Online Resources and Databases

This list includes both freely accessible databases and those the Library subscribes to that can be used for researching African economy and business. Some are specific to business while others like newspaper databases can be used for general research, as well as for researching business people, companies, industry developments, etc. In addition, many of the news sources contain advertising which is searchable as well and can be valuable for company research.

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Africa-Wide, NiPAD External This link opens in a new window
Incorporating South African Studies and African Studies, Africa-Wide NiPAD contains over 2 million records with full-text links on all aspects of Africa. Topics covered include politics, history, economics, business, mining, natural sciences, environment, development, social issues, anthropology, literature, language, law, music, tourism and much more. Sources include books, periodicals and magazines articles, radio and television broadcasts, newspapers, pamphlets, maps, reports, theses and music recordings and much more.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
Africa Confidential External This link opens in a new window
Africa Confidential is one of the longest-established specialist publications on Africa, with a considerable reputation for being first with in-depth news and analysis on significant political, economic and security developments across the continent. Their track record owes much to a comprehensive network of local correspondents, and the connections built up throughout Africa since they started publishing back in 1960. Why confidential ? This continent-wide, on-the-ground coverage enables them to identify and monitor upcoming issues long before they are picked up by the general media and analyse their real significance for the readers of Africa Confidential. Whats more, all their contributors are strictly anonymous, a principle that was established from the outset in 1960 to ensure writers personal safety in the turbulent, early years of post-colonial African independence. Hence the newsletter's title. None of Africa Confidential's commentary, news and analysis is syndicated to international news services, re-sold to web-based information aggregators like Reuters or LexisNexis, or aggregated on free sites like Google News. The news and analysis in Africa Confidential is original, timely, and insightful - actionable intelligence not available from any other media source. Thats why, more than 50 years after its founding, Africa Confidential remains at the forefront of reporting on the continents key political, economic and security developments.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
African Journals Online (Open Access) External This link opens in a new window

AJOL is the world's largest online collection of African-published, peer-reviewed scholarly journals, providing free hosting for over 380 peer-reviewed journals from 29 African countries, using the internet and open source software. AJOL's partner journals cover the full range of academic disciplines with particularly strong sections on health and agriculture. Access to full-text articles of open access journals is free, while access to other published materials is fee-based all abstracts, however, are free.
AllAfrica.com External This link opens in a new window
Contains the full text of over 1000 stories daily in English and French from over 125 African news organizations. The searchable archive has over 900,000 articles from newspapers, news agencies and publications all over the African continent.
Premium content available on-site only.
Columbia International Affairs Online External This link opens in a new window
CIAO contains theory and research on policy issues and current events in international affairs. Includes the full text of working papers from university and private research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, abstracts and some full-text of journal articles, books, policy briefs, case studies, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences. Also contains links to selected Web pages, a listing of upcoming conferences in the field, country briefs and maps from the Central Intelligence Agency, and a citation guide. Updated biweekly.
EIU Viewpoint External This link opens in a new window
EIU Viewpoint is a new fully-integrated solution for content from the Economist Intelligence Unit. Viewpoint gives you more insight with analyst-curated macro Current themes, critical to understanding core issues in today’s changing world. Explore the new intuitive interface for fast, business-critical insights and use a state-of-the-art tool to find and chart the data series you need. The platform covers 203 geographies, providing you with precision tools to seize opportunities, weigh risks, monitor policy change and assess new markets. Content includes:
- Curated macro trends and major events intelligence
- Country-specific short, medium and long-term forecasts
- Industry data and analysis for 26 sectors
- Proprietary ratings on the business environment
- Supply and demand forecasts for 40 critical goods

Electornic Journals and Newspapers on Africa External

A collection of freely available online journals and newspapers about Africa curated by Columbia University Libraries.

EMIS Intelligence External This link opens in a new window
Collection of news and financial information for over 100 emerging market countries in Africa & the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Central Asia (Caucasus) and Asia, and Latin America. Included are primary news sources (full-text), financial data (including reports on financial markets, companies and industries), over 1 million listed and private company profiles, statistics, macroeconomic forecasts and analysis, and legal and regulatory information. Arranged by country, ISI emerging markets also includes country profiles, exchange rates, and business and political news approximately 9,000 publications of data, research and news from unrivalled sources (from the Economist Intelligence Unit and ViewsWire, as well as other local and global sources).
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.

FRED Economic Data External

FRED® is a database of over 154,000 economic time series from 59 sources. With FRED®, you can download data in Microsoft Excel and text formats and view charts of data series. Search for African data by country.

Nexis Uni External This link opens in a new window
Contains over 6,000 news, business, and legal sources, including deep backfiles and up-to-the-minute stories in national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news, and non-English language sources. Use the included Company Dossier module to retrieve detailed company information and financial performance measures or identify and compare companies matching specific criteria. Areas covered include:
- NEWS Full text of hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and newswires from the U.S. and around the world Hard-to-find broadcast transcripts from the major television and radio Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other foreign-language newspapers and magazines
- LEGAL Comprehensive coverage of US federal and state case law and statutory law Law review articles from over 500 publications Legal news from more than 300 legal newspapers, magazines, and newsletters Patents from 1971 forward
- BUSINESS Company Dossier service, including detailed financial and operating data on over 43 million US and international companies Business and trade publications SEC filings
OECD iLibrary External This link opens in a new window

