Government Information, Statistics, and more!: United Nations Websites

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. The United Nations remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.

UN Specialized Agencies are international organizations - many of them older than the UN - that coordinate their work with the United Nations through negotiated agreements. Each of these organizations provide a variety of data and statistics about their specialties and efforts.

• FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations, leading international efforts to defeat hunger and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO works in over 130 countries.


• ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) helps 193 countries to cooperate and share the sky to their mutual benefit.


• IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development
  The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) invests in rural people so they can increase their food security, improve nutrition, increase their incomes, build resilience, expand their businesses, and take charge of their own development.


• ILO: International Labour Organization
  Since 1919 the International Labour Organization has worked with the governments, employers and workers of 187 Member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all people. The ILOSTAT database is a leading repository of Labour Statistics.


• IMF: International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund promotes sustainable growth, prosperity, financial stability monetary cooperation, increased productivity, job creation, and economic well-being. The IMF is governed by and accountable to its 190 member countries.


• IMO: International Maritime Organization
  The International Maritime Organization is responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. IMO's work supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals.


• ITU: International Telecommunication Union
  Since 1865 the International Telecommunications Union has facilitated international connectivity in communications networks, it allocates global radio spectrum, satellite orbits, and develops technical standards so that networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect.


• UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) promotes international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO's programmes contributed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.


• UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  UNIDO is mandated to promote, dynamize, and accelerate sustainable industrial development. UNIDO supports its 172 Member States through four mandated functions: technical cooperation; action-oriented research and policy-advisory services; normative standards-related activities; and fostering partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer. A subsection of their site provides a variety of Industrial Development Statistics.


• UNWTO: World Tourism Organization
  The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) promotes conscientious, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development, and environmental sustainability; and offers leadership and support to advance knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.


• UPU: Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union (UPU) was established in 1874 and is the second oldest international organization worldwide. The 192 member countries of the UPU set the rules for international mail exchanges and makes works to stimulate growth in mail, parcel, and postal financial services, and improve the quality of service for postal customers.


• WHO: World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health. WHO leads global efforts to expand universal health coverage and coordinates the world response to health emergencies.


• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization
  The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 193 member states. Balancing the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the intellectual property system works to foster a balanced and effective global intellectual property ecosystem to promote innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.


• WMO: World Meteorological Organization
  The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is the United Nations voice on the state of the Earth's atmosphere, and the weather and climate it produces. Weather, climate and the water cycle know no national boundaries, international cooperation at a global scale is essential for effective meteorological and hydrological forecasts.


• World Bank Group
  The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It works to reduce poverty, increase shared prosperity, and promote sustainable development. The World Bank Group works in every area of development, providing financial products and technical assistance to help countries share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to the challenges they face.

Statistical Treasure Troves:

UN Data
Access a web-based collection of international statistical databases through a single-entry point. You can find and download statistical resources compiled by the United Nations statistical system and other international agencies. The numerous databases or tables - called "Datamarts" - 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. You can search through their Searchbox, you can scroll through the lists of popular statistical tables for countries and regions below the Searchbox, or you can click Datamarts and scroll through the expandable lists of Datasets, Sources, and Topics. An Advanced Search and an alphabetical glossary of terminology are also provided.

Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division
The United Nations Statistics Division, in order to promote the development of national statistical systems, provides a list of links to the statistical systems of most countries. The country profiles include, among others, a brief history of the country's statistical system, legal basis, the statistical programme and more.

Food and Agriculture Organization Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)
This database contains a extensive time-series records of international food and agricultural statistics: production, trade, food-balance sheets, food aid shipments, fertilizer and pesticides, land use and irrigation, forest and fishery products, agricultural machinery, population, and more. Make sure that you read the Definitions and Standards before you search for statistics.

United Nations Statistics Division
The United Nations Statistics Division works to advance the global statistical system. They compile and disseminate global statistical information, develop standards and norms for statistical activities, and support efforts to strengthen national statistical systems. On the homepage the Topics, Data, Methodology, and Publications tabs lead to demographic, statistical, and methodological information (the Publications are available as PDFs).

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), collected by national statistical offices, line ministries and other statistical organizations. The information is arranged into four categories: Education & Literacy, Science, Technology, & Innovation, Culture, and Communication & Information. Each category leads to diverse articles on crucial topics.  Also available is a UNESCO News page, a Document Library, a Visualisation Gallery presenting information through images, Methodology, a Glossary of terminology, and a collection of articles on Data for Sustainable Development.

List of United Nations Funds, Programmes, Specialized Agencies and Others
The United Nations comprises many funds, programmes and specialized agencies, each of which have their own area of work, leadership and budget. The Specialized Agencies are independent international organizations.

Since 1947, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library has arranged for the distribution and access of United Nations documents and publications to libraries around the world. The University of Washington Libraries is one of those Depository Libraries. The UN documents are located in their Government Publications Department.