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UN Makes Its Statistical Data Free and Searchable

Posted by Zonk on from the can't-argue-with-free dept.

NorseWolf writes "Since its foundation, the United Nations system has been collecting statistical information from member states on a variety of topics. The information thus collected constitutes a considerable information asset of the organization. However, these statistical data are often stored in proprietary databases, each with unique dissemination and access policies. As a result, users are often unaware of the full array of statistical information that the UN system has in its data libraries. The current arrangement also means that users are required to move from one database to another to access different types of information. UNdata addresses this problem by datapooling major UN databases and those of several other international organizations into one single Internet environment. The innovative design allows a user to access a large number of UN databases either by browsing the data series or through a keyword search."

7 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. Libaration by spatialguy · · Score: 3, Informative

    I wish that every organization and government would do this. It is a great tool for research. In the Netherlands "public" data is still regarded as property and our government charges us for this.

    1. Re:Libaration by Rashdot · · Score: 3, Informative

      Translated from cbs.nl:

      http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/cijfers/statline/default.htm

      "StatLine is the free electronic database of the CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics). You can create your own tabels and graphs. The information is free and easy to print and download."

      "StatLine is de elektronische databank van het CBS. U kunt in StatLine zelf tabellen en grafieken samenstellen.
      De informatie is gratis en gemakkelijk te printen en te downloaden."

      --
      This is not the sig you're looking for.
  2. Re:Maybe by kmarshallbanana · · Score: 4, Informative

    Its there for anyone who cares to look, eg. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods.htm

  3. Re:YERRSS!!! by rabbit994 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm not really sure how he's turning in his whatever since UNData is written in ASP.Net 2 powered by Windows 2003. He's probably laughing all the way to bank though.

  4. Re:Maybe by 216pi · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you really would have been interested in the source, you would have seen the BIG BOX below the data that says 'SOURCE' with a short description and a link ORIGINAL DATA that links to the organisation that provided the data. and after 2 minutes of browsing, I found this: http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=749 where you can find information how the data was collected.

    stop whining, start looking. thanks.

  5. Re:Innovation? by baboonlogic · · Score: 4, Informative

    Like this?

    Gapminder is the tool. I hope they incorporate these fresh stats soon!

  6. Re:Innovation? by bangthegong · · Score: 2, Informative

    Love the gapminder, figured someone would post that. If anyone is not familiar, this presentation from TED should shed some light on why this UN development is important.
    http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/92
    I also encourage you to check out their podcast, just search "gapminder" on iTunes.