Research Guides: Latin America : Background Information

Information Sources Online

BBC News: Americas Country Profiles
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Brief country profiles for North and South America
CIA World Factbook (U.S. Central Intelligence)
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Current country profiles includes maps.
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Statistical information on each country includes land and water area, boundaries, elevations, population, birth & death rates, life expectancy, ethnic groups, GDP, inflation rate, unemployment rate, exports, imports, transportation, the military and more.
IMF eLibrary
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Free access now provided by IMF. Direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. You will find information and perspective on macroeconomics, globalization, development, trade and aid, technical assistance, demographics, emerging markets, policy advice, poverty reduction, and so much more.
World Digital Library
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The WDL makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from all countries and cultures.
LAPOP (Latin American Popular Opinion Poll)
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The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), initiated over two decades ago at Vanderbilt University.

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture by Jay Kinsbruner; Erick Detlef Langer
Call Number: REF F1406 .E53 2008 (6 vols.)
Publication Date: 2008
Strives to organize knowledge of the region. Contains nearly 5,300 separate articles. Most topics appear in English alphabetical order.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures by Mike Gonzalez (Editor); Daniel Balderston (Editor); Ana López (Editor)
Call Number: REF F1406 .E515 2000 (3 vols.)
Publication Date: 2001
This encyclopedia features over 4,000 entries on more than 40 regions in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1920 to the present day.
Notable Twentieth-Century Latin American Women by Cynthia Margarita Tompkins; David William Foster
Call Number: REF CT3290 .N68 2001
Publication Date: 2000
Contributions from 72 of the most noteworthy Latin American women covering many fields.
Latin American and Caribbean Artists of the Modern Era by Steve Shipp
Call Number: REF N6502.4 .S45 2003
Publication Date: 2003
This is a comprehensive reference book to more than 12,700 painters, sculptors, graphic artists and architects in Latin America and the Caribbean region active during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.