Library Guides: Marketing Research Guide: Country Information

About This Page

This page contains resources to help you find information about foreign countries for international marketing projects.

BBC NEWS | Country Profiles
This well-organized site provides full profiles covering the history, politics and economic background of countries throughout the world. They also include audio and video clips from the BBC Archives.
Department of State: Background Notes/Country Fact Sheets
Information about United States relations with various countries updated constantly. Excellent source of basic information economic assistance and other US efforts around the world.

CIA World Factbook
Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 countries.

Countries and their cultures
A Gale Virtual Reference Library publication containing cultural information about countires around the world.

THese links go to resources provided by the US Department of State and the Foreign Agricultural Service.

Websites maintained by the World Bank are located here.

2012 World Development Indicators
PDF version of 2012 WDI. Country data for doing the Lorenz curves is located in Table 2.9 Distribution of Income or Consumption, starting on page 74.

World Bank Open Data
Free and open access to global development data. You can search or browse by indicator name, country, and topic. Also provides easy access to the World Bank's other data products: Data Catalog, Microdata Library, and DataBank.

Doing Business Legacy Reports
World Bank is transitioning to a new method of reporting business environment (barriers to entry, bureaucracy, etc.) in 190 countries. On the main page, select a country to the profile. pdf reports are available for download.
Countries and Regions
Country and Regional information from the World Bank.
Poverty
World Bank Poverty resource page.
World Development Indicators Data Query
With this tool you can select a country or region, demographic or economic indicators, and year or years, and receive a report detailing the variables chosen.
World Development Report
Text of current and past World Development Reports.

Links in this section include a variety of United Nations sources.

Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL)
Latin American country statistics in Spanish courtesy of the United Nations.

UNdata
United Nations data files covering population, business, health, and housing.

United National Development Program
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life.
Human Development Report
Semi-annual report on human development. Website includes information about progress toward meeting millennium development goals.
United Nations Economic and Social Council
Umbrella group for all economic and social development programs coordinated by the UN. Includes programs related to the environment, human settlements, human rights, drugs and crime, and more.
United National Statistical Division
Umbrella group that coordinates statistics collection for the UN. Includes economic, demographic, gender and millennium development goal statistical collection.