McQuade LibGuides: Marketing: Country Research

External Factors

Use these resources to explore the external factors that impact business and industry decisions in a country or region. These resources will help you:

Analyze the economic, political, business, and legal environment of a country/region.
Understand how easy or difficult it is to do business there.
Learn about social, demographic, cultural, and environmental issues in the area.
Identifiy commercial opportunities and challenges.

General Country Information

CIA World Fact Book
Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.

Gale in Context: Global Issues This link opens in a new window
Search by country to find country overviews that include international viewpoints, articles, statistics, multimedia and primary source material on global issues and current events
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Search BSP for company profiles, industry and market research reports, country reports and articles from trade and scholarly business publications.

The World Bank
Click on countries and retrieve background information and up to date reports on all countries.
Europa: The Official Website of the European Union
Research member countries. Find information on key facts and figures, institutions and laws, and more.

Statistical Resources

UN Data
Search data by keyword, browse Glossary, or select Advanced Search (found under More options) to search by country and source. Data provided by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
WDI World Development Indicators (The World Bank Group)
View charts and maps of data by topic, indicator or country plus comparisons over time
U.S. Census Bureau International Programs Center
Find tabular data for countries and regions as well as demographic indicators, population pyramids and source information for countries.
Statistical Agencies of Foreign & International Government List
“Provides access to statistical websites from foreign and international government organizations.” Many foreign language sites provide English translation options. Maintained by Purdue University Libraries.
Eurostat
"Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg." Use the top menu to explore demographic and economic data.
OECD
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) publishes economic surveys, comparative statistics, regular outlooks and annual overviews for its 34 member countries and some major additional countries. Free resource.
PRB
Focuses on "population data to inform and advance solutions to the most urgent challenges facing our world and improve the well-being of people globally." Select Data Center in the top menu to explore Data Sheets or Data Indicators.

Doing Business In....?

Business Ready (B-READY) from the World Bank
https://www.worldbank.org/en/businessready
more...less...
Business Ready (B-READY) is the World Bank’s new flagship report benchmarking the business environment and investment climate in most economies worldwide. The report assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice.
Country Commercial Guides
Country Commercial Guides (also referred to as "doing business" guides) are published annually by U.S. embassies with the assistance of several U.S. government agencies. These reports present a comprehensive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis. Free resource.
Culture Shock! books
Print and Ebooks on customs & etiquette in specific countries
Culture Smart! book series
Print and Ebook series on culture and etiquette in specific countries

Government and Legal

globalEDGE
Offers country insights covering economic, political, legal, and cultural factors, industry reports and risk analyses. From the International Business Center and the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Find US & international news, company data, and law cases, statutes, reviews and IRS and TaxAnalysts publications. See our Nexis Uni research guide for tips on using this resource.

List of Foreign Governments - Northwestern University Library
LibGuide from the Northwestern University Library; provides links to official websites of national governments for countries around the world.

Economy/Trade

Economic Resources

globalEDGE
Offers country insights covering economic, political, legal, and cultural factors, industry reports and risk analyses. From the International Business Center and the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.
The World Bank
“The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.”
World Development Indicators
World Bank Group's World Development Indicators
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Select Countries from the top menu to access IMF reports and publications arranged by country.
World Economic Forum
Select "Reports" or "Projects" to access research and analysis produced by the organization.
Deloitte Tax Guides
Deloitte provides a brief digest of the domestic and treaty tax rates of more than 130 jurisdictions. Each International Tax Guide provides an overview of the general investment landscape, corporate taxation and compliance, individual taxation and compliance, withholding rates, anti-avoidance rules, value-added tax (VAT; where applicable) and other types of taxes, and tax treaty information. Includes Quick Links to current news and other relevant resources. Free resource.

Trade Resources

International Trade Administration
Search by industry, country, or region, from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
International Trade Centre
Joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.
World Trade Organization
Select the WTO Membership menu option for "key information on trade statistics, WTO commitments, disputes, trade policy reviews, and notifications” by country.
International Markets & Trade
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. International Trade Commission
UNCTAD Statistics
"Explore UNCTAD statistics, weekly updates of our trade and GDP nowcasts, key indicators in Country Profiles and a selection of infographics."
International Labor Organization database (ILOSTAT)
A statistical database providing “multiple datasets with annual and infra-annual labor market statistics for over 100 indicators and 230 countries, areas and territories.”

Environment and Global Health

Environmental Resources

ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
ScienceDirect College Edition provides access to full text articles for over 1900 titles in the Health & Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social & Behavioral Sciences collections from 1995 to present.

United Nations Environment Programme
Provides a variety of information regarding global environmental issues including climate change, ecosystem management, disasters & conflicts, and more...
United Nations Sustainability Development Goals
Explore the details of the UN's 17 sustainability goals including target dates, progress and additional resources.
World Resources Institute
The WRI works "globally and in focus countries and regions to meet people’s essential needs, to protect and restore nature, and to stabilize the climate."
U.S. Energy Information Administration
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. Use the Geography drop-down menu to browse a variety of tools regarding global energy use.

Global Health Resources

Global Health Observatory
The World health statistics contains a wealth of information on global public health such as infectious diseases, urban health, environmental health, etc. See reports, maps. and data sets.

PubMed This link opens in a new window
Search MEDLINE and more with links to fulltext and related resources where available. Service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Human Rights

Amnesty International
Provides news feeds, human rights information by country, and more.
Human Rights Watch
To find information for a specific country, go to the Countries drop-down menu and use the Search by Country Name option or browse by continent.
United Nations Human Rights
Search by Countries or Topics. From the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights