Statistics
Places to begin
Before getting started consider which government, agency or organization might have collected data on your topic. Also consider the time period that you want, current, historical, and the format you would like, table to print or data to download to a spreadsheet.
Statistical Universe
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/statuniv
Index to United States and International statistical sources. Many links to online versions of the publications.
Statistical Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/statsnew.html
Subjects covered include: agriculture, business and industry, consumer, cost of living, demographics, economics, education, energy, environment, finance and currency, foreign economics, foreign governments, foreign trade, U.S. government finances, health, housing, labor, military, politics, science, sociology, transportation, and weather. Nicely annotated.
Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web
http://www.bls.gov/bls/other.htm
Links to government statistical agencies in the United States and in several dozen countries around the world.
United States Sources
Statistical Abstract of the United States
http://www.census.gov:80/stat_abstract/
Contains a collection of statistics (over 1400 tables and graphs) on social, economic, political, and international subjects. Sources for each table are listed; use this information to identify additional sources. Also accessible through Statistical Universe.
Fedstats
http://www.fedstats.gov
Compilation of statistical information from more than 70 agencies in the U.S. federal government. Includes profiles at the state and county level.
Economics
Economic Time Series Page
http://www.economagic.com/
This is a good starting place for the basic economic statistics: CPI, PPI, GDP, Interest Rates, and more.
Statistical Resources on the Web/Economics
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html
Very complete listing of web sites compiled by the University of Michigan Documents Center.
Econdata.net
http://www.econdata.net
Regional economic data on the web.
FRED Index – Federal Reserve Bank Statistics
http://www.stls.frb.org/fred
Monthly, daily, weekly, data on GDP, CPI, PPI, interest rates, and much more.
StatUSA
http://www.stat-usa.gov/stat-usa.html
From the U.S. Department of Commerce. State of the Nation contains data on the U.S. economy and finance including economic indicators, housing and construction, employment, manufacturing and industry, monetary statistics, and economic policy. The National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) has U.S. import and export statistics. The International Trade Library is searchable by country or product. Password required. Ask at the reference desk, X6662.
United States Budget
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/
Browse or download sections to a spreadsheet.
Economic Report of the President
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/
Downloadable statistics. Many series go back 30 years or much further. This report contains economic policy and outlook, economic trends, and over 100 pages of tables on employment, income and production.
Links to current major economic indicators.
Business Statistics Ref. HA211.U5
United States commercial and economic conditions statistics. Historical series for most stats in 1951. Published by U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Use the Index on the back cover. Some current data is available at the “BEA web site”: http://www.bea.doc.gov/.
Encyclopedia of business information sources Ref. HF5351.E93 1999
Provides suggestions for sources of information. For example, use this if you are unsure which book or website has labor statistics. Mainly U.S. sources.
Inflation Calculator
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
Adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 1998.
Statistical Resources on the Web- Labor and Employment
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/steclab.html
From the University of Michegan. Major links to the “major” collectors of labor and employment data. Mainly U.S. government sites.
Demographics
U. S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
The Bureau of the Census collects data about the people and economy of the United States and produces a wide variety of statistical data products. This Web source includes the Statistical Abstract of the United States, TIGER files, Trade Statistics, and an up-to-date population clock. Contains a lot of surveys such as the Current Population Survey and State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. For U.S. geographic area data choose “Geography” from the opening screen and then “Map Stats.” For all other topics choose “Subjects A to Z” which includes links to other government statistics sites.
American FactFinder
http://factfinder.census.gov
Data access and dissemination system that provides useful facts and information about your community, your economy, and your society. The system will find and retrieve the information you need from some of the Census Bureau’s largest data sets.
Census Bureau Economic Information
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/econ/www/
Highlights from the latest U.S. Economic Indicators, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Construction, County and City Data Book, County Business Patterns, Statistics of U.S. Businesses, Current Industrial Reports, Economic Data Programs Overview, Economic Census and Surveys, Governments, Income and Poverty, International trade, Research, and Statistical Abstract of the United States.
County and City Data Book and another at County and City Data Book
Ref. HA202.S84
Find the latest official statistics for 1,078 cities, all 3,141 U.S. counties, and 11,097 places of 2,500 or more inhabitants. Includes socioeconomic and housing data from the 1990 census. Also includes median income, tax base, and more than 100 other variables for counties and cities nationwide like ranking in population and land area, minority population, median rent, public transportation.
Historical US statistics
Historical statistics of the United States
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html and Ref. HA202.B87
Data from colonial times to 1970.
Mini-Historical Statistics
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/minihs.html
Time series data for major series
Historical Statistics of the United States, 1600s to current
http://hsus.cambridge.org
Annual time series of the U.S. population, economic indicators, social conditions, and government. From colonial times to the present.
