| |
|
General
Information |
Ref
G103.5 W6 |
 |
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.
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| |
 |
Europa World Plus
- Off-campus access requires using your TU NetID
- Replaces the print edition of Europa World Year Book and all of the Europa regional year books
- For earlier editions of the regional year book holdings check the Library Catalog, typing "regional surveys of the world"
- Political and economic profiles of nations of the world
- Once in a country profile, check the Directory: Government and Politics for information on the nation's constitution, governmental organization, legislature, political organizations, diplomatic representation, judicial system, and defence
- In additon to country profiles, each regional volume contains timely essays on issues affecting that region
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| JN4 E8 |
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Europa World Year Book. 1961- [annual]
|
Ref
D2 A6 |
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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
|
Ref
G63 K874 |
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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.
|
Ref
G133 E48 |
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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.
|
| STACKS |
 |
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.
|
| |
|
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.

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Political
& Economic |
Ref
JA51 I5 |
|
International Year Book and Statesman's Who's Who. 1968- [annual]
|
Ref
JA51 S7 |
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The Statesman's Year Book. 1873- [annual]
|
|
Ref
JF37 P6 |
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Political Handbook of the World. 1931- [annual]
- Particularly useful for its coverage of political parties
|
Ref
HC15 W675 |
|
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.
|
Ref
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. Sometimes social issues such as public health, education, immigration are also covered.
These surveys
are also available through Business Source Complete [Ebsco].
Click on Advanced Search:
- 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)
- Hint: Once you get a list of results change Relevance Sort to Date Descending Sort to move the most current issues to the top of the results list
- To search for surveys on social issues, add keywords such as health, education, or immigration to your search
See OECD for additional statistics by topic.
|
| |
|
Business Source Complete
[Ebsco].
Available through
Cook Library Web site under Research Databases. When off campus, you will be prompted to enter your TowsonU NetID. |
| |
|
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 Complete, 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
- Click
on Search
- Once you get a list of results, click on the box next to country reports on the menu bar on the left of the screen
- To limit
your search to the politics of a country, add politic*
to your search (e.g. argentina and politic*
[SU Subject Terms]

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Statistics & Rankings |
| |
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Gapminder
- Mission of the site is promote "sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals" - from the website
- Data from around the world on topics such as health, wealth, economies, development, and labor
- Draws data from many reputable sources such as UN, WHO, World Bank, OECD, ILO, and FAO
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| |
|
Nationmaster.com
- Provides data
from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, United Nations, World Health
Organization, World Bank, World Resources Institute, UNESCO, UNICEF and
OECD. Allows customized generation of maps and graphs.
|
|
|
World Bank Group
- Data Gateway
- Check
for Data
by topic or
Data
by Country .
- See Indicators for 298 - 1000+ indicators from the World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance
- See World DataBank to access 7000 indicators from additional datasets in areas such as: education; gender, health nutrition & population; poverty & inequality; millennium development goals; external debt; African development; and worldwide governance indicators
- Current World
Development Indicators
[annual] are also located
in the Reference stacks.
[Ref HC59.15 W656]
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UN Statistics Division
|
| |
|
Eurostat
|
| |
|
See OECD for statistics by topic. |
Ref
HC21 M287 |
|
World Economy: Historical Statistics. [OECD]
2001
- Includes GDP and population
statistics by region and country, at least back to 1820.
|
| |
|
GEOHIVE:Global Statistics
|
Ref
HA935 S8 |
|
Statistical Abstract of Latin America. 1957- [annual]
|
Ref
HA36 U53
|
|
Statistical Yearbook for Asia & the Pacific. 1973-
[annual]
|
| |
|
Country Indicators for Foreign Policy [CIFP][Carlton
University, Canada]
- 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.

