Web and Print Resources
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Start with UNdata for links to hundreds of statistical series. The United Nations Statistical Yearbook (ALEXANDER International Documents, DANA REF HA12.5.U63) is a basic source for social, economic, and demographic data for countries of the world. Statistics are detailed and reliable but can be slow in publication. Some current data appears in the U.N. Monthly Bulletin of Statistics. (DANA REF HA12.5.U631) |
A specialized dataset on income inequality for many (but not all) countries is available from the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER): World Income Inequality Database.
Detailed tables on the sales and distribution of consumer products and services, by country, may be found in the Market Data Analytics module of the MarketLine (formerly Datamonitor 360) database. (Rutgers-restricted Access) Similar data may also be found in International Marketing Data and Statistics. (CAMDEN, DANA, CARR REF HA 42 .I56) There is also a companion volume: European Marketing Data and Statistics. (CAMDEN, DANA, CARR REF HA 1107 .E87)
| Another source of socio-economic data, covering education, libraries, broadcasting, and the media is the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook. (ALEXANDER International Documents; CAMDEN, DANA, CARR REF AZ 361 .U45) Selected tables are available at the Data Center of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. |  |
Apart from population and poverty statistics, the World Health Statistics Annual (DANA REF RA 421 .W6; LSM International Documents) yearbook has detailed data on causes of death and mortality. Selected international and national data sets are also available on the World Health Organisation Statistical Information System.
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The World Bank publishes the World Development Indicators & Global Development Finance which include extensive economic, demographic, social, environmental, educational, and cultural indicators on countries, regions, and economic groupings of the world. The print version of World Development Indicators (ALEXANDER International Documents REF HC 59.15 .W656; Scholarly Communication Center CD-ROM; CAMDEN REF HC 59.15 .W656) comes out annually. |
Now available from the World Bank is the Complete World Development Report Online with annual volumes back to 1978.
The complete Country Data Tables are also online as are many other measures of agricultural, rural, social, and urban development under Data: Topics by the World Bank. One example is the Global Consumption Database.
The World Bank, in collaboration with the Brookings Institution, oversees the Worldwide Governance Indicators project, which reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 215 economies.
Many different Social Indicators have been compiled by the United Nations. Older data from the World Bank is in its Social Indicators of Development; this data is to "provide a picture of the social effects of economic development." (Also available in print: (ALEXANDER International Documents HC 59.69 .S63; CAMDEN, DANA REF HC 59.69 .S63)
The International Data Base, maintained by the US Census Bureau, combines data from country sources with the Bureau's estimates. This resource contains mostly demographic and some socio-economic data.