e.g. a ward of a city). Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_pcode with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #adm5 +codeadministrative level 5 name

Suggested attributes for #adm5
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

#country ?

Country (often left implied in a dataset). Also sometimes known as admin level 0. Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_iso3 with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #country +namecountry name

Suggested attributes for #country
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

#geo ?

Geodetic geometry information (points, lines, shapes). Use for latitude and longitude, as well as bounds information. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #geo +latlatitude

Suggested attributes for #geo
+bounds
Contains boundary data
+coord
Specifies lat/lon
+elevation
Specifies elevation
+lat
Is a latitude
+lon
Is a longitude

#loc ?

Any general location, such as a village, camp, or clinic. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #loc +typetype of location

Suggested attributes for #loc
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin
+type
Classifies something by type

#region ?

A broad, supra- or cross-national geographical region (e.g. Sahel, Horn of Africa, Central Asia, Caribbean). Not to be confused with “region” used as the name of a subnational area (#adm1) in some countries. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #region +name +i_urUrdu-language name for a geographical region

Suggested attributes for #region
+code
Is a code or ID
+dest
Is a destination (place)
+name
Is a name or title
+origin
Is a place of origin

1.2. Surveys and assessments

#affected ?

Number of people or households affected by an emergency. Subset of #population; superset of #inneed. Since HXL 1.0.

Every value must be a number.

e.g., #affected +f +childrennumber of girls affected

Suggested attributes for #affected
+abducted
Have been abducted (people)
+adolescents
Are adolescents (people)
+adults
Are adults (people)
+children
Are children (people)
+displaced
Are displaced (people)
+elderly
Are elderly (people)
+f
Are female (people)
+hh
Refers to households
+i
Are non-gender-binary (people)
+idps
Are internally displaced (people)
+incamp
Are in camps (people)
+ind
Refers to individuals
+infants
Are infants (people)
+infected
Are infected (people)
+injured
Are injured (people)
+killed
Have been killed (people)
+m
Are male (people)
+noncamp
Are not in camps (people)
+refugees
Are refugees (people)

#beneficiary ?

General (non-numeric) information about a person or group meant to benefit from aid activities, e.g. “lactating women”. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #beneficiary +nametext label for a beneficiary group

Suggested attributes for #beneficiary
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#inneed ?

Number of people or households in need of humanitarian assistance. Subset of #affected; superset of #targeted. Since HXL 1.0.

Every value must be a number.

e.g., #inneed +m +adultsnumber of men in need of assistance

Suggested attributes for #inneed
+abducted
Have been abducted (people)
+adolescents
Are adolescents (people)
+adults
Are adults (people)
+children
Are children (people)
+displaced
Are displaced (people)
+elderly
Are elderly (people)
+f
Are female (people)
+hh
Refers to households
+i
Are non-gender-binary (people)
+idps
Are internally displaced (people)
+incamp
Are in camps (people)
+ind
Refers to individuals
+infants
Are infants (people)
+infected
Are infected (people)
+injured
Are injured (people)
+m
Are male (people)
+noncamp
Are not in camps (people)
+refugees
Are refugees (people)

#population ?

General population number for an area or location, regardless of their specific humanitarian needs. Since HXL 1.0.

Every value must be a number.

e.g., #population +infantsnumber of infants in the population

Suggested attributes for #population
+adolescents
Are adolescents (people)
+adults
Are adults (people)
+children
Are children (people)
+elderly
Are elderly (people)
+f
Are female (people)
+hh
Refers to households
+i
Are non-gender-binary (people)
+incamp
Are in camps (people)
+ind
Refers to individuals
+infants
Are infants (people)
+m
Are male (people)
+noncamp
Are not in camps (people)

#reached ?

Number of people or households reached with humanitarian assistance. Subset of #targeted. Since HXL 1.0.

