EC 0191.1: Urbanization in the Developing World

A guide to social science data sources organized by topic and geography.

From World Bank. See the data in a table, on a map, in a graph, download it...

"Through original reporting, sharp analysis, and visual storytelling, CityLab informs and inspires the people who are creating the cities of the future—and those who want to live there."

Also covers agglomerations & administrative divisions for all countries of the world. Statistics and interactive maps of these populations

Find this data/statistics and other data/statistics about world cities

U.S. Census Bureau

There is a new section for Cities under COUNTRIES & CONSUMERS. You can get analysis reports, data and all sort of good information, and it lists the sources of where the info came from.

Provides statistics on 90 large metropolitan regions in the OECD countries and shows how these regions have changed over the past decade.

Print: Ref HA175 .M55 2003

Print: Ref HA 1107 .M5 2003

Print: Ref HA 4675 .M552 2003

Documents, previously known as World Development Sources (WDS) contains more than 14,000 World Bank documents which are made available to the public in order to better share the institution's knowledge base.

Annual entries begin in 1945; quarterly and monthly entries begin in 1945. Balance of payments, interest and exchange rates, trade and banking statistics; tables for every country.

See CURRENT data at a glance. If you want to see and create older reports use the Build Query option above.

Full online access to resources, covering trade, environment, agriculture, technololgy, economic development, and more. The books, reports, working papers and periodicals are full-text and the databases have extensive statistical information.

Provides access to statistical data produced by U.S. Federal agencies, States, private organizations, and major intergovernmental organizations. There are up to 2 billion charts, maps, views, rankings, time series and tables available for use in the Data-Planet repository. Data-Planet Statistical Datasets offers powerful capabilities to compare & contrast multiple data series, perform statistical calculations on the data, and customize output views.

Explore the Largest Repository of Statistics and Datasets.

General statistics from many sources provided with capability to generate graphs and maps.

Full-text of Country Reports, Country Profiles, Country Finance and Country Commerce series, and Risk Briefing.

Global Insight provides comprehensive economic, financial, and political coverage of countries, regions, and industries. The information and analysis covers over 200 countries and spans more than 170 industries using a unique combination of expertise, models, data, and software within a common analytical framework to support planning and decision making.

(University of Auckland, New Zealand) Detailed information on access to official government resources from many countries.

Harvard's Lamont Library's hub for data and government materials. Directions for accessing the collections are listed on the website

This page at the US Census Bureau has alternative links to official statistical agencies (try if the NZ site above does not help).

"Through original reporting, sharp analysis, and visual storytelling, CityLab informs and inspires the people who are creating the cities of the future—and those who want to live there."

The CIA's handbook of basic geographical and statistical information on the nations of the world. Includes maps.

POPIN strives to make international, regional and national population information, particularly information available from United Nations sources, easily available to the international community.

Promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all.

USAID's Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) is the largest online resource for USAID funded technical and program documentation, with over 134600 documents available for electronic download. Search USAID's online database of agency-funded technical and program-related documents to download USAID documents in PDF format for free.

World Databank.
Statistical information comprised of 1,000 indicators and time series from 1965 for 53 African countries. Data include social, economic, financial, natural resources, infrastructure, governance, partnership, and environmental indicators.

2002 to the present. From the OECD

Visualize all sorts of data on Africa with different layers.

Comparative series of national public attitude surveys on democracy, markets, and civil society in Africa.

World Bank information and research on economic development, education, energy, environment, health, trade, urban development, water, etc in the Middle East and North Africa.

Multi-country social survey designed to assess citizen attitudes about public affairs, governance, and social policy in the Arab world, and to identify factors that shape these attitudes and values. Seeks public opinion on such topics as: support for democratic institutions, political interest and participation, attitudes toward terrorism and political violence, conceptions and interpretations of Islam, the relationship between religion and politics, and attitudes toward Middle East international relations. Also available through ICPSR.

2008 to the present. Each year focuses on a different topic.

From Vanderbilt University Dept of Political Science

1997 to the present

Click "IP Login" for full access
Provides India-specific socio-economic statistical facts and figures culled from various secondary level authentic sources. Includes industry, labor, tourism, population, health, education, and general data.

Established in 1966, we are a major source of development financing for the Asia and Pacific region. With more than $17.5 billion in approved financing, and 2,800 employees from 59 countries, ADB - in partnership with member governments, independent specialists and other financial institutions - is focused on delivering projects that create economic and development impact.

From the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). 2007 to the present available.
Download tables in Excel.

The 2012 Yearbook includes country profiles for the 58 regional members and associate members of ESCAP. The country profiles present key indicators selected from the complete list of indicators that are published in the Yearbook.

Current and historical data for China, including geospatial data/GIS and Census data. It provides easy access to the various statistical yearbooks published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, comprehensive statistics, and Census data of economy and population at national, provincial, city, county, and even township levels.

View China data on this map, turn on layers for population of the country or for specific areas; many other options!

From the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). includes country-level data related to demography, migration, education, health, poverty, gender, employment, economy, government finance, employment, transport, and environment.

• World Bank Research & Outlook
• Data
• Projects & Operations

Search for publications, statistical reports, etc.

Center for Governmental Studies (CGS).
PolicyArchive is an innovative, new digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research.

is one of the main resource you should be using in your urban economics research.

A nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization.

A private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions