Country Reports Guide

This guide provides a selective list of free Web sites and American University Library subscription databases with economic, political, social and environmental information organized by countries. If you need more information, Ask a Librarian.

• Amnesty International Library Online Documentation Archive - Amnesty International reports and publications arranged by country.
• CIA - The World Factbook - Latest edition only. Updated throughout the year. From the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
• Country Commercial Guides - Country Commercial Guides (CCG's) are prepared annually by U.S. embassies with the assistance of several U.S. government agencies. These reports present a comprehensive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis. From the U.S. Commerce Service, International Trade Administration, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
• Country Data - From Lloyd C. Russow, Philadelphia University.
• Country Insights - Brief statistics, history, economic and political information. From GlobalEDGE at the University of Michigan.
• Country Profiles - From BBC News.
• Country/Regional Information - Overview of country's business conditions and its economic and trade relations with Canada. From Industry Canada's International Cooperation Directorate.
• Country Reports - Economic information. From Wachovia Bank.
• Country Studies/Area Handbook - Describes and analyzes the political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, of individual countries, and examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. Part of a series of books from 1988-1998 that was prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. This series is no longer being updated, but is still useful for historical information.
• EarthTrends Country Profiles - A country's economics, business and environment profile. From the World Resources Institute.
• [The Economist] Country Briefings -Articles from The Economist, country information from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
  AU Library has more detailed EIU information through its subscription to the EIU Country Reports (AU Community only).
• ELDIS Country Profiles - Focuses on developing countries. From the Institute of Development Studies.
• Foreign Government Resources on the Web - Lists of Web sites. From the University of Michigan Library Documents Center.
• Freedom House - Produces country reports in the annual Freedom in the World, Freedom of the Press, Nations in Transit, and Countries at the Crossroads.
• Human Development Reports (1990 to present) and Human Development Data - Source for the Human Development Indicators (HDI). From the United Nations Development Programme.
• Human Rights Watch: Country - Human Rights Watch's documents by country.
• IMF Country Information - International Monetary Fund reports and publications arranged by country.
• IMF Data and Statistics - Time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators. Manuals, guides, and other material on statistical practices at the IMF, in member countries, and of the statistical community at large are also available.
  AU Library subscribes to the online International Financial Statistics (AU Community only).
• InfoNation- InfoNation is an easy-to-use database that allows you to view and compare the most up-to-date statistical data for the Member States of the United Nations.
• International Data Base - Population and demographic information. From the US Census Bureau.
• International Religious Freedom Report - From the U.S. Department of State.
• OFFSTATS - Official Statistics on the Web. Links to official government and inter-governmental sources for national statistics.
• OECD Country Web Sites - OECD reports and data on the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, plus China, Brazil and Russia.
  AU Library has more complete OECD information through its subscription to SourceOECD (AU Community only).
• Penn World Tables - Provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 188 countries for some or all of the years 1950-2004. From Center for International Comparisons at the University of Pennsylvania (CICUP) .
• Polity IV Country Reports - The polity project collects data about the institutional characteristics of states throughout the world from 1800 through 2003. It is widely used for its assessements of the degree of democracy and autocracy in the political structures of nation states. From the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM).
• State Department, U.S.: Countries - Information from the U.S. Department of State on countries of the world including:
  • Background Notes - Facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.
  • Consular Information Sheets - Travel information for U.S. citizens going abroad. Includes health conditions, crime, unusual currency or entry requirements, any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in the country.
  • Current Travel Warnings
  • International Religious Freedom Report
• United Nations Statistics Division - Economic, demographic, social, environmental and energy statistics.
• [World Bank] Countries - World Bank activities by countries.
  AU Library also has over 1700 World Bank books and reports (1968 to present; all titles from 2000 to present) and over 2400 Policy Research Working Papers through its subscription to the World Bank e-Library (AU Community only).
• World Bank Data and Statistics - Free statistics from the World Bank.
  AU Library has more comprehensive World Bank data through its subscription to World Bank databases: WDI Online and GDF Online (AU Community only).
• World Leaders - Provides names only. The online Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments. From the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

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