Millsaps-Wilson Library: Business - Country Information

Various US Government agencies collect and publish information on many (though not all) countries of the world. Some of the more important series and sources are:

• Background Notes (State Department)
• Country Commercial Guides (Market Research Library, Export.gov; registration required)
• Country Information (International Trade Administration, Export.gov)
• Country Specific Information (State Department)
• Country-Specific Tariff and Tax Information (Export.gov)
• Country Studies/Area Handbooks (Library of Congress) Many of these titles are also available in book form. (ALEXANDER US DOCS, DANA REF D 101.22 .A7 A4)
• Destinations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Foreign Labor Trends (Labor Department) Earlier editions are available in print. (ALEXANDER US DOCS, DANA FLT Cabinet)
• National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (US Trade Representative)

General information on countries of the world are also available from other governments and intergovernmental sources, as well as from multinational firms offering business services:

Foreign Governments

• Country Index to profiles of more than 90 nations, for Australian exporters
• Country Profiles from the British Government

International and Intergovernmental Organizations

• Countries (FDI.net, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency)
• Countries and Economies (World Bank)
• Doing Business: Measuring Business Regulations for a business environment summary (World Bank)
• Enterprise Surveys: Explore Economies for an investment climate snapshot (World Bank)
• Investment Climate Assessments (World Bank)
• Labour Force Surveys (International Labour Organization)
• World Tariff Profiles (World Trade Organization)

Commercial Firms

• Country Briefings (Economist.com; no longer being updated)
• Country Guides and Snapshots from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (click on the "Country Guides" link)
• Country Infobase (Deutsche Bank)
• Country Economic Reports & GDP Data (Global Finance)
• Country Summaries with information about work authorization guidelines, from Fragomen Global Immigration Services
• Country Taxation and Business Guides from PKF International
• Doing Business In ... guides for about 40 countries, from the accounting firm of HLB International
• Guides to Doing Business from member law firms of Lex Mundi
• KPMG's International Executive Services offers several publications that cover taxation and immigration issues for dozens of countries

Other Sources

• Information Technology Landscape in Nations Around the World (American University)
• International Tax Laws by Country
• Legatum Prosperity Index: Country Profiles (Legatum Institute)

Consult the following sources for guides to international business culture and the business etiquette in individual countries around the world.

• Country Insights from the Canadian government
• Doing Business In ... guides from Kwintessential: Language & Cultural Specialists
• ExecutivePlanet.com
• International Business Etiquette and Manners (International Business Center)

 

• International Statistical Agencies
  The U.S. Census Bureau maintains an extensive list of these agencies.
• UNdata  
  The UN also maintains a list. Choose "Country data services"Human Development Reports

• Human Development Reports
  From the UN. Has data on key metrics of development
• International Database from the US Census Bureau
  Summary level data. Features projections to 2050
• World Population Prospects  
    
  Includes projections to 2050

• Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb
  Imports, exports and tariff data for the US and its trading partners for 1989 -
  Free registration required for access.
• TradeStats Express
  Offers less detail than the other sources but is more user friendly than the other sources.
• UN Comtrade
  Commodity level data for countries and their trading partners.
  Free access, but limited to 50,000 records per download
• UN Comtrade via UNdata
  Commodity level data in dollars and weight. This is a free version and it includes only aggregate data
• WTO Statistics Database
  The time series section provides the most data elements. Other sections are useful for quick overviews
• WITS: World Integrated Trade Solution
  Hosted by the World Bank. Gives access to UN Comtrade, UNCTAD-TRAINS (Trade Analysis and Information System) and WTO's tariff databases.
  Access is currently free, but requires registration.
• European Commission Trade Statistics
  Bilateral data for the EU and its trading partners. Trading partner summaries have details on trade worldwide for the partner country.

  Trade in services is not tracked as extensively as trade in commodities. These are the most useful sources

• International Economic Accounts
  Compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Detailed statistics for the US.
• WTO Statistics Database
  Choose Services Profiles
  Covers transportation, telecommunications, finance and insurance
• OECD Statistics on Trade in International Services
  Part of OECD.Stat. These are the most detailed statistics available for non-US countries but they are limited to the OECD. Choose International Trade, then trade in Services
• UN Service Trade Database
  Free registration required. Covers 2000 to the present

Historical Data

• Country Analyses (Political Risk Insurance Center, World Bank)
• Country Risk (A.M. Best)
• Country Risk and Economic Research from Coface, provider of trade credit insurance
• Country Risk Classification (OECD)
• Country Risk Maps
• Country Risks from the Belgian Export Credit Agency
• Political Risk Map from Maplecroft (PDF)
• Sovereign Ratings History (Fitch ratings of country debt; XLS file)
• Political Risk Yearbook - Available in Business Source Premier (EBSCO) . Summarizes risk at the country level. Do a 'publications' search for Political Risk Yearbook.

Guide created by Rutgers University and University of Chicago Librarians and edited by Millsaps Librarians.