Comparing countries is a common assignment given to elementary, middle, and high school social studies students. Obviously, the required depth of analysis differs as the students get older, but there is some baseline data commonly used in all grades. The following are three good places for students to start their research for country comparison assignments.

The CIA’s World Factbook is probably the most well-known collection of information for every country in the world. The World Factbook offers an interactive map that students can use to find information by clicking on a region or country. Students can also locate data by choosing a country from a drop-down menu.

The BBC offers a resource similar to the CIA’s World Factbook. The BBC’s Country Profiles offers data, but also includes some narrative paragraphs about each country. The BBC furnishes a short history of each country and has a timeline of key events for each country.

Wolfram Alpha can also be a good place to find data about countries. Simply enter a country’s name into the search box on Wolfram Alpha and it will generate a list of data commonly used in comparing countries.