World Factbook (CIA). [annual]

Includes regional reference maps. Click on in individual country profiles for world rankings of 34 data fields that can be downloaded into spreadsheets.

Europa World Plus

• Accessible with 14-digit Library ID from the Cook Library Web site under Databases
• Content consists of the current edition of Europa World Year Book and all of the Europa regional year books
• Political and economic profiles of nations of the world
• In additon to country profiles, each regional volume contains timely essays on issues affecting that region

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D2 A6

Annual Register: World Events . 1961- [some missing]

• Annual survey of world events with individual surveys for larger nations and regional surveys for smaller nations
• Each volume also includes a chronology of important world events and several page summaries of the state of the world regarding: international economy; sciences, medicine and technology; law; religion; arts; and sport
• Some primary sources, maps, and tables, mostly representing the activities of international organizations and short obituaries of world figures

Encyclopedia of the World's Nations. 3 v. 2002

Alphabetical arrangement by country. Inclusion of topics such as law enforcement, human rights, education, media, cutural indicators, status of women, health, food & nutrition add to the encyclopedia's usefulness. Also covers science & technology and the environment. A chronology with each nation indicates significant political and economic events since its independence.

Encyclopedia of World Geography . 24 v. 2002

Arranged by world regions, including country and regional profiles. Country profiles cover Environment, Society and Economy and provide a brief statistical profile. Extensive regional profiles discuss Physical Geography, Habitats and their Conservation, Animal Life, Plant Life, Agriculture, Industry, Economy, Peoples and Cultures, Cities, Government, and Environmental Issues. Heavily illustrated with photographs, drawings, diagrams, and maps that complement the text.

Library of Congress Country Studies (Area Handbooks)

(To locate a print copy in the Cook Library stacks, from the Cook Library Web site search the Towson Catalog using a Keyword search with "area handbook" and the name of the country [e.g. area handbook and brazil]
Also available at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html

Originally published between 1988 - 1998 to provide U.S. government officials and citizens with information about other countries. Each book provides the historical context for the geography, society, politics, foreign policy and economics of a country. For updated country profiles see Country Profiles.

Portals to the World: Links to Electronic Resources selected by Library of Congress Experts
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html

Web directory arranged by country. Within each country listing, links are arranged by topics such as culture, education, government & politics, health,, history, language, media, national security, organizations, and society.

Foreign Government Sources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreign.html

Web directory of links arranged by country and subject. Developed by the Documents Center at the University of Michigan.

U.S. Department of State Country Information
http://www.state.gov/countries/

See Background Notes at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/ for brief information on a country's history, government, political conditions, economy, foreign relations and U.S. relations.

Yahoo: Regions & Countries
http://dir.yahoo.com/regional/

International Year Book and Statesman's Who's Who. 1968- [annual]

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JF37 P6

Central and South-Eastern Europe . (Europa/Regional) 2003- [annual]

Includes Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia.

Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia . (Europa/Regional) 2002- [annual]

Includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Republic of Crimea, Uzbekistan.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies. 4v. 2002

Volumes arranged by world regions. Economic profiles of 198 countries and territories include: Overview; Politics, Government and Taxation; Infrastructure, Power, and Communications; Economic Sectors; Poverty and Wealth; Working Conditions; and Future Trends.

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HC100 - HC699

OECD Economic Surveys . [annual]

Annual reviews of member and a few non-member countries. Each economic assessment includes a general overview of developments in the country, reports on topics of current interest, and statistical information.

These surveys are also available through Business Source Premier [Ebsco]. Click on Advanced Search:

• Type a country name and change Select a Field to SU Subject Terms
• Type a country name and economic and oecd and change Select a Field to SO Publication Name field. (e.g. czech republic and economic and oecd)
  

This database provides full text access to Country Review (CountryWatch), Country Monitor (Global Insight), Country Profile and Country Report (Economist Intelligence Unit), and Political Risk Yearbook: Country Forecasts and Country Conditions. Although the emphasis of some of these publications is economic, basic country information and extensive current political profiles are included. The Country Review, Country Profile, and the Political Risk Yearbook are published annually. The Country Report and Country Monitor offer monthly updates.
NOTE:There may not be a report for every country in each (or any) of the six publications

