Country Information

These sources provide quick overviews of countries as well as country comparisons.  Helpful when selecting similar or dissimilar countries for a project.

Europa World provides in-depth coverage of countries and regions. This resource offers an excellent starting point for in-depth research on an individual country or region.

 

Select the Countries/Territories link. Type a country name in the search box and press enter or select a country/territory from the alphabetical directory. NOTE: Coverage is also provided for sub-regions within a country (U.S. states, sub-units within the Russian Federation, Canadian provinces, etc.)

Select Recent History and other topics of interest from the menu at the left. The History section often provides detailed information about conflicts and other events that will have an impact on security, policy, and international relations. 

 

 

Regional profiles often provide helpful context since neighboring countries affect and are affected by events in the country of interest. Select the Regions link and make your choice from the map or list of regions. The Topical Essays are of particular interest.

 

Map of the world showing the scope of Europa World Plus regional reports.

EIU Viewpoint provides in-depth coverage of current and projected political and economic trends affecting countries and world regions. Historical country and regional reports are available at eiu.com.

 

Home screen of EIU Viewpoint which shows EIU's overview of current affairs worldwide.

Country reports provide in-depth information about a nation's economy and political environment. All countries have what is called a One Click Report; the availability of additional reports on the regulatory environment, key industries, five-year forecasts, and the business environment varies by country. Here is a sample of Russia's One Click report.

 

EIU's Russia report which provides detailed analyses of the country's political and economic environment.

The Political Handbook is an excellent place to get an understanding of a country's political system. This resource provides detailed information about a country's form of government, government structure, recent political history, and political parties.

View the screenshot below to see the contents of a typical country report, in the case, Ukraine.

 

Typical table of contents of a country report in Political Handbook of the World.

The Handbook provides several special features, including a classification of countries by their type of political and electoral systems as shown below.

Screenshot of categories of country political and electoral systems.

Despite its business orientation, Business Source Complete provides access to a broad range of country reports, including a number of reports from companies like IHS Market and Fitch which provide detailed risk assessments based on PEST and PESTEL analyses(political-economic-social-technological-environmental-legal).

Image of the Business Source Premier search form with the country name Peru.

Use the dashboard at the left of the results list to select a date range and choose the category Country Reports. In many instances, reports are available from the late 1990’s to present.

Screenshot shows how to limit a search to find country reports on Peru published in 2021 or 2022.

 

 

 

Select the Report tab beneath the Statista logo to see report categories, including the Country & Region & and Politics & Society publications. Click the database link highlighted in red to begin.

Statista main page with link to reports to country reports highlighted.

These are sample Country & Region and Politics & Society reports published in 2021 and 2022.

Cover image of an Egypt Country & Region report.

Cover image of an Egypt Politics & Society report.

 

After examining the country reports, use the main search box to retrieve statistics and infographics on other relevant topics which can add detail to a profile, i.e., detailed demographics, education, crime, social media use, etc. 

 

 

Need more help?

Please e-mail Roxanne Palmatier, library contact for Political Science, Security and Resilience, Security and Intelligence Studies, International Affairs, and the Policy School.