International Business Sources - Country Data
Statistics and Tables
United States Government
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.
Free statistics from official sources arranged by country, region, or topic ..
- International Statistical Agencies
The U.S. Census has gathered links to the official statistical sites of many countries around the world.
- United Nations Statistics Division: Information on 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.
Indexes U.S. government web sites with statistical content. Many government sites collect statistics for foreign countries.
- Statistical Abstract of the United States
This section presents statistics for the world as a whole and for many countries on a comparative basis with the United States. Data are shown for population, births and deaths, social and industrial indicators, finances, agriculture, communication, and military affairs.
- The 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.
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.
The U.N. pulls together an enormous amount of useful economic, industry, labor, and other international statistical data of potential value for industry research.
A great deal of U.N.-housed searchable statistical databases, including areas like industries and crime.
|The global public sources highlighted in this section produce mountains of valuable data, buth they aren't necessarily easy to use. Here's a quick tip to make your search job easier:
Be sure you are aware of any industry, occupational, or other categorization coding system used by the country or agency, and know how to look up the correct codes ahead of time. Doing this can make your job a lot easier and your results much more precise.
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.
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 (Organization for Economic Organization and Development)
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.
Latin American Network Information Center
LANIC's mission is to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America.
JETRO: Japan External Trade Organization
Information on Japanese companies, trade, industries, and related data on business in Japan.
The 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:
The World Bank: Data and Research
Knowledge Resources for Financial and Private Sector Development
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.
International Labour 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:
Key Indicators of the Labour Market
Statistics and Databases
Provides a searchable dataset of labor statistics on employment and industry data for more than 200 countries around the world. LABORSTA is one of the most comprehensive web-based, accessible sites of global employment, unemployment, wages, consumer prices, occupational injuries, and other labor-related industry statistics, and it’s all from a highly reputable source. You can search by topic (e.g., public sector employment, retail prices of certain items, and so on) or by country or by a specific statistical publication.
International Monetary Fund
World Economic Outlook.
(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.
United States Government
Although the U.S. government publishes numerous sites for business information, the following sites are particularly useful for locating international industry statistics:
U.S. Commercial Service
Site of the U.S. Commercial Service at American Embassies, which helps U.S. companies export to other countries. Contains market research, trade leads, etc.
Market Research Library
Includes country commercial guides, market research reports and more.
U.S. International Trade Center
Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb
Import, export, and tariff statistics.
Directory of International Trade Analyst Commodity Service Assignments
U.S. 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.
U.S. Dept. of Labor
Foreign labor trends
From the U.S. Department of Labor. Provides information on labor institutions, practices, and recent key developmnets in the countries reported.
Information for this guide comes from, "Roundup: The Best Sources of International Industry Statistics", The Information Advisor, Vol. 21, No. 12, December 2009.