Every value must be a number.

e.g., #reached +m +childrennumber of boys reached with assistance

Suggested attributes for #reached
+abducted
Have been abducted (people)
+adolescents
Are adolescents (people)
+adults
Are adults (people)
+children
Are children (people)
+displaced
Are displaced (people)
+elderly
Are elderly (people)
+f
Are female (people)
+hh
Refers to households
+i
Are non-gender-binary (people)
+idps
Are internally displaced (people)
+incamp
Are in camps (people)
+ind
Refers to individuals
+infants
Are infants (people)
+infected
Are infected (people)
+injured
Are injured (people)
+m
Are male (people)
+noncamp
Are not in camps (people)
+refugees
Are refugees (people)

#respondee ?

Descriptive information, such as name, identifier, or traits, for a single respondee (person, household, etc.) in survey-style data. Since HXL 1.1.

#targeted ?

Number of people or households targeted for humanitarian assistance. Subset of #inneed; superset of #reached. Since HXL 1.0.

Every value must be a number.

e.g., #targeted +f +adultnumber of women targeted for assistance

Suggested attributes for #targeted
+abducted
Have been abducted (people)
+adolescents
Are adolescents (people)
+adults
Are adults (people)
+children
Are children (people)
+displaced
Are displaced (people)
+elderly
Are elderly (people)
+f
Are female (people)
+hh
Refers to households
+i
Are non-gender-binary (people)
+idps
Are internally displaced (people)
+incamp
Are in camps (people)
+ind
Refers to individuals
+infants
Are infants (people)
+infected
Are infected (people)
+injured
Are injured (people)
+m
Are male (people)
+noncamp
Are not in camps (people)
+refugees
Are refugees (people)

1.3. Responses and other operations

#access ?

Accessiblity and constraints on access to a market, distribution point, facility, etc. Since HXL 1.1.

e.g., #access +typetype of access being described

Suggested attributes for #access
+type
Classifies something by type

#activity ?

A programme, project, or other activity. This hashtag applies to all levels; use the attributes +activity, +project, or +programme to distinguish different hierarchical levels. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #activity +projectan aid project

Suggested attributes for #activity
+activity
Is classified as an “activity”
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+programme
Is classified as a “programme”
+project
Is classified as a “project”
+type
Classifies something by type
+url
Is a web link (URL)

#capacity ?

The response capacity of the entity being described (e.g. “25 beds”). Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #capacity +numnumber of (whatever) available

Suggested attributes for #capacity
+num
Contains numbers
+type
Classifies something by type

#contact ?

Contact information for the subject of a data record (e.g. an activity). Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #contact +emaile-mail address for contacting an organisation or person

Suggested attributes for #contact
+email
Is an e-mail address
+name
Is a name or title
+phone
Is a phone number
+type
Classifies something by type
+url
Is a web link (URL)

#frequency ?

The frequency with which something occurs. Since HXL 1.1.

e.g., #frequency +codeunique code for a frequency level

Suggested attributes for #frequency
+type
Classifies something by type

#indicator ?

A general hashtag for an indicator being tracked. See also #output, #capacity, #need, #impact, #severity, #affected, #inneed, #targeted, and #reached for more-specific indicator-related hashtags. Since HXL 1.0.

Suggested attributes for #indicator
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+num
Contains numbers
+text
Contains free-form narrative text
+type
Classifies something by type

#item ?

Physical things provided, stored, shipped, available, used, etc. Since HXL 1.1.

e.g., #item +codeunique code for an item (e.g. type of food in a market)

Suggested attributes for #item
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+provided
Is provided (item or service)
+type
Classifies something by type
+used
Has been consumed (item, service, etc.)

#need ?

A(n) (unfulfilled) need for an affected person, household, group, or population. Since HXL 1.1.

e.g., #need +nametext label for a need

Suggested attributes for #need
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#operations ?

Information that affects humanitarian operations, such as a restriction on movement or road closure. Since HXL 1.0.

Suggested attributes for #operations
+type
Classifies something by type

#org ?

An organisation contributing to a humanitarian emergency response, e.g. a local government, community-based organisation, NGO, agency, donor, or law-enforcement or military unit. Use #group for organisations that are not part of the emergency response (e.g. a paramilitary group). Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #org +funderdonor (financial)

Suggested attributes for #org
+code
Is a code or ID
+funder
Is a funder/donor (org)
+impl
Is an implementing partner (org)
+name
Is a name or title
+prog
Is a programming agency/NGO (orgs)
+type
Classifies something by type
+url
Is a web link (URL)

#output ?

An output indicator (e.g. “number of water-purification kits distributed”). A more-specific alternative to #indicator, especially for 3W-style activity reports. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #output +numnumber of items delivered, people helped, etc

Suggested attributes for #output
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+num
Contains numbers
+type
Classifies something by type

#sector ?

A humanitarian cluster or sector. Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_ocha_clusters with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #sector +cluster +namename of an IASC humanitarian cluster

Suggested attributes for #sector
+cluster
Is a humanitarian cluster
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#service ?

A service used or needed by an affected person, household, group, or population. Since HXL 1.1.

Suggested attributes for #service
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+provided
Is provided (item or service)
+type
Classifies something by type
+url
Is a web link (URL)
+used
Has been consumed (item, service, etc.)

#subsector ?

A humanitarian subsector. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #subsector +name +i_arArabic-language name for a subsector.

Suggested attributes for #subsector
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

1.4. Cash and finance

#channel ?

The detailed method of delivering aid (e.g. smartcard vs mobile transfer). More specific than #modality. Since HXL 1.1.

e.g., #channel +nametext label for a specific delivery channel

Suggested attributes for #channel
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title

#currency ?

Name or ISO 4217 currency code for all financial #value cells in the row (e.g. “EUR”). Typically used together with #value in financial or cash data. Since HXL 1.1.

Defaults to +v_currency with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

Suggested attributes for #currency
+code
Is a code or ID

#modality ?

The means by which an aid activity is accomplished. For cash transfers, values might include “cash”, “vouchers”, “in-kind”, etc. May also be used for other types of modalities in other contexts. Since HXL 1.1.

e.g., #modality +codeunique code for an aid modality

Suggested attributes for #modality
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title

#value ?

A monetary value, such as the price of goods in a market, a project budget, or the amount of cash transferred to beneficiaries. May be used together with #currency in financial or cash data. Since HXL 1.1.

Every value must be a number.

e.g., #value +transferamount transferred

Suggested attributes for #value
+budget
Is a budgetted (planned) amount
+spend
Is an amount actually spent.
+transfer
Is an amount transfered.

1.5. Crises, incidents, and events

#cause ?

The cause of an event, crisis, etc. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #cause +codeunique code for the cause of a crisis or event

Suggested attributes for #cause
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#crisis ?

A humanitarian emergency. Since HXL 1.0.

Defaults to +v_glide with the +code attribute if you do not specify a vocabulary.

e.g., #crisis +codea code identifying a crisis (a GLIDE number by default)

Suggested attributes for #crisis
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#event ?

An individual event or incident within a crisis/emergency, such as a (localised) flood, bridge collapse, or conflict. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #event +typetype of event

Suggested attributes for #event
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#group ?

A non-humanitarian group (of any type) related to humanitarian crisis (e.g., a paramilitary group) Use #org instead for a humanitarian organisation such as an NGO, contributing to the humanitarian response. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #group +namename of a non-humanitarian actor, such as a political party

Suggested attributes for #group
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#impact ?

The impact of a crisis on a group or other entity. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #impact +codeunique code for the type of impact

Suggested attributes for #impact
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

#severity ?

Severity of the crisis or event. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #severity +nametext label for the severity level

Suggested attributes for #severity
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title
+type
Classifies something by type

1.6. Metadata

#date ?

