Finding Environmental Statistics I

The student may wish to know:

Where can I find information about world environmental statistics?

Our reply might be:

One place to look would be the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) website.

If we go to the OECD website and click on the Data tab at the top of the page, we should find a lot of useful information.

The student may next inquire:

Will the OECD site offer statistics about the Kingdom and other nations in Asia and the ASEAN community?

Our reply:

Yes, just do a subject search. The key offers tables on CO2 emissions and water abstractions as well as reports and databases on energy. 

There is also a special OECD site dedicated to environmental data.

The student may then ask:

Are there any more reliable international data sources on the environment.

We might say:

Yes, the United Nations website UNData.

As its website explains,

UNdata is a web-based data service for the global user community. It brings international statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single-entry point. Users can search and download a variety of statistical resources compiled by the United Nations (UN) statistical system and other international agencies. The numerous databases or tables collectively known as “datamarts” contain over 60 million data points and cover a wide range of statistical themes including agriculture, crime, communication, development assistance, education, energy, environment, finance, gender, health, labour market, manufacturing, national accounts, population and migration, science and technology, tourism, transport and trade.

In addition to the “datamarts”, the following additional resources are provided as links on the home page for users quick reference:

Specialized databases external to UNdata, such as UNComtrade, SDG indicators and MBS Online.

Popular Statistical Tables produced as part of the UN Statistical Yearbook publication; but unlike the Yearbook which is published once a year, these ‘live’ tables are released as soon as possible after new data becomes available. Each table provides at a glance a range of statistics around a specific theme (i.e. migration) across countries (areas) and regions. The tables are produced from more than 20 international statistical sources compiled by the UN statistical system and other international agencies. For more information visit the UN Statistical Yearbook section on the UN Statistics Division website.

Statistical profiles of countries (areas) and regions produced as part of the World Statistics Pocketbook publication and are a web-based (html) adaptation of the UNdata “apps” found on the Google Play and Apple Store. Each profile provides at a glance important statistics on a specfic country (area) or world region. The profiles are produced from more than 20 international statistical sources compiled by the UN statistical system and other international agencies. Find more information on the contents here or visit the World Statistics Pocketbook section on the UN Statistics Division website.

UNdata was launched as part of a project in 2005, called “Statistics as a Public Good”, whose objectives was to provide free access to global statistics, to educate users about the importance of statistics for evidence-based policy and decision-making and to assist National Statistical Offices of Member Countries to strengthen their data dissemination capabilities. The project was implemented in partnership with Statistics Sweden and the Gapminder Foundation with partial financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)