Public Policy information resources: Facts & data

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    Government information

    Maps

    Country facts

    Statistics and Microdata

    Start with: What is the difference between Data and Statistics? (Michigan State University)

    For detailed assistance with research involving microdata, contact the SFU Research Data Library team at data-services@sfu.ca 

    Statistics

    When doing statistical research consider the choice of dimensions/ variables/characteristics, such as:

                                                                             Time ; Geography ; Population/Variable ;  Output

    Other considerations are accessibility (e.g. Format, Availability) and the source itself (e.g. reliability, associated files, codebooks and methodologies)

     

    Canada

    Statistics Canada
    The nation's statistical agency

    The Daily
    to find a StatsCan report mentioned in a newspaper article, look at The Daily for that week

    Statistics Canada Data
    (formerly CANSIM) Provides fast and easy access to a large range of statistics in Canada

    Census Program 
    Canadian government website for the Census

    Canadian Census Analyser
     

    CANSIM via Chass 
    Help: Video tutorials on the new OLAP view (CHASS Data Centre)
     

    CMHC Housing Market Information Portal
    Canadian authority on housing information, portal provides an interactive tool that will enable you to find up-to-date information on specific geographic regions

    Data and Research 
    (CMHC) Statistics and data on housing starts, rental markets and more
     

    BCStats Publications
    provincial agency for statistics, providing "high quality data intelligence about British Columbia’s citizens, economy & government," including People, Population & Community

    DataBC 
    thousands of datasets from across the province
     

    Metro Vancouver Regional Data and Statistics 
    local data and statistics for the Metro Vancouver region (slightly dated)

    See also:  Statistical resources SFU Library page as well as Statistical Sources databases. For further assistance, contact data-services@sfu.ca 

    U.S.

    United States of America
    (U.S. Census Bureau) National and State information

    FCSM Data Releases 
    Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology

    Statistical Abstract of the United States
    (2013-) "comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States" 

    International

    Eurostat  
    European Union statistical office dedicated to providing high-quality statistics on Europe

    World Development Indicators
    (World Bank, annual) interactive access tool for over 600 development indicators including economic, social, environmental, business, & technology for more than 208 countries.

    OECD iLibrary
    (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) country studies, forecasting publications, reports, periodicals, and socio-economic databases

    IMD World Competitiveness
     (1989-) measuring the competitiveness of nations, with data based on statistics from the World Bank, OECD and the United Nations as well as the IMD's Executive Opinion Survey.  See also IMD World Competitive Year book

    World Governance Indicators 
    (World Bank 1996-present)  reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for the following dimensions: violence and accountability; political stability and absence of violence; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law; control of corruption

    International Monetary Fund (IMF)
    (1945-) Comparative international economic data: time series summarizing every country's balance of payments, as well as  data on trade and reserves, monetary expansion and contraction, government surpluses and deficits, production, prices and interest rates

    and: IMF data  International Monetary Fund provides data, information, and research to ensure the stability of the international monetary system - same?

    Human Development Statistics  (UN Development Programme)
    "measure of achievement in the basic dimensions of human development across countries"

    ILO statistics and data
    International Labour Organization

    IMF Data
    International Financial Statistics, Balance of Payment Statistics, Government Finance Statistics, and Direction of Trade Statistics

    UN Comtrade
    "Detailed global trade data", including data visualization

    undata
    United Nations and agency statistics, covering economic, social, financial and development topics - search alphabetically, by sources or by topics

    Global Health Observatory   
    World Health Organization (WHO) "data and analyses on global health priorities"
     

    See also Foreign direct investment (FDI) data section of BUS 431: Business with East Asian Countries

      Microdata