Research Guides: International Programs in Engineering Resources: Investigating Culture

Country Profiles

Just as you need to pack your bags, it’s important to gather and “pack” information to better prepare you for your time abroad. These resources will help you gather basic facts about the country you will visit.

BBC Country Profiles
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Country profiles from BBC News. Freely available website.
NationMaster
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Country profiles are available along with maps and graphs comparing countries' crime, economy, education, energy, environment, goegraphy, government, health, media, military, people, sports and transportation. Freely available website.

Europa World Plus This link opens in a new window
Online version of the Europa World Year Book and all nine volumes of the Europa Regional Surveys of the World series, containing detailed political, economic, and geographic information on over 250 countries and territories, including recent statistics, directory information, and current analysis

World Bank Country Profiles
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Country profiles prepared by World Bank staff are available for 157 nations. Freely available website.
US Department of State Background Notes
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This website, from the US Department of State, includes facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of countries around the world.
US Department of State Country Information

Global Facts & Figures

These resources will let you find and visualize international statistics and data.

UN Data
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Statistics produced by countries and compiled by the United Nations data system, as well as estimates and projections. Covers agriculture, education, energy, industry, labour, national accounts, population and tourism.
World Bank Open Data
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Provides download access to over 2000 indicators from the World Bank data sets including World Development Indicators.
Millenium Development Goals - Statistics
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The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.
Google Public Data Explorer
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Google Labs' Public Data Explorer makes large datasets easy to explore, visualize and communicate. As the charts and maps animate over time, the changes in the world become easier to understand.
Gapminder: for a fact-based world view
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Uses software to display various statistics about global indicators and world's countries.

Language Learning Resources

This list includes U-M language learning resources and also language learning software and packages.

U-M Language Resource Center
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The LRC manages a collection of print and media that pertain specifically to language learning. In addition, its video collection contains many feature films from all over the world. It also provides access to specialized language learning software and even a database of language learning partners!
Language Conversation Tutors and Partners
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Are you interested in finding someone to converse with in a second language? Or perhaps you need a tutor/translator? Interested in practicing your French, Spanish or English? The LRC offers several extracurricular resources to assist you with your language study.
LRC Catalog
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Here you can search the LRC collection of print and media resources (including video), which pertains specifically to langauge learning.
YABLA
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This is a language immersion service through online video that is accessible to students, faculty, and staff of University of Michigan. Languages included: French, Spanish and German.
Livemocha
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This is a freely available language learning website which combines instructional materials with social networking capabilities. Registration is required.