World Bank
Economic indicators including data and statistics on various developing countries and regions.
WDI List of Time Series Indicators

• WDI Online (World Development Indicators) UW restricted
  World Bank provides general current and time series statistical data for countries.

Doing Business Project from World Bank
Provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 178 countries.
(See also print source below)

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) UW restricted
Provide up-to-date analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies.  Assess and forecast political, economic and business conditions in almost 200 countries. Coverage includes Country Reports, Country Profiles, Viewswire (daily analysis service), Country Commerce, eBusinessForum and more.

Europa World Year Book UW restricted
Provides recent history and major social, economic and political events of individual countries. Includes statistics on external trade by country.

The Fraser Institute
An independent organization with a goal to raise the level of understanding about economic and social policy. Their Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report contains Country Data Tables and reports on world economic freedom, investment and growth (Link to Economic Freedom from left frame of opening page).

Global EDGE
An outline of the business climate, political structure, history, and statistical data for about 196 countries. It also includes regional and country specific links in addition to a general overview of each geographic area. A Megasite for international business, trade information, and economic trends. Most data is free but does require registration.

InfoNation
This database allows viewing and comparing up-to-date statistical data (overview, economy, environment, health, and technology) for the Member States of the United Nations.

NationMaster
This centralized database allows comparison of countries by various statistical data compiled from sources such as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. Users can easily generate maps and graphs.

Source OECD  UW restricted
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Online Library (for European Union), which includes monographs and annual reports by theme; periodicals; and statistics.  Use drop down menus (e.g., OECD Factbook, Statistics at a Glance, Statistical Annuals) OR select documents from left frame (e.g., Main Economic Indicators, OECD Economic Outlook) .

World Economic Forum
This international organization engages leaders in partnerships to pursue economic and social activities that will improve the world.  They provide access to global competitive reports such as the following:

• Global Competitiveness Report 
  (2005/06 Book in Reference collection on 1st floor of Library.  Call No: HF1414 G563)
  Global Competitiveness Report 2007-08 will be released 10/31/07.
  This study is one of the leading monitors of the competitive condition of 100 countries (includes competitiveness rankings, problematic factors for business and much more).  The report focuses on some of the key factors that help determine economic growth and explain why some countries are more successful than others in raising income levels and opportunities for their respective populations in joining the upper ranks of international competitiveness.
• Global Information Technology Report
  This report is a benchmarking tool for determining countries IT strengths and weaknesses.  It is an assessment of how prepared countries are to capture the benefits of participating in a networked world. 
• Women's Empowerment: Measuring the Global Gender Gap
  This is a benchmarking tool to assess the size of the gender gap, ranking 58 countries by the level of advancement of their female population.  Five areas are focused on: economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment and health and well-being.
• Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
  The World Economic Forum index provides cross country analysis for Travel and Tourism in 124 countries. Travel and tourism can impact national prosperity and economic growth.
• The Arab World Competitiveness Report
  Coverage includes13 Arab economies. Rankings are presented in three country groups according to the stage of development to enable benchmarking against peers in other parts of the world.

Government Sources:

World Factbook - CIA Country Profiles
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) gives economic, political, and demographic information on all countries. Includes poverty level, household income or consumption level by percentage, inflation rate, employment rate, GDP purchasing power parity (e.g., Disposable Income), etc.

StatUSA  UW restricted
A web-based database produced by the Dept. of Commerce. Provides access to: 
(1) National Trade Data Bank which focuses on international trade and covers basic export information, marketing research on a wide range of industries, products and services, financial assistance trade opportunities and contacts, U.S. exports and imports.  The Market Research Repository includes Best Market Reports, Country Commercial Guides, International Market Insight Reports, Industry Sector Analysis Reports, and Multilateral Development Bank Reports.)
(2) State of the Nation for U.S. current and historical economic and financial releases and economic data.

U.S. Census Bureau
Contains a Business section, which includes a foreign trade division. Also has the latest economic indicators, census of people (including international), HIV/AIDS Surveillance, and more.

U.S. Department of Labor

• Foreign Labor Trends - This series produced by the US Dept of Labor provides "information on labor institutions, practices, and recent key developments in the selected countries reported. Each report provides valuable information in assessing progress made by the reported country in complying with internationally recognized worker rights required under bilateral or regional trade agreements."
• Foreign Labor Statistics - International comparisons of hourly compensation costs; productivity and unit labor costs; labor force, employment and unemployment rates; and consumer prices for selected countries. The comparisons relate primarily to the major industrial countries, but other countries are included in certain measures.

Doing Business 2008
(in Reference Collection on 1st floor of Library. Call No: HD3612 D67 2007)
Annual report from World Bank comparing regulation in 178 world economies. Quantitative indicators are provided for 10 stages of a business's life: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.