Historic Census Information 1790-1860
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census/index.shtml
The data describe the people and economy of the United States between 1790 and 1860. Data are available for any county in most states during this time period. Great searchable database.
Colorado
These more specialized sources serve as a quick start to some Colorado and Colorado Springs data. Many information sources listed under the United States section of this guide also provide information at the state, county and local level.
Colorado by the Numbers
http://www.colorado.edu/libraries/govpubs/online.htm
An online statistical abstract for the State of Colorado compiled by the University of Colorado Library.
Colorado Economic and Demographic Information System
http://www.dola.state.co.us/is/cedishom.htm
Statistical information from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Information presented at State, County and City levels. Demographic and economic data.
Colorado Historical Census
http://dola.colorado.gov/demog/AllHist1.cfm
Data back to 1870.
Colorado Springs – Economic and Demographic Search
http://library.ppld.org/CommunityConnections/economicindicators/
Database of short articles and facts about Colorado Springs economic and demographic data. Compiled by Pikes Peak Library District.
International
Statistical Resources- Foreign Countries
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stecfor.html
One of the best sites. This University of Michigan site is focused on statistical resources on the Web for foreign and international economics.
International Agencies and Information on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/intl.html
Links to homepages of IMF, World Bank, United Nations, etc.
UN Statistics Division Common Database
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/databases.htm
Statistical compilation for the United Nations. Contains selected data series from 30 specialized international sources, including labor, agricultural, nutritional and industrial statistics. Years of coverage (1958 – current) vary with data series/countries selected.
World Databank
http://databank.worldbank.org/
Free databases of economic indicators from the World Bank, including World Development Indicators (WDI), Gender Statistics, Education Statistics, Health Nutrition and Population Statistics, Quarterly External Debt Statistics/SDDS and /GDDS, Africa Development Indicators, Global Economic Monitor (GEM), and Millennium Development Goals. The World databank interface can export statistics to Excel, and generate customizable maps and charts. Note: if problems are encountered with this website, please exit your browser completely and restart it; or try using a different browser. Coverage: 1960-current
Population Reference Bureau
http://www.prb.org
Provides statistical and narrative information on U.S. and international population trends and their implications.
International Financial Statistics
http://www.imfstatistics.org/
Provides users with time series which summarize each country’s balance of payments, with collateral data on its principal components (trade and reserves), and data on the principal cause and effect elements (monetary expansion and contraction, government surpluses and deficits, production, prices and interest rates). Updated monthly. Data from the IMF, exchange rates, exports, imports. Data back to 1948 if available. Print volumes in 2nd floor Periodicals area – current and bound.
Comparable and harmonized data of the the European Union, its Member States and its partners.
OECD ILibrary
http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
Books, journals, working papers, statistics, and glossaries published by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Users can search by country, theme, date, content type, and more. The OECD FactBook is available from 2005 to current, with data tables and graphs that can be exported to Excel. This database was formerly known as SourceOECD. Coverage: 1967 –
Asian Development Bank Statistics
http://www.adb.org/Statistics/default.asp
Time series statistics, downloadable. Economic and social statistics for individual Asian countries.
InfoNation
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_infonation.htm
Quick reference compilation of current United Nations statistics taken from Demographic Yearbook and Statistical Yearbook. No historical data. Not detailed. 4 countries can be compared.
Penn World Tables 1950-2000
http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt_index.php
“Provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international prices for 168 countries for some or all of the years 1950-2000.”
NationMaster
http://www.nationmaster.com/
This site allows you to compare the various characteristics of any two countries of the world. You can also get a summary of information about a specific country, or rank the countries of the world on a variety of characteristics, such as inflation rate, literacy rate, land area, and birth rate.
International Business Information Sources Ref .HF54.5.P33 1998
Similar to the title above but focusing on international and foreign country sources.
Historical International Data
International Historical Statistics: Europe 1750-1993 (Print Resource) REF. HA1107.M5 1998
Contains major statistical information on the countries of Europe. Similar volumes for other areas of the world listed below.
International historical statistics: the Americas, 1750-1993 (Print Resource) REF. HA175 .M55 1998
International historical statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750-1993 (Print Resource) REF. HA4675 .M552 1998
Data
Macroeconomic Time Series Data Source Locater
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/busecon/macroecon/
Provide a list of sources by date, geographic area and macroeconomic data category. For example, if you need to find European production data back to the 1820’s, this book will suggest a source for the information.
Inter-University Consortium For Political And Social Research
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu
The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides large data sets such as public opinion polls, attitude surveys, health information, results of research projects. Data may require use of specialized software such as SPSS or SAS.
Social Science Data Sources on the Internet
http://odwin.ucsd.edu/idata/
A collection of links to downloadable datasets compiled by the University of California at San Diego.
Associations Unlimited
http://0-galenet.galegroup.com.tiger.coloradocollege.edu/
Search for associations that have collected statistics on a topic.