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Global Business

BBC News Country Profiles
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.

Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets
Published by the U.S. Department of State, these fact sheets provides facts and figures on the people, history, government, economy, and political conditions of nearly every country and its relations with the U.S.

Country Analysis (from the Economist)
Created in 1946, this research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist newspaper, helps businesses, financial firms and governments to understand how the world is changing and how that creates opportunities.

export.gov
Includes information by country. Includes links to sources produced by the U.S. government about the country or by the other country's government about itself. See information by country, by industry, and also market research.

Global Reports
Published by World Economic Forum. Includes several reports on global issues of interest to marketing professionals.

globalEDGE (Michigan State University)
A source for statistical data for 202 countries, including history, economy, risk, trade stats, resources and political conditions. A Cultures section discusses business etiquette, dealmaking, and entertainment. Country entries also provide convenient links to business guides such as U.S. Dept. of Commerce Country Commercial Guide.

Index of Economic Freedom
The Index of Economic Freedom covers 10 specific freedoms such as trade freedom, business freedom, investment freedom, and property rights in 184 countries.

KOF Index of Globalization
Measures economic, social, and political aspects of globalization and provides an overall globalization index with sub-topics. Data are available on a yearly basis for 208 countries.

International Monetary Fund - Country Reports
Reports, statistics, news announcements, and analysis about economic of 189 countries. The InternationaL Monetary Fund (IMF), works to "foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, and create sustainable economic growth."

International Monetary Fund - Publications
Publications such as World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report, as well as statistics, news announcements, and analysis of 189 countries can be found here.

Nation Master Statistical Information on Countries
NationMaster is a compilation of data from hundreds of sources. Using their forms, maps, graphs, and statistics can be found on any country with the ability to compare two countries to each other.

United Nations: UNdata, by country
The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched a new internet based data service for the global user community. It brings UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point

The World Fact Book 
Compiled by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from information supplied by several government agencies, contains facts on the geography, people, economy, transportation, and communications of nearly every country.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies
Provides overview of the structure of the economies of about 200 countries. Major sectors of the economies, such agriculture, industry, and services, are described in some detail. Data sources are provided in many cases and can be consulted for more details.