Succeeding Like Success: The Affluent Consumers of Asia
(In Reference Collection on 1st floor of Library.  Call No:  HF 5415.33 A78 W664)
Provides a combination of demographics, history, and economics with projections to 2015 that address the purchasing power of affluent Asian consumers in 12 key Asian/Pacific markets.

The Economist magazine contains economic, financial and emerging-market indicators for some countries. Included are consumer prices, wages, retail sales, unemployment, etc.
(Holdings:  Available online from Proquest ABI/Inform Global 1991-present, Expanded Academic 1988-present, and Lexis-Nexis 1975-present; also at Campus Library in Hard copy and microfiche 1985-present).

Yearbook of Statistics: Telecommunication Services
(In reference collection on 1st floor of library.  Call No: HE7601 I532)
This Chronological Time Series 1995-2004 is provided by the International Telecommunications Union. Data are presented by country.  A list of countries, definitions, abbreviations and acronyms are given at the beginning of the book.

Measuring the Information Society 2007
(In reference collection on 1st floor of library.  Call No: HE7700 I476 2007)
International Telecommunications Union Opportunity Index and World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators.  Country tables are provided toward the back of the book.

Online Sources:

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Provides information, research, technology, policies and programs for security of the food system, health of the environment and innovation for growth; however, some reports require registration and some information is related to Canada.  Includes links to market reports organized by product or country, trade statistics, export requirements, trade events, products & suppliers,  Canadian fish & seafood market information.

The Economist Magazine
http://www.economist.com/countries
Provides country profiles with factsheets, political and economic data, forecasts, recent news and more.

The Electronic Embassy
http://www.embassy.org
Links to foreign embassies of Washington, D. C., with web pages for each country.

Governments on the Web
A source for governmental institutions on the World Wide Web: parliaments, ministries, offices, law courts, embassies, city councils, public broadcasting corporations, central banks, multi-governmental institutions etc

The Federation of International Trade Associations
Search for country profiles, which include information on market access (import regulations, customs duties, etc.), transportation system, economic indicators (including  trade by partner countries), country risks, registration & licensing,  taxes & accounting, labor market, media, and more.  There are also links for trade shows and trade leads.

Investext UW restricted
Reports and forecasts for over 11,000 U.S. and international companies and 83 industries.  Prepared by international brokers and investment banks.

Gartner UW restricted
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner analysts and consultants are known to provide the most comprehensive collection of analysis and advice to the global IT industry.

Kompass  UW restricted
A searchable international directory containing information about companies, products, and trade and brand names in over 60 countries

MarketResearch.com UW restricted 
The database MarketResearch.com provides in depth market research reports for U.S. and global industries which are over 100 pages long each. Written and published in the U.S. by various market research firms, the reports provide quantitative and qualitative focus and analysis on leading manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and marketers. Information included are executive summaries, industry interviews, competitive analysis, market trends, product innovation, buyer behavior, market share, and market forecasts.

TableBase (Web-Based but On Campus Access Only)  UW Bothell and UW Tacoma restricted
TableBase specializes in tabular data on companies, industries, products and demographics. It is international in scope, covers over 90 industries and provides links to tables and  articles from which the tables were derived. 

Link to Patents and Trademarks

Doing Business Abroad: Regulations, Markets and Culture: A Bibliography
This bibliography includes Commonly Used  International Web Sources (free), International Business Databases (check to see if we have access: Business Databases), and books (check our Online Catalog to see if the UW Libraries or Summit Consortium carries them).

International Organizations:

International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights.  Provides reports on labour markets and trends, including child labor, feminization of poverty, social protection, and more.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The IMF is an organization of 185 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty. Their World Economic Outlook  gives statistical data on the world’s economy and narrative analysis and projections.  They also provide Regional Economic Outlook Reports and Global Financial Stability Report: Market Developments and Issues, as well as reports and publications arranged by country.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
The ITU is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and is an international organization within the United Nations System where governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services.  A small selection of statistics here are free; whereas, some can be found in World Banks World Development Indicators.

United Nations
Oversees world peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law.

UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  See especially "Themes" and "Worldwide" regions (in the left frame) for further information and statistics.

World Health Organization
Provides health indicators, population estimates, travel health information, health expenditures, legislation, etc., by country.

Earth Trends
Earth Trends, an environmental information portal, is provided by The World Resources Institute (WRI). The focus is environmental, social and economic trends shaping our world.  Earth Trends gathers data from the world's leading statistical agencies, along with WRI-generated maps and analyses, into a single database. To facilitate the comparison of data from different sources, Earth Trends supplements its content with detailed metadata that reports on research methodologies and evaluates the information's reliability.  The information is made available to the public at no charge.

World Tourism Organization 
For statistics, select Facts & Figures in right frame.

Global Entertainment and Media Outlook
Call No:  HF5439 M267 G66
Forecasts and economic analysis of 13 industry segments prepared by PriceWaterhouse Coopers.

Lexis-Nexis UW restricted
Full text database of newspapers, magazines, trade journals, legal documents, company financial information and newswires.