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|
Maps
& Atlases |
| |
|
A to Z Maps Online
- When off campus, you will be prompted to enter your 14-digit ID on your TowsonOne card and your last name to access this database
- Includes physical, political, thematic, and outline maps, organized by world, continent, and country
|
| |
|
Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection [UT
at Austin]
|
| |
|
Maps & Graphics Library [UNEP]
- Global, regional, and national maps searchable by themes including biodiversity & conservation, climate change, disasters & natural hazards, environment & security, freshwater; marine, pollution, poverty, urban issues and waste
- Maps were pulled from the Web sites of many international organizations such as the UNEP and World Bank
|
| |
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National Atlas [U.S.]
- Maps from the U.S. government organizations covering agriculture, biology, boundaries, climate, environment, geology, governemtn, history, people, transportation and water.
- Allows creation of maps as well as preformatted printable maps
|
Ref Folio
G1021 T5644 |
|
Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World. 2008
Located
in atlas case.
|
Ref
G1021 H2662 |
|
Hammond Atlas of the 20th Century. 1996
|
Ref
G1021 S56 |
|
Penguin State of the World Atlas. 2008
|
Ref
G1021 G6 |
|
Goode's World Atlas. 2010
|
Ref
G1035 B6 |
|
Atlas of World Affairs. 2007 |
Ref
Quarto
G1030 O94 |
|
Oxford Atlas of World History. 1999
Located
in atlas case.
 |
| |
|
Biography |
| |
|
Biography In Context
- When off campus, you will need to enter your 14-digit ID on your Towson OneCard to access databases
|
| |
|
World News Digest [Facts on File]
- When off campus, you will need to enter your 14-digit ID on your Towson OneCard to access databases
- Check the section: World Heads of State and Government for activities of leaders described chronologically and linked to relevant news summaries
|
|
|
Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments [maintained by the CIA]
|
Ref
D839.5 A5 |
|
Current World Leaders. 1961-
 |
| |
|
Media,
News & Newspapers |
Ref
P87.5 E535 |
|
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.
|
| |
|
World News Digest [Facts on File]
- Off-campus access requires login with your TU NetID
- Archival record of domestic and international news, covers all major political, social, and economic events since November 1940
- Includes an encyclopedia with articles on nations, people and events
- See the section: Country Profiles
|
| |
|
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.
|
| |
|
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
|
| |
|
Global Voices: Citizen Media Sources from Around the World
- Supported by the nonprofit organization Stichting Global Voices with an international staff that summarizes news from blogs, podcasts, photos, and videoblogs from countries outside of Europe and North America
- Search for stories by keyword or by country
- Presents reports from a international community of bloggers, aiming to provide credible voices, but read the CAUTION regarding blogs to which the site links
- Organization also supports Rising Voices website
|
| |
|
Voice of America
- Source of current news worldwide funded by the U.S. Government
|
| |
|
CNN: World
|
| |
|
LexisNexis
Academic
- Provides news articles from newspapers in many countries, mostly in English, some in other languages
- 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.

|
| |
|
Search Engines & Online Databases |
| |
|
Non-governmental Organizations Search
- Custom search engine that searches through non-governmental organization sites, providing backgound and commentary on international issues
- Useful for topics such as human rights, women's rights, drug trafficking, human trafficking, child labor, ethnic conflict, genocide, nuclear nonproliferation, weapons & arms control, environment, education, health
|
| |
|
Intergovernmental Organization Search Engine
- Custom search engine that searches through intergovernmental (e.g. UN, EU, WB) organization sites, providing background and commentary on international issues
- Useful for topics such as human rights, women's rights, drug trafficking, human trafficking, child labor, ethnic conflict, genocide, nuclear nonproliferation, weapons & arms control, environment, education, health
|
| |
|
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, you will need to enter your 14-digit ID on your Towson OneCard to access databases
|
| |
|
Academic
Search [EBSCO] and Social Sciences Abstracts [EBSCO].
1990-
- Available
through Cook Library Web site under Research Databases.
Once in Academic Search, click on Choose Databases to add other databases such as Social Sciences Abstracts to your search.
- Add Historical Abstracts, if you need a historical perspective
|
| |
|
CIAO [Columbia International Affairs Online]
- Indexes and provides significant access to scholarship published from 1991 to date in the form of working papers, policy briefs, journal articles and book chapters, research projects, and conference proceedings
- For best results, use Advanced Search and narrow with suggested subject terms once you get a list of results
- Also limit by publication year, if desired
|
| |
|
Social Sciences Citation Index [Part of the Web of Science] 1995-
- This database indexes some of the same journals, but also some others

|