Introduction | United Nations | Statistics | Other Useful Websites

Introduction

While Brookens Library is not a depository for the publications of the United Nations or other international organizations, we do have a number of print publications from the UN, OECD, and other agencies. And now there are a great number of international organizations' websites that offer a wealth of full text reports and statistics.

United Nations

The United Nations, created in 1945 and comprised of 191 member countries, is composed of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice; along with the UN System -- twelve independent organizations or "specialized agencies" such as the International Monetary Fund; as well as a whole host of UN offices, programs, and funds such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In short, the UN is comprised of lots of agencies that produce reports and data. Below are some useful websites for finding information produced by any of the UN agencies.

• ODS: Official Documents Service -- Search full text official United Nations documentation. Most series begin in 1993, but older UN documents are added to the system on a daily basis, and the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council are availabel from 1946 onwards. The Simple Search and Advanced Search will keyword search within the citation/bibliographic information of the document. To keyword search within the entire full text, use the Global Search. What you will not find here are: press releases, UN sales publications, the United Nations Treaty Series or information brochures issued by the Department of Public Information.
• UNBISnet -- Search the catalog of UN publications since 1979 -- if the document is available full text, a link is provided. Also search the voting records and index to speeches.
• UN Documentation Centre -- Browseable databases of key documents from the General Assembly, such as the Resolutions, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council.
• UN System of Organizations Website Locator -- A to Z list of all the agencies within the UN.

Statistics

• Comparative International Statistics -- statistics for the world as a whole and for many countries on a comparative basis with the United States. Data are shown for population, births and deaths, social and industrial indicators, finances, agriculture, communication, and military affairs.
• Eurostat: Statistical Office of the European Communities -- Portal to accessing statistics relating to European countries; you may access all of their data sets free of charge. Choose to read their web site in one of three languages: German, English or French.
• International Statistical Agencies -- List of links to other countries' statistical agencies. (Unlike the U.S., most countries have one centralized governmental agency for collecting statistics.) Compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. Some examples:
  • Kenya Central Bureau of Statistics
  • Japan Statistics Bureau -- English version
  • Statistics Canada
  • United Kingdom National Statistics Online
• LexisNexis Statistical (UIS Database) -- Large database for finding international, federal and state statistical information. Also available in print as International Statistics Index [Z7554.U5 A46 1974-1999].
  • Click Tables Base Edition to search 30,000 full text statistical tables on a variety of topics. 
  • Click Abstracts to search sources of statistical information published since 1970 (if available online, a URL is provided, and cited data available in microfiche). 
  • Click Links for other suggested sources of statistical information online.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Statistics Portal -- Started in 1960, this organization is made up of 30 countries committed to democratic governments and market-driven economies. They produce a number of statistical publications in print and offer some on their website, such as the OECD Factbook.
• UN Statistics Division -- Mixture of some free international comparison data, along with subscription databases.

Other Useful Websites

Can't find what you want from the links above? Try these much larger portals to international government information.

• International and United Nations Information --- Comprehensive access to a plethora of resources. Courtesy the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Government Documents Library.
• International Agencies and Information on the Web -- Portal to international government information, compiled by the University of Michigan Documents Center.
• International Government Organizations (IGOs) -- Comprehensive A-Z list of links to the homepages of IGOs, or organizations with formal agreements between nations, such as the European Union, or the League of Arab States, along with major pages within the site that deal with statistics or publications. Compiled by Northwestern University Library.