OECD iLibrary is the gateway to OECDs analysis and data. Contains all the publications and datasets released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessement), and International Transport Forum (ITF) since 1998. Arranged under 19 thematic areas covering issues in agriculture and food, development, economics, education, employment, energy, environment, finance and investment, governance, industry and services, nuclear energy, science and technology, social issues, taxation, trade, transport, and urban, rural and regional development. Types of OECD publications include ebooks, papers, statistics, factbook and glossaries.
NOTE: To access SourceOECD Books, Papers, Statistics, Factbook, or Glossaries, please click on the appropriate tab.
PAIS International External This link opens in a new window
PAIS International now includes PAIS Archive. Chronicling global public policy and social issues, the Public Affairs Information Service provides citations to over 3,600 journal articles, books, hearings, reports, gray literature, government publications, Internet resources, and other publications from over 120 countries. Retrospective material dates from the early twentieth century through the mid-1970s. Worldwide in geographic scope, PAIS includes coverage of publications in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish with English language abstracts and subject headings that deal with public affairs. Links to web resources and publisher websites. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed.
Middle East and Africa Database External This link opens in a new window
The Middle East and Africa Database is a bibliographic and fulltext database that provides area coverage (especially for political development, social development, foreign policy, economic development, investment, oil and petrochemicals, trade and technological industries) for the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Arabs, Iranians, Turks and Africans worldwide, including in Europe and North and South America. The database is designed to provide easy bibliographic and fulltext access to journals, newspapers, conference proceedings, press releases, books, manuals, magazines, and ephemera.

World Bank Open Data External

Data Catalog provides a list of all the available databases. You can refine the list by topics, economic coverage, periodicity and access options.

These are links to official websites of select international organizations.

Africa Business Association External
Organization offering events, partnerships and publications with the goal of fostering economic growth.
African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) External
Agency within the African Union (AU); e-library contains freely available annual reports on various topics.
African Development Bank (AfDB) External
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a multilateral development finance organization established to contribute to the economic development of member nations.
African Union (AU) External
The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999). —From AU website's description
International Finance Corporation External
The site of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank provides broad-based business and economic information for investors, including news and country profiles. To locate individual country information, select a region and then select "Member Countries."
International Growth Centre (IGC) External
UK-based organization working in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, producing research and reports on sustainable development.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) External
Provides a list of publications and reports on member countriesExternal. World Economic OutlookExternal (WEO) database offers analysis and projections of economic developments, policies, financial markets, and the global economic system.
International Statistical Agencies
List of international statistical agencies, including African countries, provided by the US Census Bureau. Excellent place to start seeking the official country level data and data sets provided by the government of each African country.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) External
Provides country specific reports and analysis.
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) External
Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, ECA'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. —From ECA website's description
US Agency for International Development. Economic Analysis & Data Services (EADS)
This agency provides development data and quantitative analytical tools as well as information on USAID projects by country.
World Bank. Africa External
News, research and data on African economic development.
World Trade Organization (WTO) External
Research and data on economic and trade policy issues.

These are links to the official websites of think tanks that research the African economy.

African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) External
Think tank in support of diverse, competitive economic growth in the African continent.
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) External
Think tank with goal to inform economic policy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Atlantic Council: Africa Center External
The Africa Center works to promote dynamic geopolitical partnerships with African states and to redirect US and European policy priorities toward strengthening security and bolstering economic growth and prosperity on the continent.—From ACET website description.
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Africa Program External
Center offering research and analysis on U.S. Policy toward Africa
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) External
European economic policy think tank that includes reports and research from around the world.
Chatham House: Africa External
Research and policy analysis of growth and security in Africa.
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) External
Canadian think tank provides studies on sustainable development internationally.
RAND: Africa External
Freely available reports published 1967-current. Limit search by content types, subtopics and authors.
Woodrow Wilson Center. Africa External
Chartered by Congress, the Wilson Center provides nonpartisan counsel and insights on global affairs to policymakers through deep research, impartial analysis, and independent scholarship. —From Wilson Center website description.

This is a list of current websites related to international and foreign trade with countries in Africa.

African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA) External
The AfCFTA is a trade agreement between 55 of the African Union (AU) and 8 Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to boost intra-continent trade.
Country Commercial Guides (International Trade Administration)
Country commercial guides provide reports on market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business customs prepared at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies' professionals.
Market Access Map (International Trade Center) External
"Developed to support the needs of exporters, trade support institutions, trade policy makers and academic institutions in developing countries this database provides information about customs tariffs (including tariff preferences) applied by 196 countries and faced by 239 countries and territories. It also covers tariff rate quotas, trade remedies, rules and certificates of origin, bound tariffs of WTO members, non-tariff measures and trade flows to help users prioritize and analyze export markets as well as prepare for market access negotiations. Users can also find ad-valorem equivalents for all non ad-valorem duties and perform aggregations of products and countries as well as simulate tariff reduction scenarios." -- From Market Access Map website description
Prosper Africa
Trade and investment initiative between U.S. and Africa helping investors do business in African markets.
U.S. Department of State U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets
Provides information on US relations with African nations, political and economic trends, and travel advisories.
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
Search by region or country to find the reports and data from the US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service. Particularly useful for information on US agricultural exports to Africa.
World Trade Organization (WTO) External
The World Trade Organization deals with global rules of trade between nations. Site features extensive online resources on trade policy, practice, and legal text, policy reviews, news, archives, and trade statistics on African countries and a large database of full text official documents.

The following links are useful general websites related to African business and economies.

African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) External
Established in 1993, the aim of the African Stock Exchanges Association (ASEA) is to provide a formal framework for the mutual co-operation of stock exchanges in the African region. Its functions include the exchange of information and assistance in the development of member exchanges..
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook
The World Factbook provides information on the government, geography, people, and economies of the African countries.
Global Edge Insights External
A extensive collection of annotated links to resources selected by specialists at Michigan State University. Arranged by region or country, the sites provides market information for many African nations, as well as the region as a whole.

African Business & Economic Resources

Online Resources and Databases