Date related to the data in the record applies. Preferred format is ISO 8610 (e.g. “2015-06-01”, “2015-Q1”, etc.) Since HXL 1.0.

Every value must be a date.

e.g., #date +startthe date when something began

Suggested attributes for #date
+approved
Date approved
+canceled
Date canceled
+converted
Date converted
+end
Date finished
+occurred
Date when something happened
+reported
Date reported
+start
Date begun

#description ?

Long description for a data record. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #description +i_arArabic-language version of a description

Suggested attributes for #description
+type
Classifies something by type

#meta ?

Metadata about a row. Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #meta +idunique identifier for a data record

Suggested attributes for #meta
+id
Unique identifier for a data record
+source
Is the source of information
+url
Is a web link (URL)

#status ?

Project/activity status description (such as “planned”, “active”, “canceled”, or “complete”). Since HXL 1.0.

e.g., #status +codeunique code for the status level

Suggested attributes for #status
+code
Is a code or ID
+name
Is a name or title

3. Core HXL attributes

This section contains some suggested attributes to add extra information to hashtags. You are free to use whatever attributes you wish, as long as they meet the syntactic requirements; however, using the suggested attributes will help make your data more interoperable.

2.1. Sex- and-age disaggregation (SADD) attributes

+adolescents ?

Adolescents, loosely defined (precise age range varies); may overlap +children and +adult. You can optionally create custom attributes in addition to this to add precise age ranges, e.g. “+adolescents +age12_17”. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #inneed +adolescents +fnumber of adolescent girls in need of assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+adults ?

Adults, loosely defined (precise age range varies); may overlap +adolescents and +elderly. You can optionally create custom attributes in addition to this to add precise age ranges, e.g. “+adults +age18_64”. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #targeted +adultsnumber of adults targeted for assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+children ?

The associated hashtag applies to non-adults, loosely defined (precise age range varies; may overlap +infants and +adolescents). You can optionally create custom attributes in addition to this to add precise age ranges, e.g. “+children +age3_11”. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #population +children +fnumber of girls in a population

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+elderly ?

Elderly people, loosely defined (precise age range varies). May overlap +adults. You can optionally create custom attributes in addition to this to add precise age ranges, e.g. “+elderly +age65plus”. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #inneed +elderlynumber of elderly people in need of of assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+f ?

Female people. See also +m and +i. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #affected +f +childrennumber of girls affected by a crisis or event

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+hh ?

Households (vs +ind for individual people). The exact definition of “household” may vary among aid organisations. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #reached +hhnumber of households reached with assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+i ?

Intersex or non-gender-binary people. Use this attribute for any groups who do not identify as male (+m) or female (+f). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #inneed +inumber of non-gender-binary people in need of assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+ind ?

Individual people (vs +hh for households). Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #targeted +indnumber of individual people targeted for assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+infants ?

Infant children, loosely defined (precise age range varies; may overlap +children). You can optionally create custom attributes in addition to this to add precise age ranges, e.g. “+infants +age0_2”. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #reached +infantsnumber of infants reached with assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+m ?

Male people. See also +f and +i. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #inneed +mnumber of male people in need of assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

2.2. Organisation and activity attributes

+activity ?

The implementers classify this activity as an “activity” proper (may imply different hierarchical levels in different contexts). Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #activity +activityan aid activity

Associated hashtags
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.

+budget ?

Used with #value to indicate that the amount is planned/approved/budgeted rather than actually spent. Since HXL 1.2

e.g., #value +budgetamount budgeted

Associated hashtags
#value
Monetary value

+cluster ?

Identifies a sector as a formal IASC humanitarian cluster. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #sector +clusteran IASC humanitarian cluster

Associated hashtags
#sector
Humanitarian sector or cluster

+funder ?

Funding org/agency (e.g. donor). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #org +funderdonor organisation

Associated hashtags
#org
Humanitarian organisation

+impl ?

Implementing partner. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #org +implimplementing partner organisation

Associated hashtags
#org
Humanitarian organisation

+prog ?

Programming org/agency. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #org +progprogramming agency for an aid activity

Associated hashtags
#org
Humanitarian organisation

+programme ?

The implementers classify this activity as a “programme” (may imply different hierarchical levels in different contexts). Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #activity +programmean aid programme

Associated hashtags
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.

+project ?

The implementers classify this activity as a “project” (may imply different hierarchical levels in different contexts). Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #activity +projectan aid project

Associated hashtags
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.

+provided ?

Refers to a #service, #item, etc. that has been provided to people in need. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #service +provideda service provided to people in need

Associated hashtags
#item
Something sold, provided, etc.
#service
Service for affected people

+spend ?

Used with #value to indicate that the amount is actually spent rather than just budgeted/planned. Since HXL 1.3

e.g., #value +spendamount spent

Associated hashtags
#value
Monetary value

+transfer ?

Used with #value to indicate that the amount has been transfered to an organisation or aid recipient. Since HXL 1.4

e.g., #value +transferamount transferred

Associated hashtags
#value
Monetary value

+used ?

Refers to a #service, #item, etc. that affected people have actually consumed or otherwise taken advantage of. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #service +useda service consumed by a person or people in need

Associated hashtags
#item
Something sold, provided, etc.
#service
Service for affected people

2.3. Classification attributes

+code ?

A unique, machine-readable code. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #adm1 +codeP-code for an administrative level-one division (e.g. state, province)

Associated hashtags
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.
#adm1
Level 1 subnational area
#adm2
Level 2 subnational area
#adm3
Level 3 subnational area
#adm4
Level 4 subnational area
#adm5
Level 5 subnational area
#beneficiary
Aid recipient information
#cause
Event cause
#channel
Specific delivery method
#country
Country
#crisis
Humanitarian emergency
#currency
Financial currency
#event
Event within a #crisis
#group
Non-humanitarian group
#impact
Impact of crisis
#indicator
Formal aid indicator
#item
Something sold, provided, etc.
#loc
General location
#modality
Major method of aid
#need
Need of person, group, etc
#org
Humanitarian organisation
#output
Activity output description
#region
Cross-national region
#sector
Humanitarian sector or cluster
#service
Service for affected people
#severity
Occurrence severity
#status
Project etc. status
#subsector
Humanitarian subsector

+type ?

Types or categories. Use with #org, #loc, #indicator, etc to provide classification information. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #loc +typetype of a location

Associated hashtags
#access
Access ability/constraints
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.
#beneficiary
Aid recipient information
#capacity
Response capacity
#cause
Event cause
#contact
Contact info
#crisis
Humanitarian emergency
#description
Narrative information
#event
Event within a #crisis
#frequency
How often something happens
#group
Non-humanitarian group
#impact
Impact of crisis
#indicator
Formal aid indicator
#item
Something sold, provided, etc.
#loc
General location
#need
Need of person, group, etc
#operations
Info about humanitarian operations
#org
Humanitarian organisation
#output
Activity output description
#sector
Humanitarian sector or cluster
#service
Service for affected people
#severity
Occurrence severity
#subsector
Humanitarian subsector
#type

2.4. Geographical attributes

+bounds ?

Boundary data (e.g. inline GeoJSON). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #geo +boundsboundary data for an area

Associated hashtags
#geo
Geodetic information

+coord ?

Geodetic coordinates (lat+lon together). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #geo +coordlatitude and longitude combined

Associated hashtags
#geo
Geodetic information

+dest ?

Place of destination (intended or actual). Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #country +destdestination country (e.g. for refugees or migrants)

Associated hashtags
#adm1
Level 1 subnational area
#adm2
Level 2 subnational area
#adm3
Level 3 subnational area
#adm4
Level 4 subnational area
#adm5
Level 5 subnational area
#country
Country
#loc
General location
#region
Cross-national region

+elevation ?

Elevation above sea level (usually metres). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #geo +elevationelevation above ground level (in metres)

Associated hashtags
#geo
Geodetic information

+lat ?

Latitude (decimal degrees preferred). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #geo +latlatitude

Associated hashtags
#geo
Geodetic information

+lon ?

Longitude (decimal degrees preferred). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #geo +lonlongitude

Associated hashtags
#geo
Geodetic information

+origin ?

The data describes places of origin (intended or actual), e.g. the country of origin for displaced people. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #country +origincountry of origin (e.g. for refugees or migrants)

Associated hashtags
#adm1
Level 1 subnational area
#adm2
Level 2 subnational area
#adm3
Level 3 subnational area
#adm4
Level 4 subnational area
#adm5
Level 5 subnational area
#country
Country
#loc
General location
#region
Cross-national region

2.5. Date attributes

+approved ?

Date or time when something was approved. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #date +approvedapproval date

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

+canceled ?

Date or time when something (e.g. an #activity) was canceled. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #date +canceledcancelation date

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

+converted ?

Date or time used for converting a monetary value to another currency. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #date +converteddate to use for currency conversion

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

+end ?

Date or time when something finished or will finish. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #date +endfinishing date for something

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

+occurred ?

Date or time when something took place. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #date +occurredthe date on which something happened

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

+reported ?

Date or time when the information was reported. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #date +reportedthe date when something was reported (event, incident, activity, etc)

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

+start ?

Date or time when something started or will start. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #date +startthe date when something began

Associated hashtags
#date
Date

2.6. Impact attributes

+abducted ?

Hashtag refers to people who have been abducted. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #affected +abductednumber of people abducted

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+displaced ?

Displaced people or households. Refers to all types of displacement: use +idps or +refugees to be more specific. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #reached +displacednumber of displaced people reached with assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+idps ?

Internally-displaced people or households. More specific than +displaced. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #targeted +idpsnumber of internally-displaced people targeted for assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+incamp ?

Located in camps. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #population +incampnumber of people residing in formal camps

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+infected ?

People infected with a disease. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #affected +infected +childrennumber of children infected by a disease

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+injured ?

People injured. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #inneed +injured +adults +mnumber of injured men in need of assistance

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+killed ?

People killed. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #affected +killednumber of people killed

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected

+noncamp ?

Not located in camps. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #population +noncampnumber of people not living in camps

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#population
General population
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

+refugees ?

Refugee people or households. More specific than +displaced. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #affected +refugees number of refugees

Associated hashtags
#affected
People/households affected
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance

2.7. General attributes

+email ?

Email address. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #contact +emailcontact e-mail address

Associated hashtags
#contact
Contact info

+id ?

Use with #meta to provide internal identifiers for data records. Since HXL 1.1

e.g., #meta +idunique identifier for this data record

Associated hashtags
#meta
Metadata

+name ?

Human-readable name, title, or label. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #adm2 +namehuman-readable name of an administrative level-2 subdivision (e.g. a district)

Associated hashtags
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.
#adm1
Level 1 subnational area
#adm2
Level 2 subnational area
#adm3
Level 3 subnational area
#adm4
Level 4 subnational area
#adm5
Level 5 subnational area
#beneficiary
Aid recipient information
#cause
Event cause
#channel
Specific delivery method
#contact
Contact info
#country
Country
#crisis
Humanitarian emergency
#event
Event within a #crisis
#group
Non-humanitarian group
#impact
Impact of crisis
#indicator
Formal aid indicator
#item
Something sold, provided, etc.
#loc
General location
#modality
Major method of aid
#need
Need of person, group, etc
#org
Humanitarian organisation
#output
Activity output description
#region
Cross-national region
#sector
Humanitarian sector or cluster
#service
Service for affected people
#severity
Occurrence severity
#status
Project etc. status
#subsector
Humanitarian subsector

+num ?

