LibGuides: Social Sciences: Data and Statistics

Canadian Statistics

Statistics Canada
"In Canada, providing statistics is a federal responsibility. As Canada’s central statistical office, Statistics Canada is legislated to serve this function for the whole of Canada and each of the provinces and territories."

The Canadian statistical system is a centralized model; meaning that most data may be accessible through Statistics Canada. Below is a list of resources that may assist in data and statistical retreival through StatsCan.

CANSIM
"CANSIM is Statistics Canada's key socioeconomic database. Updated daily, CANSIM provides fast and easy access to a large range of the latest statistics available in Canada."
The Daily
Statistics Canada's Official Release Bulletin.
The Census of Canada
The Census of Canada provides demographic and statistical data about Canadians through domestic surveys.
ODESI
"Established in 2007, (Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service and Infrastructure) is a digital repository for social science data, including polling data. It is a web-based data exploration, extraction and analysis tool that uses the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) social science data standard."
ODESI Tutorials
Need help using ODESI? Check out these tutorials!

U.S.-Based Statistical Agencies

FedStats
"FedStats, which has been available to the public since 1997, provides access to the full range of official statistical information produced by the Federal Government without having to know in advance which Federal agency produces which particular statistic."

American statistics not only provide information regarding domestic activity, but also U.S. activity with foreign nations. Below is a list of some of the most popular agencies and resources available to help guide you in your research.

Data.gov
"The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the (U.S.) Federal Government."
CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.
Economic Census (Businesses)
This source provides basic data for U.S. business establishments. A major survey is conducted every five years, with access to smaller annual surveys and yearly business patterns. Searches may be performed via industry, geographic area, subject, and more!
U.S. Federal Reserve (Banking)
This agency is involved with the banking, and the monetary system in the United States. Statistical data includes money, exchange, household finance, and much more.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (Crime)
This agency focuses primarily on accumulating data and statistics regarding offenses, offenders, victims, and law enforcement figures.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (Labour)
Use this resource to track employment, wages, benefits, unions, workplace injuries and so on.
National Center for Education Statistics (Education)
The National Center for Education Statistics provides highly accessible microdata on education, educational institutions (including schools and libraries), and school safety.
National Center for Health Statistics (Health)
The NCHS tracks statistics concerning mortality, marriage, divorce, and much more!

International Statistical Agencies

UNData
This index provides a compilation of almost 30 United Nations and agency databases in search function. Resources come from over 60 million data points from a wide variety of subjects.

The following resources provide international statistics.

World Health - Data
This website provides a data repository for global health.
World Bank - Open Data
"The Data Catalog provides download access to over 7,000 indicators from World Bank data sets."
OECD iLibrary
Statistics on agriculture, banking, trade, commerce, energy, migration and more.
Demographic Yearbook - Annuaire démographique
Contains information for United Nations member countries and areas of the world. Presents data on natality, mortality, marriage and divorce as well as information about economically active populations by age, gender, industry, occupation and status of employment. Covers the period 1948 - present, with some exceptions (1978-present -- all years; 1948-1977 -- some years missing). Missing years available in print version, call # UN1 ST3.1 D46
Global Insight
Global Insight offers economic and financial analysis and forecasting for over 200 countries. The sight offers input from over 300 economists and financial analysts.
World Development Indicators
World Development Indicators (WDI) is the World Bank's annual compilation of data about development. WDI includes over 900 indicators covering a wide range of topics, with time series for 226 countries and country groups from 1960 to the present, where data are available.
International Statistical Agencies
This in-depth list by the U.S. Census Bureau can help guide you to the best suited website for statistical data about specific countries.

Social Sciences: Data and Statistics

Canadian Statistics

U.S.-Based Statistical Agencies

International Statistical Agencies

Online Tutorials