Your Librarian
Data Sources
These contain data sets that can be downloaded for later manipulation. When determining what the data set can be used for, look for codebooks or data definitions that describe what the data means. Many of the sources under the Country information tab also have data.
- Political Data YearbookElection results, national referenda, changes in government, and institutional reforms. Has both an interactive component and a print version with analysis and commentary. From the European Journal of Political Research
- OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new windowThe OECD iLibrary Statistics page is one of the best resources for economic and social data on Western Europe. It also has full text books and articles with analysis of developed nations.
- OECD Better Life IndexCompare key factors like housing, income, jobs, community, environment, education, and civic engagement for countries around the world.
- CountryData Online This link opens in a new windowpolitical, economic, financial, and social data for more than 140 countries, CountryData is also the only source for current and historical risk ratings for both the International Country Risk Guide and Political Risk Services rating systems.
- World Development Indicators (WDI) This link opens in a new windowWorld Development Indicators includes nearly 800 statistical indicators related to social and economic development. It is organized into six sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links. The tables cover 152 economies and 14 country groups — with basic indicators for a further 55 economies. Data can be downloaded for further manipulation.
- UNdata This link opens in a new windowThe most broad-based of the statistical resources, it draws data from a wide variety of UN and UN-related (e.g., FAO, ILO, WHO) organizations.
Election data
- European Election Database35 countries • 25 years • More than 400 elections and referendums
National Statistical Offices
National Statistical Offices can be a excellent source of country and subnational data. They often have significant English language content. The following are the national offices for the countries you are working with.
- Belgium, Federal Public Service Economy - Directorate-General Statistics and Economic Information (former: National Institute of Statistics)National Statistical Office. Access to economic and social data and reports. Some accessible in English.
- Italy, National Statistical InstituteNational Statistical Office. Some data and publications available in English.
- Poland, Central Statistical OfficeNational Statistical Office. Some publications and data available in English.
- Spain, National Institute of StatisticsNational Statistical Office. Some publications and data available in English.
- Sweden, Statistics SwedenNational Statistical Office. Some publications and data available in English.