How to find statistics

Points to consider

When searching for statistical information ask yourself:

  • are statistics likely to have been collected on this topic?
  • if so, which organisation(s) would collect/publish these types of statistics?
  • what keywords might be used to describe these statistics? For example cars might be listed under automobiles or motor vehicles

and be prepared for the possibility that:

  • statistics may not exist for the variables you require
  • the most recent statistics may be several years old
  • some statistics are not freely available

Searching the Library Catalogue

Looking for statistics within books and reports? Try searching the Library Catalogue:

Use truncation to find all possible variations of a search term e.g. asia** will find asia, asian, asiatic etc.

To locate statistics from specific organisations or government departments use an Author search. eg. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Found a useful record? Extend your search by scrolling down and using the subject headings to find other relevant titles

The Australian almanac 1999: Australia at the end of the century contains brief information on various aspects of Australian life including animals and plants, finance, health, education and general statistics 032.02/11
Europa world year book - world statistics including GDP 1963+ Print 060.5/2
Online 2005+
Finding statistics online 025.0631/1
Statistics Sources - a guide to current sources of factual quantitative information on more than 20,000 specific subjects Ask staff at Research Help
Year Book, Australia - statistics from 1901+ with summaries of statistical information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and includes the relevant ABS publication number 319.406/2

Searching databases for journal articles and reports

Journal articles can provide a valuable source for statistical research. Structure your search to include terms such as statistics, data collection, surveys or demography, eg. business* and statistic* and Australia*.
Search the databases By Faculty

Some databases provide statistical data or reports.

Business Monitor Online depending on the country, may contain data on economics, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, food & drink, infrastructure, defence, vehicles and transport. Select Service: Country Risk and Select the country, click on any story at the bottom of the page. At the top of the new page click on the link Export Data.

CIAO: Columbia International Affairs Online contains country specific information. Use the Maps/Country Data for information on births, deaths, GDP, imports, labour force, military and more. CIAO also allows comparison of statistics between countries.

Searching the Internet

The Internet is another resource to search for statistical information, if it has been collected and if it is freely available. However, search engines often produce thousands of results. Using terms such as statistics, data collection, surveys or demography will help to limit your search eg. chocolate and statistics and Australia.

Using the advanced search feature on your search engine will allow you to limit your search to a .gov (government) or .org (organisation) site. Government sites may be considered a more reliable source of statistical information. Remember to evaluate the information you retrieve from the Internet.

International statistics

  • CIA World Factbook
    Reports from the U.S.A. Central Intelligence Agency
  • GenderStats
    Database of gender statistics from The World Bank Group.
    Click on Data Query Systems tab for additional statistics such as external debt, fertility rate, net migration, labour force and more.
  • Nationmaster
    Allows comparison of nations on issues such as food, crime, economy, health, education, food and labour and in some areas creates graphs and pie charts
  • OECD Statistics
    Statistical portal arranged by Topic, collected by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development
  • OFFSTATS
    Points to statistical web sites, search by country, region and topic, hosted by the University of Auckland Library
  • UNESCO Statistics
    Data on education, science, technology, culture and communication from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
  • United Nations Statistics Division
    Portal to a range of data including links to other data sources
  • World Bank Group
    Country and topic data such as debt, GDP, infrastructure, urban development
  • World Health Organisation
    United Nations specialised agency for health

Statistical Directories

If you are not sure which organisation might collect/publish statistics, use the links below to browse topics, agencies or countries.

Australian Statistics

Year Books

Year Books are a good starting point for Australian information and statistics. The Year Book, Australia is held from 1901+ with summaries of statistical information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and includes the relevant ABS publication number.

The New South Wales Yearbook, 1904+, also provides summaries and relevant ABS publications in areas such as environment, education, health, crime & justice, transport, housing and finance. It also includes a Historical Series Tables.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

The Library subscribes to the ABS Website database which contains full text ABS publications from 1998+ , historical time series, spreadsheets and Census data . Use the search feature or links on the ABS Website to search for documents related to your topic.

The Library also holds print ABS material in the 2nd Floor Compactus. Use the ABS Catalogue of Publications and Products, copies are located next to the collection and at the Research Help desk, to locate ABS publications. Use the Library Catalogue to locate material from 1996+ by searching on the title or ABS catalogue number.

Census Data

The ABS Website database contains the census data for 2001 as well as selected data for the 1996 census. Census data will provide information on number of people in an area, how old they are, housing costs, average weekly incomes, industries that employ people, religion and more.

Guides to help you locate census information:

CURFs

CURFs are Confidentialised Unit Record Files from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). CURFs contain data sets from most of the key ABS social and labour household surveys, and provide the most detailed level of information that can be released. For more information on CURFs click here.

Illawarra Area

Statistical data for the Illawarra area may be located in a variety of sources. Use the guide How to find Facts and Statistics on the Illawarra for assistance.

ABS provides a gateway page for locating regional statistics including the Illawarra/Wollongong local government area.

Content by Research Training Librarian

Last reviewed: 30 July, 2009

       

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