The data consists of quantitative, numeric information. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #indicator +numnumeric value for an indicator

Associated hashtags
#capacity
Response capacity
#indicator
Formal aid indicator
#output
Activity output description

+phone ?

The data consists of #contact phone numbers. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #contact +phonecontact phone number

Associated hashtags
#contact
Contact info

+source ?

Information source for the data in the row or record. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #meta +sourcesource of the data

Associated hashtags
#meta
Metadata

+text ?

The data consists of qualitative, narrative textual information. Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #indicator +texta text value for an indicator (often qualitative)

Associated hashtags
#indicator
Formal aid indicator

+url ?

The data consists of web links related to the main hashtag (e.g. for an #org, #service, #activity, #loc, etc). Since HXL 1.0

e.g., #org +urlthe web address for an organisation

Associated hashtags
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.
#contact
Contact info
#meta
Metadata
#org
Humanitarian organisation
#service
Service for affected people

Appendix A. Changes from previous versions

Changes from HXL 1.0 final to HXL 1.1 beta:

  • Added new core hashtags #access, #currency, #item, #modality, #need, #respondee, #service, and #value.
  • Added suggested attributes +abducted, +converted, +dest, +hh, +ind, and +origin.
  • Deprecated two-letter language attributes like +fr for French (replaced with +i_fr).
  • Changed hashtag categories: renamed “People and households” to “Surveys and assessments”, and added “Cash and finance” (though some new hashtags, like #modality, are also useful outside cash reporting).

Changes from HXL 1.0 beta final to HXL 1.0 final:

  • Added the new #event and #group hashtags.
  • No longer list data types for hashtags (since the attributes can change the suggested type).
  • Some clarifications and examples in descriptions.
  • Minor changes to suggested attributes (non-normative):
    • Suggest the use of the +text or +name attributes (as appropriate) when hashtags can sometimes refer to human-readable descriptions (e.g. #sector+name vs +sector+code).
    • Suggest GeoJSON format for the content of #geo+bounds
    • Suggest +type as a possible attribute for #affected
    • Suggest impact attributes for #beneficiary, #inneed, #population, #reached, and #targeted
    • Suggest language attributes for #contact, #indicator, and #operations
    • Suggest +occurred as a possible attribute for #date
    • Suggest +reliability, +count, +sum, +average, +min, and +max as additional possible attributes for #meta
    • Added +label.

Changes from HXL 1.0 alpha to HXL 1.0 beta:

  • Hashtags removed: #activity_id, #adm, #adm1_id, #adm2_id, #adm3_id, #adm4_id, #adm5_id, #aff_num, #age, #age_id, #agesex, #agesex_id, #beneficiary_id, #country_id, #crisis_id, #crisis_lnk, #data_lnk, #datatype, #datatype_id, #delivered_num, #email, #females_num, #from_date, #funder, #funder_id, #households_num, #idp_num, #impact1, #impact1_id, #impact2, #impact2_id, #impact3, #impact3_id, #impl, #impl_id, #injured_num, #inneed_num, #lat_deg, #loc_id, #loctype, #loctype_id, #lon_deg, #males_num, #method, #method_id, #method_lnk, #name, #org_id, #origin, #origin_id, #output_id, #people_num, #period_date, #phone, #prog, #prog_id, #reached_num, #refugee_num, #region_id, #report_date, #sector_id, #sex, #sex_id, #shelter1, #shelter1_id, #shelter2, #shelter2_id, #source, #source_id, #status_id, #subsector_id, #targeted_num, and #to_date
  • Hashtags added: #affected, #capacity, #cause, #contact, #date, #description, #geo, #impact, #indicator, #inneed, #meta, #operations, #output, #population, #reached, #severity, and #targeted
  • Added hashtag attributes to the standard.

