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Business: Country research

Basic country research

Key resources:

BBC News Country Profiles

Provides a quick guide to the economics, politics and history of countries and territories, including quick facts, profiles of political leaders, an overview of the media market and a chronology of key events.

Europa World Online

Covers political and economic information and selected data on countries and organizations worldwide. Select a country from the drop-down menu and hit "Go".

globalEDGE - Global Insights

Global Insights provides international business and trade information on over 200 countries, 50 U.S. states, as well as nearly two dozen industry sectors, and many of the world’s trade blocs. Under "Global Insights", select from one of the four options: "By Trade Bloc", "By country", "By State", or "By Industry".

Nexis Uni

Offers country analysis reports. From main page, click "Market Insight" at the top, and click "Selected Country Reports". 

Mergent Online

Provides country statistical data. Select a country from the drop down menu under "Country Profile" (found on the right side, under the calendar).

U.S. Department of Commerce: International Statistical Agencies

Provides links to national statistical agencies arranged alphabetically by country.

World Bank: World Development Indicators

The World Bank's principal data source on the global economy, including demographic, social, economic, financial, natural resources and environmental indicators for more than 200 countries and 18 country groups. First select your country by searching or browsing the country list. Then expand the "Series" to select individual variables. Finally, click "Time" at the bottom to select the year(s) for which you want statistics. View data as a table, chart or map by selecting an output icon at the top right.

World Factbook

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency provides country-specific information, including country profiles and select data. Click on the box indicating “Please select a country to view”.

Advanced country research (risk, cultural intelligence, etc.)

Key resources:

ProQuest One Business

Find country profiles, economic indicators, and business risk factors from country reports, produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Oxford Economics, Fitch, and Mergent. Once in the database, click on "Country Reports" under Featured Reports on the left panel, then enter country name into the top field. You can refine results by selecting items under "Report containing", or selecting report providers.

Country Profiles

UK. Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Countries and Topics

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

International Monetary Fund: Country Information

Select a country from the alphabetical listing.

Marketline

Includes country analysis - PESTLE. Type in country name then select "Countries" from drop-down menu beside the magnifying glass. Click the search icon.

Passport GMID

Includes demographic, economics and marketing statistics for 205 countries. Click on the "Economies" tab and select a topic or use the keyword search box at the top.

Country risk research:

Coface

Find Country Risk Assessments for 160 countries, along with information on payment methods, debt collection and insolvency trends. Select a country from the drop-down menu (middle of page) and click "OK."

Factiva

On the search page, click on the "Source" field, search for "Economist Intelligence Unit" (EIU), then select "EIU - Risk Briefing". Select country of interest under the "Regions" field. Once country and source are chosen, click "Search".

Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR)

Published semi-annually by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Nexis Uni

Offers country analysis reports. From main page, click "Market Insight" at the top, and click "Selected Country Reports". 

Passport GMID

Provides Risks and Vulnerabilities reports to assess the current economic situation across 85 core countries. To access the Country Briefings on Risks and Vulnerabilities, select Economy, Finance and Trade under the Economies tab at the top. Under Analysis Finder on the left, select Country Briefing from the drop-down menu. Then select a country from the drop-down menu (use the + sign to expand the options next to regions). Click "Go." See also the Business Environment reports.

Political Risk Yearbook

Includes all 100 of Political Risk Services' Country Reports, including political and economic risk analysis.

Worldwide Governance Indicators

"The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 215 economies over the period 1996–2016, for six dimensions of governance: voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption." Click "Interactive data access", then click the "Country Data Review" tab. Under "Worldwide Governance Indicators" select indicator, year and country.

World Investment and Political Risk

"World Investment and Political Risk examines general trends in the global economy and FDI, corporate perceptions of political risk and risk-mitigation strategies, as well as the latest developments in the Political Risk Insurance industry." Please note that no new reports have been issued since 2013.​

Cultural intelligence/business abroad:

Information by country and territory

From Global Affairs Canada, the information provides a comprehensive overview of Canada's travel advice, basic country information, doing business, market facts, and other insights.

Doing Business

The World Bank Doing Business project provides measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 189 economies that allow for comparisons across countries and over time.

Exporting from Canada

Learn how to sell your products and services abroad, find support services, get financing,  get information on permits, and more.

PKF: Doing Business in

PKF International Limited provides information about the financial, legal considerations that could affect business dealings within a particular country.

U.S. Commercial Service

U.S. Department of Commerce

World Values Survey

The World Values Survey is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life. It consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries. Click “Data and documentation” and then click on “online analysis”. Click on a wave period and select a country to see the data.

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