Country Profiles
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries. They also include audio and video clips from the BBC archives.
Country Indicators for Foreign Policy
The CIFP database includes measures of domestic armed conflict, governance and political instability, militarization, religious and ethnic diversity, demographic stress, economic performance, human development, environmental stress, and international linkages, in the form of over one hundred performance indicators for 196 countries, spanning fifteen years (1985 to 2000) for most indicators. These indicators are drawn from a variety of open sources.
Country Studies/Area Handbook Series
Library of Congress. The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world and examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. At present, 101 countries and regions are covered, published between 1988 and 1998. Check CLIO under "[country name] a country study" for location of print versions.
"The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant." Eldis Country Profiles Links to hundreds of authoritative sites for developing countries, in the areas of: agriculture, environment, poverty, education, gender, health & population, governance, trade, economics, aid, microcredit, and security.
The Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations and its 183 members highlight information as one of the priority areas in fighting hunger and achieving food security. The FAO Country Profiles and Mapping Information System is a pioneering information retrieval tool which groups the organization's vast archive of information on its global activities in agriculture and development in a single area and catalogues it exclusively by country.
Very detailed links for every country. (Information has not been updated since 2002.)
The profiles compiled by the International Planned Parenthood Federation include brief background information, sections on sexual & reproductive health and family planning services in the country, and statistics on population, fertility and contraception, mortality, health, and education & employment.
International Crisis Group: Reports by Country
Not all countries are represented, just those which are involved or potentially involved in conflict situations.
International Monetary Fund Country Information
IMF operations — which involve surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance — have developed to meet the changing needs of its 184 member countries in an evolving world economy.
Links only to documents with an individual country focus. Includes both member and non-member economies, but with more information for member countries, especially a statistical profile with over 100 indicators. For links to OECD publications which cover all countries, see OECD iLibrary below.
OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) featuring its books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD's analysis and data.
Social Security Web Sites Around the World and Social Security in Other Countries
Brief descriptions of programs for each country, from the U.S. Social Security Administration
UNESCO Institute for Statistics Country Profiles
Country profiles feature key statistics and indicators on education, science and technology, and culture and communication on a country-by-country or regional basis.
International Statistics - Start here
World Development Indicators (WDI)
World Development Indicators (WDI) is the primary World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized international sources. It presents the most current and accurate global development data available, and includes national, regional and global estimates.
UN DataA portal that retrieves data series from the United Nations System and other international organizations. Sources include FAO, ILO, WHO, and the Human Development Report. Country profiles and glossaries are also provided. Freely accessible to the public via the Internet.World Health Organization - Country Profiles
Includes basic vital and health statistics, health expenditures, provision/coverage, health system organization and regulation, summary measures, country-specific conditions, and human resources.
- World Population Data(PRB - Population Reference Bureau)
View data on global, regional, or country maps or tables. - 2018 World Population Data SheetPRB’s World Population Data Sheet, has been produced annually since its debut in 1962. This and other PRB data sheets are used by thousands of people worldwide as a ready reference for comparing key demographic and health indicators by country and region, and for population projections and analytical graphics that bring key data insights into focus.
Online Sources
CIA: The World FactbookAvailable online (free).
The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.
World Bank
- World Bank Data by countryChose from: Country at a Glance tables: two pages of key indicators tracing the trends in social and economic development from the last three decades; Data Profile tables: data profiles available here are drawn from the World Development Indicators database. The profiles cover the 208 countries (184 World Bank members and 24 other economies with populations of more than 30,000) and 18 country groups reported on in the World Development Indicators; EdStats: short for Education Statistics, is a comprehensive education statistics database; GenderStats: a database of gender statistics, showing summary gender indicators, basic demographic data, population dynamics, labor force structure, and education and health statistics; HNPStats: short for Health, Nutrition, and Population Statistics offers country data sheets showing summary indicators for health status, health determinants, and health finance.
- Global Economic Monitor (GEM)GEM is the World Bank's portal for analysis of current economic trends, and economic and financial indicators. GEM features up-to-date analysis on global economic conditions, including a daily brief and event-driven focus reports, direct access to high-frequency datasets via Quick Query, forecasts for commodity prices and main macroeconomic indicators for over 130 countries.
Statistics & More
Country Indicators for Foreign Policy
The CIFP database includes measures of domestic armed conflict, governance and political instability, militarization, religious and ethnic diversity, demographic stress, economic performance, human development, environmental stress, and international linkages, in the form of over one hundred performance indicators for 196 countries, spanning fifteen years (1985 to 2000) for most indicators. These indicators are drawn from a variety of open sources.
GeoHive provides demographic and economic statistics for all countries, at both the national and sub-national levels. The site is divided into four main parts. One dealing with the whole world and its regions, a second with the major regions, a third with all major countries separately and a fourth with rankings (the most, largest, longest, wealthiest, etc.).
From Michigan State University, this web-portal connects international business professionals. Contains a section on "Country Insights" with statistical data for 201 countries around the world. In addition to statistics, historical, economic, and political conditions are available.
Allows users to generate graphs based on numerical data extracted from numerous sources. All sources are documented.
People in the Balance: Population and Natural Resources at the Turn of the Millenium
The focus here is on population, water, land, forests, fisheries,CO2, and biodiversity, with sections on each. Data is also provided for each country, both in tabular form and CSV data sets.
