General Sources:
Population And Demographic Data
Population and demographic data are valuable for target-market
identification, marketing planning, media planning, new product development,
and the analysis of other research data. Examining sales data in relation
to population and other demographics (i.e., per capita analyses) is often
revealing and powerful.
To help you save time and avoid pitfalls, we’ve
compiled a list of credible websites that focus on population and demographic
data. Most of the sites provide the information at no cost. Here is our
list:
Population
Data | Specialized Demographics
Population Data
American
Library Association
This site provides a road map for finding various forms of demographic
data on the Internet. On a five-star scale, this is a four-star site.
DataFerrett
DataFerrett is a data mining and extraction tool that allows users to
select a data basket full of variables and then recode those variables
as needed. It also helps users develop and customize tables and select
results from a table to create charts and graphs for visual presentations.
Users can receive data for extraction into multiple formats including
ASCII, SAS, SPSS, Excel, and Access, and can move seamlessly between query,
analysis, and visualization.
Data sets available for use include: American Community
Survey; American Housing Survey; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System;
Consumer Expenditure Survey; Current Population Survey; Decennial Census
of Population and Housing; National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey; National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; National Health Interview Survey;
National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation;
Survey of Income and Program Participation; and Survey of Program Dynamics.
FedStats
FedStats provides easy access to the full range of statistics and information
produced by more than 100 U.S. Federal Government agencies.
FreeLunch.com
Provided by Moody's Economy.com, FreeLunch.com is one of the web's best
sources of free economic data. Users can quickly and easily chart and
download economic data concerning the United States, Asia, and Europe.
The site includes demographic information on households, migration, and
population. It also explores consumer markets, labor markets, international
trade, money and credit, prices, GDP, real estate, government, and stock
markets.
Eurostat
Eurostat is the statistical agency for the EU. The site provides access
to monthly, quarterly, and annual data from 1960 onwards. Topics include
general statistics; regional statistics; economy and finance; population
and social conditions; industry, services, and transport; and intra- and
extra-EU trade statistics.
Historical
Statistics Of The United States
Historical Statistics of the United States provides statistics from colonial
times to the present, including statistics on the U.S. population, characteristics,
vital statistics, internal and international migration; statistics on
work and welfare, economic structure, and performance; economic sectors;
and statistics on governance and international relations. Tables can be
downloaded in Excel or CSV formats. Entire groups of tables can be downloaded
as a zip file for those who want to create custom tables.
Infochimps
Infochimps is an open catalog and marketplace for the world's data. Users
can share, sell, curate, and download statistics related to topics such
as housing, employment, commodities, spending, income, health, births,
and government data. Essentially, Infochimps is a portal to other government,
academic, and private sites that offer free statistics useful to marketers
and researchers.
International
Monetary Fund (IMF)
The IMF publishes a range of time-series data on IMF lending, exchange
rates, and other economic and financial indicators. Manuals, guides, and
other materials on statistical practices at the IMF, in member countries,
and of the statistical community at large, are also available. Information
includes the following:
- World Economic Outlook Databases (WEO):
Download time-series data for GDP growth, inflation, unemployment, payments
balances, exports, imports, external debt, capital flows, commodity
prices, and more.
- International Financial Statistics (IFS):
Nearly 32,000 time series covering more than 200 countries, starting
in 1948. The information includes exchange rates, fund accounts, and
the main global and country economic indicators.
- Joint External Debt Hub(JEBH):
External debt data and selected foreign assets from international creditors/markets
and national debtor sources.
- Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS):
The BOPS yearbook includes annual aggregate and detailed time series
for balance of payments and international investment position for countries;
provides world and regional tables for balance of payments components
and aggregates; and descriptions of methodologies, compilation practices,
and data sources used by individual countries.
Integrated Public use Microdata Series (IPUMS-USA)
IPUMS-USA is a project dedicated to collecting and distributing U.S. census
data. Its goals are to collect and preserve data and documentation, harmonize
data, and disseminate the data free of charge.
Office
of Population Research at Princeton University
Princeton’s population research office is a leading demographic
research and training center. The office has a distinguished history of
contributions in formal demography and the study of fertility change.
In recent years there has been increasing research activity in the areas
of health and well-being, social demography, and migration and urbanization.
Population
Reference Bureau (PRB)
PRB provides up-to-date population information in a format that is easily
understood by advocates, journalists, and decision-makers. The bureau
focuses on reproductive health and fertility; children and families; population
and the environment; population futures—aging, inequality, poverty,
migration, and urbanization; and gender.
Population
Statistics
Here you will find a historical, demographical, and statistical overview
of the population of all countries, their administrative divisions, and
their important cities. The research here is quite wide, but not very
deep.
Sustainableworld.com
This site has been developed to help government officials, students, researchers
, and others interested in development issues find free (or at least reasonably
affordable) sources of national economic and social data online. The site
also examines some of the issues that complicate the work of anyone wanting
to use this data. This site concentrates on identifying online sources
of multisectoral and sectoral data at the national level. The emphasis
is on free or inexpensive data, but for completeness some of the more
expensive sites have been listed as well. The online sites identified
will normally be hosted by international organizations, governments, or
NGOs. Each source will be discussed briefly and, in some cases, samples
of possible uses of the data will be provided.
United
Nations’ Department Of Economic And Social Affairs Population Division
This UN agency facilitates access by governments to information on population
trends and their interrelationships with social and economic development.
The official UN demographic estimates and projections are prepared for
all countries and areas of the world, as well as urban and rural areas
and major cities, and serve as the standard and consistent set of population
figures for use throughout the UN system. International migration, infant,
child, and maternal mortality and increased adult mortality, in some regions,
as well as the demographic impact of AIDS, are critical emerging issues
that are also addressed.
U.S.
Census Bureau Demographics
The nation’s Census Bureau offers a wealth of social, economic,
political, and religious demographic data.
U.S.
Census Bureau (International Data Base [IDB])
This site includes tables with demographic data for selected indicators,
countries and user-selected regions, and years. It also includes country
rankings and world population information, such as global population trends,
links to historical population estimates, population clocks, and estimates
of population, births, and deaths occurring each year, day, or hour.
U.S.
Department Of Labor – Bureau Of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Several programs at the Bureau of Labor Statistics make significant amounts
of data available for specific demographic categories. Demographic categories
used by BLS include sex, age, race, and ethnic origin. The data by age
generally are limited to persons of working age, defined as 16 years and
older. Data on race generally are for blacks and whites. Data on ethnicity
are confined chiefly to information on persons of Hispanic origin.
BLS statistics available by demographic category:
- Demographic Characteristics of the Labor
Force (current population survey): A monthly household
survey provides comprehensive information on the employment and unemployment
of the population classified by age, sex, race, and ethnic origin, as
well as other characteristics such as educational attainment and veteran
status.
- Geographic Profile: The
Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment contains some demographic
information from the Current Population Survey for regions and divisions,
the 50 states, and the District of Columbia.
- Consumer Spending: The Consumer
Expenditure Survey measures the spending habits of U.S. consumers and
includes data on their expenditures, incomes, and demographic characteristics.
- Injuries and Illnesses:
Demographic details are available for both fatal and nonfatal occupational
injuries along with information about the event producing the injury,
the industry in which it occurred, and other details of the incident.
- Longitudinal Studies (National Longitudinal
Surveys): This program provides information about many
aspects of the lives and labor market experiences of six groups of men
and women at multiple points in time, some stretching over several decades.
- Time Use: The American Time
Use Survey (ATUS) measures the amount of time people spend doing various
activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing.
U.S.
And World Population Clocks (U.S. Census Bureau)
This Census Bureau site is full of interesting and little-known facts
about the spiraling population of America and the world. For example,
America nets a new resident every 12 seconds.
Specialized Demographics
Adherents.com:
Religion Statistics
Reference links to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation
statistics for over 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious
bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, and movements.
ChildStats.gov
ChildStats is part of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family
Statistics. The forum's signature report, America's Children: Key
National Indicators of Well-Being, provides annual updates on the
well-being of children and families in the United States across a range
of domains. A more detailed report alternates every other year with a
condensed version that highlights selected indicators. The report, accessible
online without charge, provides data on a great many aspects of children’s
health such as diseases, infection, economic well-being, physical environment
and safety, behaviors, etc.
GenderStats
(The World Bank Group)
GenderStats is an electronic database of gender statistics and indicators provided
by The World Bank. Searchable by country, it covers a wide range of subjects such
as education, health, and political involvement by gender, where data is available.
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