The Monthly Bulletin of Statistics Online presents current economic and social statistics for more than 200 countries and territories of the world. It contains 51 tables, comprising over 100 indicators, of monthly, quarterly and annual data on a variety of subjects illustrating important economic trends and developments, including population, industrial production indices, price indices, employment and earnings, energy, manufacturing, transport, construction, international merchandise trade and finance.

For more than 80 years, the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics has been published on a continuous basis by the United Nations Statistics Division and previously by the League of Nations. More than any other publication of statistics, the MBS has proven to be a unique source of global economic data over the years.

Comparability of the data

A brief technical note accompanies each table. In describing the scope and nature of the data in the tables the notes employ the international statistical terms and definitions in current use. Where individual series differ fundamentally from the descriptions in the notes, the differences are indicated in footnotes to the extent possible. The reader should consult the references indicated for detailed definitions and explanatory notes of the individual series.

Time period

The time period presented varies among series, countries and regions. The monthly and quarterly data start, for the most part, with 2006, although some earlier data are available. For the majority of the series, countries and regions, annual data are presented from 2000 to the most recent available year. In general, the annual figures are presented as monthly averages with some exceptions.

Data selection

The MBS Online Data selection screens provide the users with selection functions for data and technical notes. To get data, select countries/areas and table or series by clicking on the item (use CTRL-Click for multiple selections) and then Click the "Get data" button. To get technical notes on a series or notes on countries/areas, select one country or table/series and then Click the "Get notes" button.

Graphs

Once data are retrieved, click on the graph icon to produce a simple graphical depiction.

Downloading data

To download your data query, click "Download". The data will be saved as a Microsoft Excel Comma Separated Values (.csv) file. This file can be opened with Microsoft Excel, imported into databases or opened by applications such as SAS, SPSS etc.

Technical requirements

Internet browser: The Monthly Bulletin of Statistics website is known to be fully functional on the recent editions of Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, and is expected to run smoothly on other popular browsers as well.

Java: For graphs to be properly displayed, Java must be enabled on the browser. If the graphs cannot be seen, the Java Virtual Machine should be (re)installed. It can be downloaded from http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Downloading data: If a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file is all you need, then this file can be saved on your local directory and opened with a plain text editor, but most commonly the CSV is directly streamed to MS Excel. If you do not have MS Office installed, you can still use MS Excel Viewer; a free download it is available at http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/xlviewer.aspx

Files in PDF format: Adobe Acrobat Reader is necessary and can be downloaded for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/

If you have any technical difficulties or concerns, please let us know by using the “Contact us” form (located on the left menu and at the bottom of each screen).