Download Finding the correct statistical source Official statistics: United

Sources of Statistical Business Information
This guide gives a brief selection of sources, both print and electronic. Most print sources will
be found in the Government Publications collection on level 1. Later editions are usually
available online either via SUPrimo or the relevant webpage.
Finding the correct statistical source
Guide to official statistics (CSO)
International statistics sources: Subject guide to sources of
international comparative statistics
Business Information from Government
Gov. Pub. Serial
RD 016.31 INS
RD 029.965 BUS
Zanran: Search engine for worldwide data and statistics including charts, graphs and tables
for business & markets, industry & manufacturing and economics.
http://www.zanran.com/q/
Official statistics: United Kingdom
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
The UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and the recognised national
statistical institute of the UK. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html.
ONS is responsible for the production of a wide range of economic and social statistics. The
Publications Hub provides the latest statistics from UK Government Departments and hosts
all first releases of National Statistics. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html
For business related statistics browse the following themes:

Business and energy includes:
UK Business: Activity, Size and Location
Mergers and Acquisitions involving UK Companies
UK Business Enterprise Research and Development

Economy includes:
Balance of payments
Price Indices and Inflation
GDP and the Labour Market

Labour market includes:
Business Register and Employment Survey
Labour Market Statistics, including unemployment
Scottish Government Statistics
http://www.lib.strath.ac.uk/govpub/gov.htm
Either search for a specific publication or browse the following topics:
Business, Enterprise and Energy
Economy
Labour market
Local Government and Finance
Tourism and Culture
1
Useful UK statistics
Bank of England publishes a range of monetary and financial statistics including domestic
and international banking statistics, interest and exchange rates. Data is available in Excel
and PDF formats.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/.
Economic & Labour Market Review (previously Economic Trends)
Monthly collection of key economic indicators
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Family Spending (previously Family Expenditure Survey)
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Local Government Financial Statistics England
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/financialstatistics222012
Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Local-GovernmentFinance/PubScottishLGFStats
Social Trends
Social and socio-economic characteristics of households
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings – ASHE
(Previously New Earnings Survey)
Earnings of employees by industry, occupation and region.
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
United Kingdom Balance of Payments (CSO Pink Book)
Current and capital accounts, visible and invisible trade
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
United Kingdom National Accounts (CSO Blue Book)
National income, output and expenditure by broad section
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Official statistics: Europe/World
International Organisations
UNECE: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Links to official International and national statistical organisations
http://www.unece.org/stats/links.html
European Union
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union providing statistics at European level
that enable comparisons between countries and regions.
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/
Search for specific statistics or browse by theme. E.g.:






Economy and finance – balance of payments, interest rates, government finance
Population and social conditions, including labour market, household budgets and
income.
Industry, trade and services Presented according to the NACE activity classification
Manufactured goods (Prodcom), tourism, construction, distributive trades and
services
Agriculture and fisheries – agriculture and the environment, forestry industry,
Agricultural prices and price indices
International trade
2
United Nations
United Nations Statistics Division
Contains data on international trade, national accounts, energy, industry, environment and
demographic and social statistics gathered from national and international sources
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm
UNdata is an internet based data service enabling users to search and download a variety of
UN statistical resources. http://data.un.org
OECD
Economic and social data from member states enabling international comparisons. Full
access to OECD publications is available via SUPrimo. (Enter OECD iLibrary into the search
box)
World Bank
Comprehensive sets of data about development in countries around the world. Search by
country, topic or indicator. Key indicators include Economic Policy & External Debt, Financial
Sector, Private and public sectors. Labor & Social Protection.
http://data.worldbank.org/
International monetary Fund (IMF)
The IMF publishes a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other
economic and financial indicators.
http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm
Useful worldwide statistics
Business Monitor International Series
.
Reports available via Nexis UK and ABI/INFORM
Complete
Electronic via SUPrimo
Independent source for analysis and forecasts on Country Risk
and Industry, spanning 175 countries - will show trends,
help identify new markets, seasonal factors and prices.
Demographic Yearbook (UN)
Size, distribution and trends in population including
economic activity, income and poverty.
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Direction of Trade Statistics (IMF)
Import, export, distribution of trade data for individual
Countries. Access is via UK Data Service ESDS International
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
ESDS International (UK Data Service)
Electronic via SUPrimo
An extensive database which includes international data from the
OECD, World Bank, IMF and UN.
For help in using the ESDS Service use: Thematic guide to financial and monetary statistics
http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/support/user_guides/I4B.pdf
European Economy (EU)
Statistics and topical studies e.g. convergence, euro
Industrial Commodity Statistics Yearbook (UN)
Production figures for specific products by country
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Gov. Pub. Serial
3
International Financial Statistics (IMF)
International and national finance, including prices and
interest rates.
International Trade by Commodity Statistics (OECD)
Gov. Pub. Serial
Electronic via SUPrimo
Import and export data in US dollars broken down by
commodity and by partner country
International Trade Statistics 2012
(World Trade Organisation – WTO)
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM)
International Labour Organisation (ILO).
A comprehensive database of country-level data on 18 key indicators of the labour market
from 1980 to the latest available year.
http://kilm.ilo.org/KILMnet/
Main Economic Indicators (OECD)
Covers many countries, giving production, sales, orders
and prices
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
OECD Economic Surveys
Surveys of individual OECD countries
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Offstats: Official statistics on the web (University of Auckland Library)
Provides access to free worldwide statistics from official sources on the web. Browse or
search by topic, region or country.
http://www.offstats.auckland.ac.nz/
Penn World Tables
Provides purchasing power parity and national income accounts converted to international
prices for 189 countries/territories for some or all of the years 1950-2010.
https://pwt.sas.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt_index.php
Statistical Yearbook (UN)
Economic and social data for over 270 countries
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics
Analysis of world trade by growth rates, shares, rank
Gov. Pub. Serial/electronic
Yearbook of Labour Statistics (ILO)
Employment levels, hours, labour costs, injuries and strikes
Gov. Pub. Serial
Other sources of statistical information
Trade associations
Associations often compile more detailed statistics for their own sector. Many will have links
with similar organisations in other countries.
 Directory of British Associations
RD 068.41 DIR
Commercial publishers of market information
Provide specific information of particular markets, and often include secondary data on
population, employment, consumer expenditure and social studies. Useful publishers
include:
4
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU):
Country Report
Country Finance and Forecast Reports
Country profile
Electronic via ABI/INFORM Complete
Euromonitor:
European Marketing Data & Statistics
Consumer Europe
Consumer Americas
World consumer income and expenditure patterns
Business & Industry database provides full-text
articles from trade journals. Many of these will
provide business intelligence on specific
companies,industries, products and countries.
RD 658.8009 EUR
RD 339.4709 CON
D 339.4709 CON
D 339.3 WOR
Electronic via SUPrimo
NationMaster
Database of world statistics enabling country comparisons. Reference site contains country
statistics, graphs and pie charts.
http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php
Contact information
Library enquiries: [email protected]
Linda Emery: Business Subject Librarian
Email: [email protected]; Tel: 0141-548-4461
5