These databases are useful for getting background information on a research topic, and will help you research chronologies, influential people, major points in history, and summarize concepts, events, or themes.
Country profiles summarize recent data, presenting statistical narratives of a country that include economic, political, sociological, environmental, and other cultural factors.
A free resource from University of Texas Austin providing links and in some instances copies of Constitutions from around the world. Includes some drafts, contextual documents, and an API.
Constitute includes the currently-in-force constitution for nearly every independent state in the world, as well as some draft and historical texts. We continue to update the in-force texts as they are amended or replaced, and we plan to expand the selection of draft and historical texts available on the site as well. Arabic Constitute and Spanish Constitute each include more than 50 currently-in-force constitutions, representing every region in the world, as well as some draft and historical texts.
This is your source for statistical data for nearly every country around the world. In addition to statistics, historical, economic, and political conditions are available; use our Executive Memos for fingertip access to current information and the globalEDGE network to locate members in each country.
In addition to statistical information GlobalEDGE connects you to useful Outside Links and insightful blog entries.
This guide was developed by librarians at American University in Washington, and brings together general country profiles, as well as country reports that are focused on particular topics.
Note: Many of the databases this guide links to are restricted to AU users. Try looking up a database to see if NYU subscribes to it. If you are having difficulty, you can always Ask A Librarian to help you.
80 scanned hard copies in the Country Studies Series by the Federal Research Division. Intended for a general audience, to describe and analyze the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of select countries throughout the world. Most cover a single foreign country; a few cover several countries or a geographic region. The series includes several books on countries that no longer exist in their original configuration—such as Czechoslovakia, East Germany, the Soviet Union, Sudan, and Yugoslavia, to offer valuable historical information and perspective. In some cases, studies on successor states are also part of the series.
Each book was written by a multidisciplinary team of social scientists, who sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official U.S. government position, policy, or decision.
Note: Some of these texts may be dated. While of use for historical context, they may not always reflect more recent events in a country
A gazetteer is an index or dictionary of geographical places, often with information on geographical makeup, and social statistics. Try searching for gazetteers in the library catalog, or try these databases: