Research Guides: Statistics Resource Guide: UN Resources

Discover a wealth of data through two UN statistical portals: UNdata and UNCTADstat. Here you will also find links to various websites of the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies responsible for collecting and publishing statistical information as well as links to some UN publications.

Featured publications

United Nations Statistical Yearbook
The Statistical Yearbook is an annual compilation of a wide range of international economic, social and environmental statistics on over 200 countries and areas, compiled from sources including UN agencies and other international, national and specialized organizations. Also available in print at the UNOG Library.
United Nations Demographic Yearbook
The United Nations Demographic Yearbook collects, compiles and disseminates official statistics on a wide range of topics. Data have been collected from national statistical authorities since 1948 through a set of questionnaires dispatched annually by the United Nations Statistics Division. Also available in print at the UNOG Library.
Monthly Bulletin of Statistics
The Monthly Bulletin of Statistics Online presents current economic and social statistics for more than 200 countries and territories of the world. Also available in print at UNOG Library.

Featured Databases

UNdata This link opens in a new window
UNdata is a statistical portal which allows simultaneous searching of 24 statistical databases from United Nations Statistics and Population Divisions, UN specialized agencies, and Member Countries.
UNCTADstat This link opens in a new window
A data dissemination system providing free access to comprehensive statistical time series and indicators essential for the analysis of world trade, investment, international financial flows, and development.

United Nations Statistical Databases
Portal of United Nations Statistical Divisions different databases
Full list of United Nations statistics databases
List maintained by Dag Hammarskjöld Library at United Nations Headquarters

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 by UN
The global community is at a critical moment in its pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More than a year into the global pandemic, millions of lives have been lost, the human and economic toll has been unprecedented, and recovery efforts so far have been uneven, inequitable and insufficiently geared towards achieving sustainable development. The current crisis is threatening decades of development gains, further delaying the urgent transition to greener, more inclusive economies, and throwing progress on the SDGs even further off track.
Sustainable Development Goals Indicators by website maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
This is the official website of the United Nations providing information on the development and implementation of an indicator framework for global monitoring of the post-2015 development agenda.
Statistics and indicators for the post-2015 development agenda by UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
Assesses options for statistics and indicators in a post-2015 setting, outlining data innovations in new critical areas such as inequalities, governance, sustainability and population. The report also considers national capacities for statistics and makes some key recommendations.

Millennium Development Goals

United Nations site for the MDG Indicators
Find official data, definitions, methodologies and sources for more than 60 indicators to measure progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The data and analyses are the product of the work of the Inter-agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on MDG Indicators, coordinated by the United Nations Statistics Division.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 by United Nations
ISBN: 9789211013207
Publication Date: 2015
The report provides a final assessment of global and regional progress towards the MDGs since their endorsement in 2000. It is based on a set of comprehensive official statistics compiled by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG indicators led by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The report is available in all UN languages.

United Nations Statistical Division and the Statistical Commission

United Nations Statistics Division

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is a division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). UNSD is committed to the advancement of the global statistical system. It compiles and disseminates global statistical information, develops standards and norms for statistical activities, and supports countries’ efforts to strengthen their national statistical systems.

Find more information:

- United Nations Statistics Division publications

- @UNStats on Twitter

United Nations Statistical Commission website

The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world. It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities especially the setting of statistical standards, the development of concepts and methods and their implementation at the national and international level.

The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.

Statistics from other UN Offices and Specialized Agencies

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization
International Labour Organization (ILO)
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace.
ITC - Trade Impact for Good - Main website
The International Trade Centre (ITC) works towards global prosperity by connecting small businesses in developing countries to international markets.
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We see trade as a tool to achieve the United Nations Global Goals of ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring all people enjoy peace and prosperity by making trade more sustainable, inclusive and digital.
ITU - International Telecommunication Union
UNCTAD
UNECA - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: African Centre for Statistics The Economic Commission for Africa's mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development.
UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Bringing together 56 countries located in the European Union, non-EU Western and Eastern Europe, South-East Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and North America; UNECE's major aim is to promote pan-European economic integration.
UNECLAC - United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean CEPALSTAT is the gateway to all the statistical information of Latin America and the Caribbean countries collected, systematized and published by ECLAC.
UNESCAP - United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific The ESCAP online database includes country-level data related to demography, migration, education, health, poverty, gender, employment, economy, government finance, employment, transport, and environment.
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, culture and communication.
UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity.
UN-Habitat
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) works to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. UN-Habitat works with international climate bodies and global city networks to influence climate policy and action, promoting the role of cities and human settlements in mitigation and adaptation.
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UN-Habitat and Climate Change: https://unhabitat.org/topic/climate-change
UN-Habitat publications on Climate Change: https://unhabitat.org/knowledge/repository?p[0]=topic%3A142315
UNHCR - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. UNHCR seeks to contribute to informed decision-making and public debate by providing accurate, relevant and up-to-date statistics.
UNICEF - United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF is committed to changing the world for children. It strives to protect their rights, improve their health, and nurture their development through sound planning and monitoring of policy results. UNICEF measures the situation of children and women and tracks progress through data collection and analysis. It maintains and updates global databases and promotes dissemination of evidence-based data for planning and advocacy.
UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization Governance and Statistics assists developing countries and economies in transition to monitor, benchmark and analyze their industrial performance and capabilities, and on that basis to formulate, implement and monitor strategies, policies and programmes to improve the contribution of industry to productivity growth and the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
UNWTO - United Nations World Tourism Organization >> Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account The overall mission of the UNWTO Programme Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) is to foster the development of national Systems of Tourism Statistics (STS), the international comparability of tourism statistics and the macroeconomic analysis of tourism.
WHO - World Health Organization WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

For a more complete list, see the UNECE website: Links to Official Statistical Organizations

For specific databases from these agencies and programmes, see the: Statistical Information by Theme page of this Resource Guide.

World Statistics Day, 20 October

With resolution 69/282 on 3 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly decided to celebrate World Statistics Day every five years on 20 October.

World Statistics Day 2020
Theme: Connecting the world with data we can trust
World Statistics Day 2015
Theme: Better data, better lives
World Statistics Day 2010
Theme: Celebrating the many
achievements of official statistics