Statistics - International Business - Country Data

Statistics and Tables

world map

Country Statical Yearbooks Guide from the University of Wisconsin's Data & Information Services Center, provides links to country statistical yearbooks or similar collections (census, "facts and figures," etc.) for 154 countries worldwide.
Digital 2020 : Global Digital Yearbook In-depth profiles of more than 200 countries and territories around the world
Indexmundi Gathers raw data from multiple sources and displays it in a user-friendly format.
NationMaster Provides country and regional graphs and descriptive statistics based on geography, military, economy, crime, education, and transportation. Covers more than 300 sectors from more than 180 countries.
Quandl Gathers international economic and finance data from dozens of sources. There is a charge for its commercial databases, but most of the data is free.
Vizala.com Combines economic, societal, and market data from many different sources and organizes the data for specific areas of interest. Vizala also provides tools that allows users to filter, sort, save, share, and/or export any view of data.
World Press Index Center : 2020 Based in Paris, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF). It has a network of correspondents in 130 countries which gives RSF the ability to mobilize support, challenge governments and wield influence both on the ground and in the ministries and precincts where media and Internet standards and legislation are drafted.

Every country has its own sources of official statistics, and many have unofficial sources such as trade associations. Sometimes the appropriate government department is self-evident; for example, labor statistics generally come from the department of employment or labor. For data which affect more than one department, such as GDP or balance-of-payments figures, good sources include the central bank or a central statistical agency, such as the Commerce Department in the U.S.

There are several well-known organizations and sites that have aggregated and listed links to the websites of these offices, making the job of finding them much easier.

Directory of Official Statistical Agencies Resources gathered by the International Statistical Institute
Statistics and Numeric Data Official statistics on the Web, developed by the University of Auckland Libraries.
United Nations: National Statistical Systems The UN collects and disseminates statistics from National Statistical Offices worldwide. It provides a global center for data on international trade, national accounts, energy, industry, environment and demographic and social statistics.
World Bank Contains 331 indicators from the World Development Indicators (WDI) covering 209 countries from 1960 to 2008 translated into Spanish, French and Arabic.

To access the full WDI, visit the World DataBank. Descriptions are searchable by Country, by Topics and by Indicators.

Latin America

Inter-American Development Bank The Bank has compiled and organized over 1,000 searchable statistics and indicators for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, creating a comprehensive dataset for the region.
Latin American Network Information Center LANIC's mission is to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America.
MOxLAD Contains statistical series for a wide range of economic and social indicators covering twenty countries in the region, from 1870 to 2010.

Japan

JETRO: Japan External Trade Organization Information on Japanese companies, trade, industries, and related data on business in Japan.

International organizations publish various national and international data, frequently in standardized or semi-standardized form, within a few weeks of their original release. Key sources include the IMF, the OECD, the Bank for International Settlements, the International Finance Corporation, OPEC, and the United Nations.

United Nations
The U.N. pulls together an enormous amount of useful economic, industry, labor, and other international statistical data of potential value for industry research.

UN Data
A great deal of U.N.-housed searchable statistical databases, including areas like industries and crime.

TIP UN searching

For U.S.industries, use: SIC or NAICS codes.
For European industries, use: NACE codes.
For Australia and New Zealand, use: ANZSIC.
For Japan, use: JSIC.
For the United Nations, use: ISIC or ISCO.

European Commission

Eurostat Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European Communities situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.

OECD

OECD.stat Countless tables, data sets, and collections of data related to employment, income, education, labor, and more for countries around the globe. Currently the organization has 34 member countries, mostly wealthy developed countries. With active relationships with some 70 other countries, NGOs and civil society, it has a global reach.

International Labor Organization
The ILO aggregates labor force surveys from countries around the world and publishes its own labor-related series. These are the key sections to check:

International Monetary Fund

World Economic Outlook Reports (A Survey by the Staff of the International Monetary Fund) Examines the current economic situation, poling issues, and short and medium term prospects in industrial and developing countries. That statistical appendix provides financial and economic data.

World Bank
The World Bank collects and disseminates statistical data on about 100 nations. These are three of the key pages and URLs to review:

World Bank Data
World Bank: Global indicators group
World Development Indicators Provides a detailed compilation of data on developing countries. Lists more than 2000 indicators and 90 tables. You can review the entire PDF or download just the sections of most interest.

Although the U.S. government publishes numerous sites for business information, the following sites are particularly useful for locating international industry statistics:

US Commercial Service

Country Commercial Guides Written by U.S. Embassy trade experts worldwide….. An excellent starting point for everything you need to know about exporting and doing business overseas detailing market overviews, political environment, trade regulations, and more.

US International Trade Center

Interactive Trade and Tariff DataWeb Import, export, and tariff statistics.
Directory of International Trade Analyst Commodity/Service Assignments

US Dept. of Commerce

Office of Trade Policy and Analysis As a service of the International Trade Administration, this department develops and disseminates trade and economic data. It examines issues affecting U.S. manufacturing and services competitiveness in domestic and global markets.
International Trade Statistics Will lead you to specific sites that answer questions on trade statistics from different regions of the world.

Export.gov

U.S. State Dept.

Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs ".... On this site, you will find resources describing how the State Department engages with partners around the world on trade, finance, telecommunications and Internet policy, transportation, economic sanctions, commercial opportunities, and a host of other issues ....."

Information for this guide comes from, "Roundup: The Best Sources of International Industry Statistics", The Information Advisor, Vol. 21, No. 12, December 2009.

<< Previous: Culture