U.S. Federal Information on Foreign Countries: General Sources

Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics, and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions. They also include audio and video clips from BBC archives.

The directory is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid and includes as many governments of the world as is considered practical, some of them not officially recognized by the United States.

The CIA World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map. Archived issues are available back to 1990

Alphabetical listing of countries and links to their constitutions.

CFR is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource to help better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

Recent and archival news about countries from The New York Times.

Offers links to recent articles and a country profile which includes political and economic outlook, basic data, economic indicators over four years, brief history, political structure and political forces. May include special reports.

Select Countries and Areas from the menu at the top of the page.

The Inter-American Development Bank’s Database of Political Institutions 2020 provides structured information on 180+ countries’ national governments and elections going back to 1975. The topics include electoral rules, term limits, party and leader tenure, party fragmentation, the role of the military in government, competitiveness, and more.

Gateway to information on the European Union.

Information on natural resources, economic situation, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and global issues for each country. News articles and relevant publications for country are linked.

The page provides links to the official websites of international governments.

A non-profit organization devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests. Publications include a quarterly journal, bulletins and books.

A portal site for the LC's international resources, it contains links to authoritative information by country (in the "Portals to the World" section), to special databases, including some with legal and historical documents ("Research Guides and Databases") and to websites of the various regional reading rooms ("Centers for International Research").

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s Voter Turnout Database tracks the number of registered voters, total voter turnout, voting-age population, and associated metrics for elections in more than 200 countries, some going as far back as 1945

Government Gazettes, which are published by federal governments worldwide, are the means through which the government can communicate to officials and the general public. Gazettes are useful as primary sources in research.

Directory of over 2000 annotated links to high-quality English-language sources of information and analysis in a wide range of international affairs, international relations, international studies, global studies, and global education topics.

Only those countries where a National Parliament exists are included in the alphabetical list.

Links to official government pages from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products. The site comprises resources from 2005 to 2012, including reports, journals and working papers.

This site contains lists of heads of state and heads of government (and, in certain cases, de facto leaders not occupying either of those formal positions) of all countries and territories, going back to about 1700 in most cases.

Profiles for individual countries. (1996-2008)

EIU Country Reports analyses political and economic trends in over 200 countries. Each report examines and explains the issues shaping the countries: the political scene, economic policy, the domestic economy and foreign trade and payments. (1996-date)

The Country Profiles are brief overviews for 75 countries incorporating economic, political, and geographical data. Listings by subject or location.

The daily briefs are objective, multidisciplinary articles compiled by an international network of over 1,000 economists, international relations, and political/social experts at Oxford and other leading universities, as well as think-tanks and other institutions of international standing. They cover worldwide developments of significance in more than 180 countries: events, significance, analysis, & conclusions and date back to 1986. Articles are indexed by topic, location and date.

This yearbook is divided into three parts: world tables, statistical tables for individual countries, and institutional tables for individual countries. Detailed statistical tables are presented on central government revenue, expenditure, leading minus repayments, financing and debt for 120 countries. Covers 1984-2007.

Provides a snapshot of statistics on immigration, migration, skilled emigration, and remittance flows for 210 countries and 15 regional and income groups.

Statistical and historical annual of the states of the world. 1976-date.

Country-specific data and information.