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Sourced statistics on the economy and politics: GDP and growth, inflation and prices, unemployment, government debt and spending, trade and public finances by country, with the original source named on every chart.
Overview
The economy is the backdrop to every other market. GDP growth, inflation, unemployment and interest rates set the conditions in which companies invest, households spend and governments tax and borrow. Political decisions, budgets, trade policy, central-bank rate moves, feed directly into those numbers, and a single data release can move currencies and markets within minutes. Following these indicators is the closest thing to reading the vital signs of a country.
This category brings together the statistics that describe that picture: how fast economies are growing, how quickly prices are rising, how many people are working, how much governments owe and spend, and how goods and money flow between countries. Comparisons across nations show who is expanding, who is tightening and where the pressures are building.
Every chart names the organisation that produced the underlying data and the date it was published, and separates reported figures from estimates and forecasts. Use the topic links above to narrow the list, or scroll to the latest statistics below.
Latest statistics
Newest first. Each chart links to its full page with source and notes.
Topics
Six areas make up the Economy & Politics category. Each block lists the indicators we track most often so you know what to expect before opening a chart.
Gross domestic product, real growth rates and GDP per capita, compared across countries and over time.
Indicators: GDP level, real growth rate, GDP per capita
Consumer price inflation, price indices and how the cost of living moves across economies.
Indicators: CPI inflation, price indices, cost-of-living change
Unemployment and employment rates and how labour markets respond to the economic cycle.
Indicators: unemployment rate, employment rate, participation
Government debt, budget deficits and public spending as a share of the economy.
Indicators: government debt to GDP, deficit, public spending
Central-bank interest rates and monetary policy decisions across major economies.
Indicators: policy interest rates, rate changes, central-bank stance
Trade balances, exports and imports and exchange-rate movements between economies.
Indicators: trade balance, exports and imports, exchange rates
Data sources
We use the organisations that produce or collect the primary data. The specific source and its publication date are shown on each chart.
World Economic Outlook data on GDP, inflation and public finances.
Development indicators and cross-country economic data.
Economic indicators and outlooks for member and partner economies.
Official GDP, inflation and labour-market releases.
Interest-rate decisions and monetary statistics.
Economic and public-finance statistics for the EU.
U.S. inflation and employment data.
International trade statistics and trade-flow data.
Questions
Economy statistics: GDP and growth, inflation and prices, unemployment, government debt, deficits and spending, central-bank interest rates, and trade and exchange rates, compared across countries.
Primary sources such as the IMF, World Bank, OECD, WTO, national statistical offices and central banks. The source and date are shown on every chart so you can check the figure yourself.
Inflation and labour data are updated monthly, GDP quarterly, and annual public-finance and forecast data when the source organisation publishes new figures. Each chart shows the date of its last update.
Yes. Reference them in reports, articles and academic work with credit to Business Stats and the original source named on the chart. For commercial reuse of full charts or datasets, contact us first.