Country Information: free online and by subscription via TCNJ Library
Find political, economic and cultural information about a specific country
Country reports via TCNJ Library subscription
A to Z International Business -- https://library.tcnj.edu/research-help/search-tools/databases-a-z/atoz-internationalbusiness/
From the home page, select Country Business Guides from the top-level menu, then choose your country from the pull-down list. Use the left-side menu to jump to information such as country facts, business culture, business formation, communications, money and banking, etc. The "Trade Essentials" and "Tools and Reference" features may contain useful information for helping your expatriate to set up her overseas business.
Statista -- https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/statista/
Search for the name of your country; results include in-depth dossiers with demographic and economic statistics. Or, combine the name of your country with specific words or phrases such as "employment" or "public transit."
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)—Viewpoint / Viewswire https://www.eiu.com/n/solutions/viewpoint/
Only descriptive information for non-subscribers can be found at the above-linked site; however, subscriber content is available in ABI/Inform Global https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/abiinform-global/
- After logging in to the database, choose Advanced Search
- Enter your country name in the first search box
- Enter “viewswire” in the next search box
- Sort the results list by date [most recent first]
- Results include Basic Data, Country Outlook, Political Structure, etc.
Country Monitor / Country Profile / Country Review
Subscriber content from various publishers is available in Business Source Premier https://library.tcnj.edu/search-tools/databases-a-z/business-source-premier/
- Choose Publications from the top menu [in the blue bar above the blank search boxes]
- On the Publications page, type [country name] country (e.g. "china country;" "chile country;" denmark country;" etc.) into the 2nd blank search box (the one beneath the word "Browsing")
- Results include country reports such as Country Monitor (IHS Markit); Country Profile (MarketLine); and Country Review (CountryWatch)
- Select any of these, then follow the links to read the most recently available (extensive) country report from each of these publishers. The table of contents for each report will help you focus on the pages that are most relevant to you.
Country information free online
Global Edge (MSU)—Country Insights http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/
Includes economy, history, government, politics and culture
World Bank—Doing Business [Now a legacy site of the Business Ready project]
Benchmarking business regulations and their enforcement. A related website, also from the World Bank, is Women, Business and The Law, which also offers country-specific analyses.
World Bank—Open Knowledge Repository https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/home
Search across all publications with relevant combinations of words and phrases, or just browse by country to find publications that are specific to your country.
Hofstede Centre -- Hofstede's Globe: https://geerthofstede.com/hofstedes-globe/
Select one of Hofstede's six cultural dimensions to see its representation on a globe; or use the country-comparison graphs to display a set of dimensions across a customized list of countries, or to download data.
Council on Foreign Relations -- Regions https://www.cfr.org/regions
Select your region, then drill down to locate your country.
Export.gov (US Dept of Commerce)—Country Commercial Guides https://www.trade.gov/ccg-landing-page
Choose your country from the drop-down list, then link to the section(s) of the guide that are most relevant to you. Scroll to the end of the contents list to get to the chapter on Business Travel, which is likely to be especially useful for this assignment.
U.S. Department of State—Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
People, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations
The State Department also maintains an up-to-date list of travel advisories -- essential information for your expat family!
The Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department manages the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program [STEP], which provides a simple way for U.S. citizens living abroad to register with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
Government of Canada—Country Insights; Travel Advisories;; and Business Guides https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/country-pays/index.aspx?lang=eng
Select from the A to Z list of countries for facts and cultural information, as well as guidance for business and travel.
Central Intelligence Agency—World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/
Includes history, people, government, economy, geography, communications and more
BBC (UK)—Country Profiles: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
Select your country from the pull-down list under the appropriate continent/region. Contents may include a timeline of significant historical events; news and current events; and politics.
NationMaster—Nations of the World http://www.nationmaster.com/countries
Select your country from the A-Z list, then review facts and figures, background information, comparative rankings, articles, etc. [Be warned that there are a lot of distracting ads on this site!]
International Business Etiquette, Manners, and Culture http://cyborlink.com/
The list of countries covered is limited, but information is uniformly compiled and presented.
Culture Crossing http://guide.culturecrossing.net/
“A community built guide to cross-cultural etiquette & understanding”
World Business Culture—https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/
Coverage is limited (currently only 40 countries are included), but you may find some useful insights about business practices. The presence of a lot of ads can be very distracting.
IOR Global Services—http://www.iorworld.com/
This is a commercial management consultancy, specializing in global team management, expatriate relocation consulting, and language training. Their cultural insights may provide useful information for this project.
Commisceo Global—Resources and Information for Cultural Understanding http://www.commisceo-global.com/resources
This is set of free resources made available by a for-profit training and consultancy firm. Brief (free) country and culture guides serve as pointers to comprehensive country reports available for purchase. Note that the company has restrictions on re-use of information, even from its free resources. The free country quizzes are fun (and challenging) -- and may provide inspiration for interactive activities that support cultural awareness.
Banco Santander—Trade Portal, resources for expanding business overseas. https://santandertrade.com/en/portal/establish-overseas
Input the name of your country to see if it's covered in this commercial source from Banco Santander. Note that some of the information on the results page comes from the World Bank Doing Business guide and the CIA World Factbook (see above).
Expat Focus—https://www.expatfocus.com/
This online community includes articles, user forums, interviews and other information that may be useful to the expatriate community (including a lot of ads). The destination guides may be a source of useful information.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)- http://www.oecd.org/
How's Life in Your Region? -- "measuring regional and local well-being"
Find print and broadcast media (newspapers, news magazines, radio stations, and podcasts)
Newspaper Index.com: Online newspapers in all countries: https://www.newspaperindex.com/
World-Newspapers.com: World newspapers and magazines: http://www.world-newspapers.com/
Nations Online.org: World news: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/news.html
Radioline.co: Radio stations and podcasts from around the world: https://www.radioline.co/
World Radio Map.com: World radio map: http://worldradiomap.com/ -- use the drop-down list beneath the image of the map on the homepage to select a country and a city.
MIT Libraries: Foreign language news and newspapers: A comprehensive list of newspapers and news sites (all free online) in eight languages other than English.
Find Economic and demographic statistics
Data and statistics free online
International Financial Statistics - http://data.imf.org/
Select "Query" the menu at the top of the page, then build your query by choosing a country and then selecting an indicator (e.g. "consumer price index").
World Bank—Open Data Catalog http://data.worldbank.org/
Select "Browse by Country" from the link beneath the search box to see a list of countries for which data is available. In-depth demographic and economic statistics are provided for each country.
OECD Factbook - http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/data/oecd-factbook-statistics_factbook-data-en -- "...dynamic and comprehensive statistical annual showing a wide range of key statistics for its member countries and major additional countries
International statistical agencies (if you need to search for more expansive information than what’s offered at the sites listed above) https://census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/about/related-sites.html. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see an expansive list of international statistical agencies.
Subject Guide