Appendix B. Index of HXL hashtags and attributes

+abducted (attribute)
Have been abducted (people)
#access
Access ability/constraints
#activity
Programme, project, or activity.
+activity (attribute)
Is classified as an “activity”
#adm1
Level 1 subnational area
#adm2
Level 2 subnational area
#adm3
Level 3 subnational area
#adm4
Level 4 subnational area
#adm5
Level 5 subnational area
+adolescents (attribute)
Are adolescents (people)
+adults (attribute)
Are adults (people)
#affected
People/households affected
+approved (attribute)
Date approved
#beneficiary
Aid recipient information
+bounds (attribute)
Contains boundary data
+budget (attribute)
Is a budgetted (planned) amount
+canceled (attribute)
Date canceled
#capacity
Response capacity
#cause
Event cause
#channel
Specific delivery method
+children (attribute)
Are children (people)
+cluster (attribute)
Is a humanitarian cluster
+code (attribute)
Is a code or ID
#contact
Contact info
+converted (attribute)
Date converted
+coord (attribute)
Specifies lat/lon
#country
Country
#crisis
Humanitarian emergency
#currency
Financial currency
#date
Date
#description
Narrative information
+dest (attribute)
Is a destination (place)
+displaced (attribute)
Are displaced (people)
+elderly (attribute)
Are elderly (people)
+elevation (attribute)
Specifies elevation
+email (attribute)
Is an e-mail address
+end (attribute)
Date finished
#event
Event within a #crisis
+f (attribute)
Are female (people)
#frequency
How often something happens
+funder (attribute)
Is a funder/donor (org)
#geo
Geodetic information
#group
Non-humanitarian group
+hh (attribute)
Refers to households
+i (attribute)
Are non-gender-binary (people)
+id (attribute)
Unique identifier for a data record
+idps (attribute)
Are internally displaced (people)
#impact
Impact of crisis
+impl (attribute)
Is an implementing partner (org)
+incamp (attribute)
Are in camps (people)
+ind (attribute)
Refers to individuals
#indicator
Formal aid indicator
+infants (attribute)
Are infants (people)
+infected (attribute)
Are infected (people)
+injured (attribute)
Are injured (people)
#inneed
People/households in need of assistance
#item
Something sold, provided, etc.
+killed (attribute)
Have been killed (people)
+lat (attribute)
Is a latitude
#loc
General location
+lon (attribute)
Is a longitude
+m (attribute)
Are male (people)
#meta
Metadata
#modality
Major method of aid
+name (attribute)
Is a name or title
#need
Need of person, group, etc
+noncamp (attribute)
Are not in camps (people)
+num (attribute)
Contains numbers
+occurred (attribute)
Date when something happened
#operations
Info about humanitarian operations
#org
Humanitarian organisation
+origin (attribute)
Is a place of origin
#output
Activity output description
+phone (attribute)
Is a phone number
#population
General population
+prog (attribute)
Is a programming agency/NGO (orgs)
+programme (attribute)
Is classified as a “programme”
+project (attribute)
Is classified as a “project”
+provided (attribute)
Is provided (item or service)
#reached
People/households reached with assistance
+refugees (attribute)
Are refugees (people)
#region
Cross-national region
+reported (attribute)
Date reported
#respondee
Person etc responding to a survey
#sector
Humanitarian sector or cluster
#service
Service for affected people
#severity
Occurrence severity
+source (attribute)
Is the source of information
+spend (attribute)
Is an amount actually spent.
+start (attribute)
Date begun
#status
Project etc. status
#subsector
Humanitarian subsector
#targeted
People/households targeted for assistance
+text (attribute)
Contains free-form narrative text
+transfer (attribute)
Is an amount transfered.
+type (attribute)
Classifies something by type
+url (attribute)
Is a web link (URL)
+used (attribute)
Has been consumed (item, service, etc.)
#value
Monetary value