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.

Disappearing Government Data

We are monitoring the disappearance of government data and websites; the removal began on 2/1/25. Many individuals and organizations have been collecting and compiling removed data. You can find links to many of those here. If you come across links that are not here, please email us to have it included.

Guides from Other Libraries: We are indebted to the work being done by libraries and other organizations to document and preserve removed data. We will link to guides and resources as we become aware of them.

Finding Government Information during the 2025 Administration Transition - from the University of Minnesota libraries: "This guide will point to resources that identify and track steps taken by the Trump administration and Congress to scale back or eliminate access to federal government information. It also provides links to groups performing data and website rescue."
Disappearing Federal Data - from Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound

General/Overall:

End of Term Web Archive
GovWayback - access government documents via the Wayback Machine from prior to January 20, 2025 using the directions provided

Environmental Data & Information:

Public Environmental Data Project - read about the project here
Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data - from the Urban Ocean Lab

Heath Data & Information:

Restored CDC - RestoredCDC.org is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or any government entity. Read more about the project.
CDC Guidelines - from Jessica Valenti, includes information about contraception, sexual health, youth, LGBTQIA, sexual & intimate partner violence
CDC Datasets

Bluesky users are encouraged to follow the Data Rescue Project (@datarescueproject.org) for updates on efforts and groups who are working to preserve data. The account also provides a "starter pack" of similar accounts to follow. You can also visit their website.

Interested in contributing to data rescue? Read "Curating for Data Rescue" by the Data Curation Network. You can also consult the checklist for USA federal data backups from MIT libraries.