Reference Resources: Country Profiles

BBC Country Profiles
The BBC prepares these overviews, designed to "provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries," including facts, leaders, and the media.
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Background Notes
Frequently-updated overviews of countries, from the U.S. State Department.
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CIA World Fact Book
Annual publications profiles the geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues of countries around the world.
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Chiefs Of State And Cabinet Members Of Foreign Governments
Updated weekly, this directory lists major officials from "as many governments of the world as is considered practical, some of them not officially recognized by the United States."
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Consular Information Sheets And Travel Warnings
U.S. State Department advice on traveling to various countries.
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Corruption And Governance Resources
Each of these sites offers international coverage of corruption as a political/social/economic issue, including descriptions and even ratings of corruption in individual countries.
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Countries At The Crossroads
Subtitled A Survey of Democratic Governance, is an annual evaluation of government performance in 60 "strategically important countries." Very useful as an overview of contemporary government and politics in each country, with a focus on areas such as accountability, civil liberties, and corruption.
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Country Analysis Briefs
Specialized database on countries' energy production and consumpation, including oil, natural gas, electricity, and more.
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Country Commercial Guides
Reports on foreign countries' commercial environments, provided through the STAT-USA subscription service.
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Country Profiles (LC)
The U.S. Library of Congress provides these brief summaries (about 20 pages) of countries' historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In progress.
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Country Profiles (U.K.)
Prepared by FCO desk officers, with information on a country's recent history, recent political developments, relations with the international community and bilateral political and commercial relations with the UK.
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Country And Territory Guides
Extensive collection of links to country information in government sites, think tanks and NGO's, statistical compilations, etc.
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Daily Life Online
Ever-growing multi-disciplinary database of information on history and social and cultural studies, comprised of hundreds of encyclopedia volumes, dictionaries, other reference works and other books, as well as thousands of primary source documents.
Subject areas include arts, clothing, family life, food and drink, housing, music and dance, political and economic life, recreation and entertainment, religion and beliefs, tales, myths, and legends, and more.
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Europa World Plus
Based on the long-established Europa World Year Book and companion volumes, this is a compendium of information on regions, countries, and international organizations, much of it in the form of statistical data and governmental and organization directories. All information is updated at least twice a year, and more often as needed.
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Geo-Data; The World Geographical Encyclopedia
Detailed articles on the physical geography on 192 countries of the world, plus a number of islands and dependencies. Each article includes the following components: basic geography and geology; mountains and hills; inland waterways; cartoast and islands; climate and vegetation; human population; natural resources; further readings.
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Governments Of The World; A Global Guide To Citizens' Rights And Responsibilities
This four-volume set, published in 2006, include biographies and historical surveys on types of political systems (constitutional monarchies, presidential systems, democracies, dictatorships, etc.), as well as entries on the governments of particular countries and on supra-national entities, including the European Union.
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Human Rights Resources
Each of these sites offers overviews of human rights-related issues, including press freedoms, in individual countries. The most significant overviews often are annual reports, but other materials on a country also may be available.
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Index Of Economic Freedom
Evalutates about 160 countries against a list of 50 independent variables divided into 10 broad factors of "economic freedom," although the narrative summaries probably are more useful than the numerical ratings.
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International Crisis Group
Independent mulitnational organization which researches and provides reports on conflicts and political conditions in countries of the world.
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LexisNexis Country Profiles
LexisNexis Country Profiles contains economic, business, and political risk information on about 190 countries. It includes over 300,000 articles and other documents from important sources, all provided in full-text form. The earliest documents date from the mid-1980's.
The database is updated every day.
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Nations In Transit
Annual comparative studies on 28 former Communist states, 2000-to-date. Leyburn Library also has printed volumes.
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OECD Economic Surveys
Economic Surveys provide in-depth reviews of OECD Member countries' economies and selected non-Member countries. (Paper copies are available in Leyburn Library. Check Annie for holdings and availability.)
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Oxford Guide To Countries Of The World
Published in 2007 (second edition). Separate entries on each of the world's countries, with maps and vital statistics, overviews of the social, economic, and political issues, tables of social and economic indicators such as GNP, life expectancy, and population.
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Passport To Success: The Essential Guide To Business Culture And Customs In America's Largest Trading Partners
This 2008 guide provides an overview of the "business environment and culture in the top twenty trading partners of the United States." You may view a list of the countries.
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Political Parties Of The World
Sixth edition (2005) provides coverage of more than 2,500 political parties in every country and territory of the world. Entries include recent political history, constitutional framework, recent election results, discussion of the party's history, performance, and influence.
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Press Freedoms Around The World
A collection of resources which provide country-by-country analyses of press/journalism conditions around the world.
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Statesman's Yearbook
Online access to the most recent annual edition of this venerable (1864-date), highly-respected compilation of information on the world's countries and institutions. (W&L Law School subscription)
Leyburn Library also has older printed editions.
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World News Digest Country Profiles
Profiles on countries (statistics, government, history, etc.), plus links to news event summaries.
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