Geography: Datasets & Statistics

Information on books, journals, databases and other useful geography resources.

Data Analysis

UCD IT Services provide access for students to a range of data analysis software packages, including NVivo, SPSS and Stata. These can be downloaded or accessed through the UCD Connect page - selecting the Software Download option for NVivo. Stata and SPSS are available via AppsAnywhere.

A full listing of the applications available and instructions for downloading can be found here.

Please contact IT Services for more information (https://fujitsuireland.service-now.com/itucd)

Useful Datasets

An Garda Siochana
Road accident statistics and other garda publications.
Annual Reports including regional demographic.
Crime data/statistics. Crime Assets Bureau statistics
Central Statistics Office
Hosts databases including StatBank; Census of Population, Agriculture and several other public sector areas.
Includes statistical databases from International Organizations such as Eurostat, ECB, OECD, UNECE, UNSC, & IMF.
Corine Landcover
Available to download from the EPA website. The EU established Corine in 1985 to create pan-European databases on land cover, biotopes (habitats), soil maps and acid rain. Corine data shows land cover types for Ireland as interpreted from satellite images. It uses 44 standard land cover types across Europe so that Corine Landcover data for all European Member States can be compared across Europe. Land cover is different to land use: Land cover means what is physically covering the land (such as forests, bogs, water, manmade surfaces) and land use refers to the function of the land (what it is being used for).
There have been 5 releases of Corine to date: 1990, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018.
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Further information about CORINE is available here: http://www.epa.ie/soilandbiodiversity/soils/land/corine/
Irish Social Science Data Archive (ISSDA)
Surveys included are Growing up in Ireland; Opinion Poll data; Cross National Comparative Data, Social and Political Attitudes Survey, NCPP Employee Attitudes Survey, Irish National Election Study, Ageism and Ageing, Eurostudent and Attitudes to Disability
ESRI (Economic & Social Research Institute)
A leading European research centre in the social sciences focusing on economic and social change in Ireland

Eurostat
The Statistical Office of the European Union. Provides high-quality statistical information on the EU Member States Includes information on Eurostat printed and electronic publications Data is charged for but some key indicator snapshots are free to view.
European Social Survey (ESS)
A biennial multi-country survey covering over 30 nations, funded jointly by the European Commission, European Science Foundation and academic funding bodies in each participating country.
Transition Reports
Reports on developments in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and analysis of the transition to market economies and macroeconomic performance.
Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives
National data archives for social science teaching and research in Europe (also provides links to Australia and USA archives).
UK Data Archive (UKDA)
Contains the largest collection of digital data in the Social Sciences and Humanities in the U.K.
European Regions Airline Association
Provides monthly traffic analysis on airline passenger traffic, punctuality, freight and movement data in PDF format

FedStats
Acts as a portal to the full range of US Government statistical information provided by over 100 US agencies. Topics include economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more.
FAO Statistical Databases
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations helps developing countries modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices

OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
OECD iLibrary contains all the publications and datasets released by OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and International Transport Forum (ITF) since 1998. Formerly SourceOECD, the platform comprises 20 Book collections by theme, containing all OECD monographs and reports; 24 periodicals; a reference title; and the OECD statistical databases.

GeoHive Global Statistics
Non commercial site providing comparative information on countries and cities of the world.
Charts on population, natural resources, wealth, infrastructure, energy consumption and resources etc
Global Forecasting Unit
From the Economist Intelligence Unit, a market-leading forecasting tool for the world economy. It predicts and explains the key issues and trends in important developed and emerging markets, spelling out their implications for business and the world economy over the next five years.
International Energy Agency (IEA)
The Energy Statistics Division publishes data on energy production, trade, stocks, transformation, consumption, prices and taxes and greenhouse gas emissions. Includes data from the 28 OECD member countries and over 100 non-OECD countries world-wide.

World Development Indicators Online This link opens in a new window
World Development Indicators Online, published by the World Bank, is a comprehensive database of development information covering more than 575 indicators, 225 countries, and 18 regional and income groups. The extensive collection includes data on population, income, social, economic, financial, natural resources and environmental indicators from 1960 onwards.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Profiles and global datasets on the subjects of education, literacy, culture and communication, and science and technology, plus reports generated from these resources
United Nations Statistics Division
Provides access to a wide range of official statistical outputs and services. A limited amount of data is available free of charge e.g. summaries of world population, health, education, employment, and other social indicators.
WHO World Health Organisation Statistics
Key international health statistics.

Finding Data Tutorial

As a student you are probably using research data for assignments in which your findings are based on evidence you have gathered. Use this tutorial to help you understand the types of data available for reuse, where to find these data and how to use them in your own research.

At the end of this 10-minute tutorial, you will be able to: