Objectives
Overview of the Country
Newspapers
Culture and Customs
Geography and Maps
Travel Guides and Browsing
These resources provide general information about the UK and Ireland:
CIA World Factbook
provides country profiles which are updated every two weeks online. Each profile includes basic information about a country's population, geography, government,
economy, and transportation. Find information about the UK and Ireland in their online profiles.
EIU Country Reports are published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and are updated monthly. The EIU England Report and the
EIU Ireland Report focus primarily on economic and
political information. Because this searchable database is a subscription service,
access is limited to UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff.
BBC Country Profiles
are published by the British Broadcasting Company, and are updated regularly. The UK Country Profile and the
Ireland Country Profile
provide brief overviews of country history, media, and general facts. Profiles also list local radio stations, television stations, newspapers; and provide access to related audio and video clips from the BBC's archives.
The Library of Congress Portals to the World contains lists of links to information about countries' education, politics, recreation, etc., prepared by Library of Congress subject-area experts.
The UK Portal and the
Ireland Portal are highly useful for in-depth country research.
The U.S. State Department maintains current information (called "Background Notes") on every country in which the U.S. has an embassy.
Information about national security, demographics, politics, history and travel can be found in
Background Note: United Kingdom and
Background Note: Ireland.
