Research Guides: Core Academic Skills: Global Awareness: Countries of the World

Overviews

Library of Congress Country Studies
Guides to the history, politics and social institutions of different countries.
U.S. Department of State Background Notes
Provides background notes on every nation. Also includes travel advisories and much more.

The World Factbook
Produced for US policymakers and coordinated throughout the US Intelligence Community, marshals facts on every country, dependency, and geographic entity in the world. It provides information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
Nation Master
A Data source and handy way to graphically compare nations. Compiles data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. Favorably reviewed by the American Library Association.
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NationMaster has been reviewed by several major media outlets, including the New York Times, CNN, and The Christian Science Monitor.

Global Road Warrior This link opens in a new window
Provides information on the history and culture of countries around the world. Includes information for the business traveler.
A to Z Maps This link opens in a new window
Thousands of world, continent, country, and state maps. Includes political, physical, outline, population, precipitation, climate, and other thematic maps.

Nations of the World
Compiled by the Law Library of Congress, includes constitutions and information on the government of the countries, full texts of laws, regulations, and court decisions as well as links to sites providing general information.