Data Sources

This page contains links to leading sources of indicators and data related to globalization, international development, the environment, and quality of life.

Environmental Performance Index –  Yale’s 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 163 countries on 25 performance indicators from ten policy categories covering environmental public health and ecosystem vitality.

International Monetary Fund – provides links to a large set of databases, including the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) Databases, International Financial Statistics (IFS) (5-day trial), Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) (5-day trial), Primary Commodity Prices, and others.  The IMF’s World Economic Outlook Databases present macroeconomic time series data from the IMF’s WEO Reports, which are published each year in April and September.

Legatum Institute Prosperity Index – features both objective and subjective data and indicators from eight “foundations for national development” and corresponding sub-indexes, including: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital.

OECD Statistics Portal – includes access to data sets, country statistical profiles, and the OECD Factbook 2010.  Per the OECD site description, the Factbook encompasses 100 indicators that cover a wide range of development areas, including: population, economic production, foreign trade and investment, energy, labour force, information and communications, public finances, innovation, the environment, foreign aid, agriculture, taxation, education, health and quality of life.

UNDP Human Development Reports – provides time series data and development indicators from the UNDP’s 20 years of annual Human Development Reports, including new inequality, poverty and gender indices for 2010.  The HDR site also allows users to build their own development index.

World Bank Data Catalog – links to the World dataBank encompassing several extensive databases of statistics and indicators on various development topics.  Use the first “Select Databases” tab in the application to access: World Development Indicators (WDI) and Global Development Finance (GDF), Global Economic Monitor (GEM), Gender Statistics, Health Nutrition and Population Statistics, Education Statistics, Worldwide Governance Indicators, Africa Development Indicators, and Millenium Development Goals.  Country and time series data can be selected, arranged using a pivot table type tool and output in highly customizable reports in excel or other formats.

World Health Organization – offers links to databases with global health indicators and data on diseases, risk factors, healthcare service coverage, and health systems.  WHO’s World Health Report provides an annual assessment of health around the world and a detailed examination of a specific health issue for the year.  WHO’s Global Health Observatory (GHO) portal provides access to data and analyses for monitoring the global health situation.  WHO Global InfoBase offers data on chronic diseases and their risk factors for all WHO member states.  Global Health Atlas provides standardized data and statistics for infectious diseases at the country, regional, and global levels.