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Suggested resources from Information the Services and Library Team

Planet earth - 2 images showing different sides

Cost of living around the world

Expatistan
A cost of living calculator that allows you to compare the cost of living between cities around the world.

Cost of living survey
Mercer's cost of living ranking of the most expensive cities.

The 11 most expensive cities in the world
Article by Business Insider based on the EIU ranking

ExpatFocus
Website with limited country coverage but useful information.

News and keeping up to date

Country News
FT.com - Registration required. NB: It is included when searching Factiva.
Economist - Full personalised access to The Economist. Registration required.
Factiva - worldwide newspapers and newswires. To search go to search > search builder. Use the Sources filter to find sources from a particular region or to limit to a type of source; legal, political, EU etc.

Bloomberg - Finance Suite - SO.W2.01/02. Good for country macroeconomic data and breaking news.
Project Syndicate -  commentary and analysis on key global topics.

Country news search in Factiva
Go to Factiva > Search Builder.
Use the indexing i.e. Source> Type = Economics and country analysis as shown above and select your country and date range.

Other free web country comparative metrics.

Corruption Perception Index
From Transparency International.

Gini Index
The Gini index or Gini coefficient - measures the wealth inequality of a nation - view the OECD data here.

Global Gender Gap Report
From the World Economic Forum.

Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking of 176 countries covering 10 freedoms including: property rights, freedom from corruption, fiscal freedom and labour freedom.

World Happiness Index
The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by the Gallup World Poll data. 

Sustainability Development Rankings
The overall performance of all 193 UN Member States

Worldwide Tax Summaries Online
Covering corporate and individual taxes in 151 territories worldwide, written by local PwC tax specialists.

Country profiles and statistics

Business Source Premier To search for country data search for the name of the country and use the side menu: "Source type" to limit to country reports. It includes Country Intelligence Report by IHS Global Insight, and OECD Economic Surveys (6 month embargo).

Mergent Online

Go to the tab: Country Insight to access monthly Dun and Bradstreet Country Insight Snapshots. 

MarketLine Advantage

On the home page select geographies then limit to region and use the side bar to filter by country. At the top of the page is a countries option. This takes you to a PESTLE Country Analysis Report. 

To downoad time series: economic, demogrpahc, fiscal etc - go to Database tab > Countries and Cities option. Click on data download for all countires and filter using the side pane optiions. When you have the data on the screen click on one of the data cells then go to the download icon,  bottom right,  and export to Crosstab.

ProQuest Business Premium Collection

At the top of search page go to Browse and pick Countries and pick your country. Ensure the sort is set to most recent. To find Fitch/BMI reports try the following:

Fitch Solutions Country Industry Reports.  PUBID(2044556)
For individual country reports on major industries (and for regions) with a 5 year forecast. For example: 
Global renewables; Europe power; Poland Agribusiness; Germany renewables; Chile logistics and freight; Low Carbon Hydrogen: Trends & Risks to Global Growth.
To search: PUBID(2044556) AND country or industry.
PUBID(2044556) AND Tourism
Or try both:
PUBID(2044556) AND Germany AND power

Fitch Solutions Industry Insight Reports.  
PUBID(2044554)
These take a broader look at an industry in a region: For example:
Americas Power and Renewables Insight, European Agribusiness Insight, Middle East and Africa Mining Insight, and the wider: Drug Delivery Insight.
To search: PUBID(2044554) AND region or industry
PUBID(2044554) AND Agribusiness
PUBID(2044554) AND JAPAN

Fitch Solutions Risk Reports. 
PUBID(2044555)
These provide: Country risk reports and Trade and investment risk reports with a 10 year forecast.
To search: PUBID(2044555) AND country name
PUBID(2044555) AND Brazil 

International Financial Statistics Database from the International Monetary Fund contains approximately 61,000 time-series covering 194 countries and areas. First time users will need to register by going to My Data > Sign In or Register > Register User Name once on the site.
Statista Search by country name and use the side filter to limit to country report. Statista provides country statistics and country reports.
GoinGlobal Country and city career and employment information aimed at people considering moving abroad to work.
EIU Country data Comprehensive economic indicators and forecasts for G20 countries, updated monthly. Excel reports contain over 350 variables from 1982 to date. Key indicators include GDP, imports, exports, prices, debt, wages etc.
Bloomberg
Finance Zone
Statistical data, data on energy funds, commodities, indices and companies. Also industry and company news. Use the function BI  to access a wealth of reports, analysis and data including key metrics, cost analysis etc.
Availability: Library only
Datastream
Finance Suite
Contains economic data such as energy production figures and Consumer price index information, from organisations such as the EIU, International Energy Agency, IMF, World Bank and OECD. Also has commodity information and accounting and price information for energy companies.
Datastream can be accessed on Eikon, which is available on two PCs in SO.W2.02 (2nd Floor, West Wing, Sammy Ofer Centre), or by booking a remote ID.
Panjiva
Register here
Import and export details on commercial shipments worldwide.Shipment Data, company data, location Data (country of origin and destination) and port of lading and unlading. For more information click here.
This database is currently available until February 2025.
 
Web sources

CIA World Factbook  

Provides 267 country profiles covering history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.  It includes flags, maps and country comparisons.
IMF - Country data  Links to reports, news, transcripts relevant to the country chosen.
IMF - Regional Economic Outlook These reports discuss recent economic developments and prospects for countries in various regions. They also address economic policy developments that have affected economic performance in the regions, and discuss key challenges faced by policymakers.
UNCTAD     Useful statistics including: economic trends, FDI, external financial resources, population and labour force, commodities, the information economy, the creative economy, and maritime transport.
OECD Country surveys For OECD country economic surveys. Or use the data tables in their data explorer.
IMD World Competitiveness Ranking

IMD produced five rankings with accompanying reports in 2023
  
The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook
  The IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking
  The IMD World Talent Ranking
  The Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI)
  The IMD Smart City Index

The World Bank    Provides development data (World Development Indicators: WDI) and surveys/research for countries and regions. Can view by country, topic or indicator and the statistics can be downloaded.
BBC Country Profiles The BBC offers country profiles that include audio and video clips.
Country statistics

Many statistics are freely available on the web you may also choose to consult the country's own statistical office. This list of statistical offices of the world has been produced by the U.N.