What follows is a summary of our firm discussion of (1) what we'd want to know about a country, and (2) the sources we'd look to in finding that information. It has been pulled together by Ken Limore from your papers, and my notes of our group discussion. Rather than edit his memo I'll just pass it along to you as Ken Limore wrote it.
I would add only the following: Of the many "almanacs" that are published, there is one called The World Almanac that comes out every December. (The current one is dated "1997.") You may have a copy. If not, you can find one in almost any library. In it, you will find a section devoted to countries. Because I would like for our country descriptions to contain at least some common data (for purposes of preparing some charts or graphs of comparison) I would appreciate your getting from the latest edition of The World Almanac the following data regarding your country (in addition to whatever more information you want to include). (a) country name. (b) capital city. (c) population. (d) land area. (e) gross domestic product, and (f) per capita income. (g) basic unit of currency, and (h) the exchange rate (in the form of the number of those units per U.S. dollar). (i) electricity used, in billions of kilowatt hours per year. (j) number of television sets, and (k) phones (expressed in terms of numbers of persons per TV set or phone). (l) the percent of the population that is literate. And (m) the infant mortality rate (in terms of numbers of deaths per thousand live births). All of this information is there, in this one source, and should take you less than five minutes to copy. (To ensure that our information is consistent and comparable, just use The World Almanac for this purpose. If you want to update any of the figures, e.g., the rate of exchange, do it elsewhere in your country description. Or, put all the data from The World Almanac in an appendix to your description.) -- NJ
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Demographics:
Population
Ethnic background & diversity
Age Distribution
Growth Rate
Culture/Religion
Birth/Death rates
Dominant Ethnic Group
National Foods/Health Cost of living
Education
% Educated
Education levels
Educational methods/literacy rates
Language (How many speak or read English)
Literacy
Leisure Activities
popular pleasurable athletics
Tourism
Customs
Dietary Considerations
Relations of neighbors
Economic:
Currency, Monetary system
Relative Wealth
Standard of Living
Per capita income
Inflation Rate
GDP
Industrialization Level
rate of economic development
Trade Relations
Labor Costs & Laws
work habits of populationlength of day
organization of existing business/factory
Major export's & import's
Natural Resources
Land cost, population, those available for work force.
Building codes
Access to raw materials needed
Infrastructure:
Transportation (types)
Electricity & Utilities (Percentage of Population with)
Telephone availability
Climate
Technology
Computer skills
Technical skills
Training Levels/availability
Medical Services/Health Insurance coverage
Government
Presence of U.S. Military
style of government
stability of government
present state of affairs
Legal System
What kind of freedom
Political History
Penal system; crime satisfies
Taxes, permits depending on what you plan to produce
Laws, compliance regulation
protection against fraud
Library
Encyclopedias
Newspapers (articles) and News Media
World Almanac
Travel Guides
See if a native of that country is around and willing to share information
Maps
Investors Magazines
U.S. News and World Report
Internet
Demographics of country
Dialog
Technical Information
Fed. Govt..
Info,
publications
United Nations (Contact values govt.. of the country)
U.S. Embassy
UN Data
US AID Data
Nor Aid
US Reports
CIA Fact Book
Legal System
Bar association
West law/Lexis
I assume that there are various statistical surveys about various Asian countries lying around in the basement at the law library.
Trade Publications
Foreign Business Journals
The country's board of journals may be helpful
Stock Market journals
Resource People
Scholars in areas of interest
Talk to Political Science, Sociology, and Asian Studies Professors.
Check local schools for teachers/professors familiar with the area and or that particular country.
Find information of the past relations at the US with these countries.
Talk to business leaders already engaged with county
Some churches may have ties to a particular country as well.
The American Chamber of Commerce in [Country]
Overseas private investment Corp.