Large range of data tracks trade, economic performance, and development progress
The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics provides essential data for analysing and measuring world trade, investment, international financial flows and development. Reliable statistical information is often considered as the first step during the preparation of making recommendations or taking decisions that countries will commit for many years as they strive to integrate into the world economy and improve the living standards of their citizens. Whether it is for research, consultation or technical cooperation, UNCTAD requires comparable, often detailed economic, demographic and social data, over several decades and for as many countries as possible.  In addition to facilitating the work of the secretariat’s economists, the UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics also enables other users, such as policymakers, research specialists, academics, officials from national governments or international organizations, executive managers or members of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from developing, transition or developed countries to have access to this rich statistical information. The Handbook further offers journalists comprehensive information in a presentation that meets their needs. The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2011 provides users with reliable coherent data on the following subjects:
UNCTAD has released its Handbook of Statistics 2011(1), a wide-ranging survey of numerical information on international trade flows, commodity prices, maritime transport, and the economic performances of developing countries. Large-scale trends revealed by the publication include volatile prices for commodities since the turn of the Millennium and long-term economic gains by several developing nations - from 1981 to 2010, for example, China´s share of world exports in goods and services grew by over 8 percentage points, and its share of global gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by nearly 7 percentage points. Over the same period, the United States´ share of world exports in goods declined by 3.5 percentage points and its portion of global GDP fell by nearly 2.5 percentage points. The countries of the European Union saw a decline in services export share of 8 percentage points for the period. (See chart below.) These statistics provide evidence of the growing prominence of developing economies in the global economy. (see figure) The black vertical line shows values for exports in goods (top), goods and services (circle) and services (bottom). The label in italics indicates the reverse: exports in services is shown on the top instead of on the bottom. The Handbook also shows that commodity price indices displayed record volatility from 2001 through 2010, climbing at an annual average rate of 12.2% per year. That was a sharp change from the two preceding decades, when they increased by only 0.5% per year (1981 to 1990) and fell by 1.3% per year (1991 through 2000). The price of rice, the most important staple food for a large part of the world´s population, showed the sharpest increases between 2001 and 2010, climbing by an average of 15% per year. This and much other information on commodity prices can be found in Section 4 of the Handbook. Figures for 2009-2010 also show that developing countries account for large proportions of world exports of a number of commodities and products, such as fixed vegetable fat and oil (88.7% of world exports); copper ores and concentrates (79.1%); female clothing, knitted and crocheted (75.9%); crude petroleum and bituminous oil (71.4%); and woven cotton fabrics (71.3%). Overall, the Handbook provides a broad range of statistics covering individual countries, regions, various economic groupings and the world at large. It is meant to provide essential data for analysing and measuring world trade, investment, international financial flows and development. Among the topics covered:
The Handbook is available in printed copies and on DVD. In addition, the underlying data of the Handbook are available online at UNCTADstat (http://unctadstat.unctad.org). UNCTADstat is continuously updated and provides the latest available information. Full report [PDF, 513 Pages, 2675Kb] Also available in: French Part I Chapters 1-2 [PDF, 171pp., 977 KB] Part II Chapters 3-6 [PDF, 191pp., 921 KB] Part III Chapters 7-8 [PDF, 148pp., 710 KB] ANNEX Tables and figures Figure 1: Change in world exports and GDP shares in period ´81-´10 for selected economies Source: UNCTAD calculation based on UNCTADstat. | ||||||||||
Endnotes 1.The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2011 (Sales No. B.11.II.D.1, ISBN: 978-92-1-112829-1) may be obtained from United Publications Sales and Marketing Office at the address mentioned below or from United Nations sales agents throughout the world. Price: US$ 130 (50% discount for residents of developing countries, and 75% discount for residents of least developed countries). Orders or queries should be sent to: United Publications Sales and Marketing Office, 300 E 42nd Street, 9th Floor, IN-919J New York, NY 10017, United States. tel.: +1 212 963 8302, fax: +1 212 963 3489, e-mail: publications@un.org https://unp.un.org. |
Sunday 25 December 2011
UNCTAD publishes handbook of statistics 2011
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