LibGuides: Statistics: International

Finding International Statistics

The research path you follow for finding international statistics will depend on your research question. Are you looking for demographic information? GDP and other economic measures? Health? Think about the kinds of organizations that might collect data on your topic.The resources to the right will give you a start.

You can also find statistics within scholarly literature, so pay attention to any statistics you come across and track down where the researcher found them (or if the researcher generated the statistics through their own scholarship).

Please reach out to a librarian for help, too. We enjoy helping you identify and track down statistics. Remember that if you google "international statistics" to evaluate the site so you know what you're looking at and where the data originated. Librarians can help you vet sites, too, and are happy to take a look at what you've found.

Using Maps

For maps you can pore over, check out the atlas case behind the Hasselquist room (main floor of the library). Online, map software and global positioning technology are being fused with data in interesting ways.

Easy to use map sites

Google Maps - for road maps, satellite images, and both. Google Street Views lets you visualize streets, block by block.

More sophisticated mapping tools

National Map - from the US Geologic Survey.
Atlas of Canada - from our large and geographically-sophisticated neighbor to the north.

Maps that show data

Social Explorer - a source of ready-made maps of demographic data
Worldmapper - shows world "cartograms" on a variety of topics - resizing countries to demonstrate different data sets.

Collections of maps online

National Map: Historical Topographic Maps
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection - from the University of Texas, but covering the world.

International Statistics

Britannica Online Academic Edition This link opens in a new window
Go to Research Tools > World Data Analyst for country snapshots, country comparisons (current and chronological), and ranked statistics.

Eurostat
From the Website: "Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions."
Foreign Trade Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau trade statistics.
International Social Survey Programme
This resource is an excellent source of statistical information on a wide variety of subjects in the social sciences, including the environment, national identity, social networks, family and changing gender roles, religion, leisure, and the role of government. Data is collected from 43 countries around the world and made available to researchers in raw form for further study. This website also includes a comprehensive bibliography of publications using ISSP data.
International Trade and Tariff Data
From the World Trade Organization.
Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web
A cleanly-organized and helpful guide to US and world statistical sources. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
United Nations Statistics Division
Links to statistics on trade, demographics, social issues, energy, the environment and industry.
World Bank Data
Searchable by topic or country, provides statistical data on agriculture, education, the environment, health, industry, poverty, and many other topics.
World Factbook (CIA)
Provides country profiles.