• Once in Business Source Premier, click on the Advanced Search tab
• Type the name of the country you are researching in the first box and change Select a Field to SU Subject Terms
• Further down the screen, next to the box that says Publication, type the word country
• Click on Search
• To limit your search to the politics of a country, add politic* to your search (e.g. argentina and politic* [SU Subject Terms]

Check under Market and Country Research/ Country Commercial Guides for detailed economic information on countries. Check International Trade Library for the U.S. State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights and Patterns of Global Terrorism.

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AY67 N5W7

UN Statistics Division
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm
Check for UN Social Indicators at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/socind/default.htm
Check Millennium Indicators Database at http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/default.aspx

Statistical Resources on the Web: Foreign Government Data
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stforeig.html

Statistical Yearbook for Asia & the Pacific. 1973- [annual]

Country Indicators for Foreign Policy [CIFP][Carlton University, Canada]
http://www.carleton.ca/cifp/about.htm

The CIFP project keeps track of failed and fragile states, providing conflict risk assessment reports on selected states in South and Central Asia, Caucasus, Africa, and Latin America.

Provides rankings of countries on indicators such as democratic participation, political stability and human rights for Governance & Democracy Processes and indicators including authority, economics, security & crime, and human development for Failed & Fragile States. Also try searching the Reports & Briefs for country reports.

Maps & Graphics [from Poverty Mapping]
http://www.povertymap.net/mapsgraphics/index.cfm

Global, regional, and national maps searchable by themes including demographic indicators, economy and markets, education, energy, food security, health, poverty indicators, urban areas, water and sanitation. These maps were pulled from the Web sites of many international organizations such as the UN, FAO, and CIESIN.

Oxford Atlas of World History. 1999
Located in atlas case.

Biography Resource Center

Available through Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. Click on Biography Resource Center. When off campus, access through Research Port.

Current World Leaders. 1961-

Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications. 4 v. 2003

Covers the status of the media, including policy and different media formats, in over sixty countries and freedom of the press in the regions of the world. Bibliography included with each article.

BBC World Service

Check country profiles which provide a brief country overview, facts, information on the current leader and a listing of major television/radio stations, newspapers and news agency in a country.

Worldpress.org: World News from World Newspapers

• "Worldpress.org is a nonpartisan magazine whose mission is to foster the international exchange of perspectives and information. It contains articles reprinted from the press outside the United States, as well as originally written material. " - from the Web site
• Provides links to world news sources sorted by region and country, indicating political bent, as well as to world blogs

The World Press

Provides links to current news coverage from over 5,204 news sources, mostly in English, from 192 countries.

World News: Latest News from the WN Network

Comprehensive coverage of current (past 2 months) world news. Provides access to the latest news stories. Searchable by keyword, theme, or world region. Headlines, and some accompanying stories searchable back two years.

Voice of America

Source of current news worldwide.

Independent Media Center

"Indymedia is a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of truth." - From the Web site

LexisNexis Academic

Provides archives of articles from English-language newspapers in many countries. Available through Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. Click on LexisNexis Academic. Once in the database, click on Sources tab and choose a country. Next select News folder. Then select Newspapers. Check off publications that you want to include in your search.

Indexes & Online Databases

• The following databases index articles mostly in periodicals such as journals, magazines and newspapers but also sometimes other resources such as books and conference proceedings.
• When off campus, access databases through Cook Library home page > Off Campus Users > Research Port

Academic Search and Social Sciences Abstracts [EBSCO]. 1990-

• Available through Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. Click on Academic Search. Once in the database Choose Databases to add other databases such as Social Sciences Abstracts to your search.
  

Historical Abstracts. 1955-

Available through Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. Click on Historical Abstracts.

Social Sciences Citation Index [Part of the Web of Science] 1995-

Available through Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. Click on Social Sciences Citation Index .

GEOBASE. 1980-

Available only on select computers in the Periodicals Department on the 2nd floor of Cook Library.

International Bibliography of Political Science. 1954-