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United Kingdom (British Studies)

Use the tabs below to find online resources about the United Kingdom (Great Britain), their states, and territories, from governmental and nongovernmental sources. Most of these sources are freely available to the public, but titles followed by a CU symbol are only accessible on campus or via VPN.

The Government Information Library has primary source materials for the United Kingdom from the 1300s to the present. The collection is not all in Chinook; to locate this material visit the reference desk and/or use the Finding Guide.

  • Country Profiles
  • Official Government
  • Articles and Databases
  • Diplomacy and Aid
  • Health
  • Military and Peacekeeping
  • Search Chinook
  • Related Guides
Australian Government - United Kingdom
Country profile, economic and trade information, and foreign relations from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

BBC News Profile - United Kingdom
A guide to history, politics and economic background of countries from BBC News. CIA World Factbook - United Kingdom
Country profile provides information on country background, geography, people, government, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.

European Union Member States - United Kingdom
The EU is a supernational union comprised of 27 member states.
  • CORDIS - United Kingdom
    Member state site for the European Union's CORDIS (Community Research and Development Information Service for Science, Research and Development).
  • EUbusiness - UK
    Country profile, business guides, and business news from EUbusiness (an independent online business information service about the European Union).
  • European Judicial Network - United Kingdom
    Information on how to obtain justice in civil and commercial matters.
FAO and the United Kingdom
Information on economic and agricultural issues from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It also has a good selection of maps.

Human Development Report on United Kingdom
Provides quick statistics on human development, economy, labor force, and population from the United Nations Development Programme.

IAEA - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Country factsheet on multilateral and safeguard agreements from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

IEA - Great Britain
Country information, energy-related statistics, graphs and publications from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

India Foreign Relations Brief - United Kingdom
Country briefs from India's Ministry of External Affairs.

ITC - United Kingdom
Country-specific trade and market profiles, map, and trade statistics from the International Trade Centre (ITC).

OECD - United Kingdom
Country information, statistics, publications, and news from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

OHCHR - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Country background, treaties, reporting status, calendar of events and publications related to human rights from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

UNESCO Worldwide - United Kingdom and Northern Ireland
Highlights cooperation between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its Member States. UNdata Country Profile - United Kingdom
Provides summary, economic, social, and environmental statistics from the United Nations Statistics Division.

United Nations Statistics Division: Environment Snapshot - United Kingdom
Country snapshots offer national environment statistics.

U.S. Commercial Service - United Kingdom
Country profile about doing business abroad by the Commercial Service, the global business solutions unit of the Department of Commerce.

U.S. Department of Energy Country Profile - United Kingdom
Country energy profile for production, consumption, U.S. oil imports, and CO2 emissions.

U.S. Department of State - Background Note: United Kingdom
This resource provides background information on issues such as the economy, history, politics, and foreign relations. The State Department also provides access to annual reports on human rights and terrorism.
Directgov
A portal to UK government sites.

British Library

British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service (BOPCRIS)
This site lists a number of digital collections and indexes dating from the 18th century to 1995.

British Official Documents
This site is maintained by the privatized Stationary Office and contains publications from 1994 to the present.

Bank of England

Cabinet Office

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Government Statistical Service

Office of Public Sector Information
This office has taken over many of the tasks of Her Majesty's Stationary Office (HMSO), although that office still exists within this division.

Monarchy

Parliament National Archives
The Archives provide a wide variety of information, including an Online Catalogue.

National Portrait Gallery
Use the search feature to find any of the more than 160,000 images available online.

Prime Minister (10 Downing Street)
This web site provides data on the current Prime Minister, as well as the history of 10 Downing Street and previous Prime Ministers.

Public Whip
This site provides a subject approach to Commons votes since 2001 and lists individual dissenters.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

Northern Ireland Executive

Northern Ireland Office: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)

Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister

Scotland

General Register Office for Scotland

Scottish Environmental Protection Agency

Scotland Office: Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Government

Wales

National Assembly for Wales

Wales Office: Secretary of State for Wales

Welsh Assembly Government

British Crown Dependencies

Isle of Man: Territory Guide

Constitutional Monarchies of the UK: Queen as Sovereign

Antigua and Barbuda: Country Guide

Australia: Country Guide

The Bahamas: Country Guide

Barbados: Country Guide

Belize: Country Guide

Canada: Country Guide

Grenada: Country Guide

Jamaica: Country Guide

New Zealand: Country Guide

Papua New Guinea: Country Guide

Saint Kitts and Nevis: Country Guide

Saint Lucia: Country Guide

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Country Guide

Solomon Islands: Country Guide

Tuvalu: Country Guide

Overseas Territories of the UK

Anguilla: Territory Guide

Bermuda: Territory Guide

British Virgin Islands: Territory Guide

Cayman Islands: Territory Guide

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): Territory Guide

Montserrat: Territory Guide

Turks and Caicos Islands: Territory Guide
Find Articles & More British Government and Politics on the Internet (University of Keele)
This site provides a detailed list of government web sites, as well as political and election web sites related to government.

British History Online
A digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles.

British and Irish Legal Information
This provides access to cases and legislation from the United Kingdom and links to law journals and other law-related information.

Britannia: England, UK, Wales and Scotland
This site includes history, monarchs, travel, newspapers, and a description of the government and parliamentary process, links to government servers, maps, and other information.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Declassified Documents
Declassified information available from the FOIA Electronic Reading Room. Enter "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom" as the search terms.
  • National Intelligence Council (NIC) Declassified Documents
    Database of intelligence reports, National Intelligence Estimates, and other publications produced by the National Intelligence Council or its predecessor organizations, the Office of National Estimates and the Office of Reports and Estimates since 1946.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports CU
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the research arm of Congress, prepares reports (usually 20-40 pages long) on topics of interest to members of Congress. Enter "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom" as the search terms.

Declassified Documents Reference System CU
Search this database to find declassified documents related to the United Kingdom.

Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
Department of Defense Scientific and Technical Reports Collection provides access to citations to unclassified unlimited documents that have been entered into DTIC's Technical Reports (TR) Database, as well as the electronic full-text of many of these documents.

Digital National Security Archive CU
Database of primary declassified documents regarding critical U.S. policy decisions. Enter "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom" as the search terms.

Early English Books Online CU
Searchable full text of over 12,000 EEBO titles chosen from the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. Many are also included in EEBO. Additional titles are added monthly. When complete, EEBO-TCP will contain 25,000 texts.

Empire Online CU
This database contains 70,000 original documents relating to Empire Studies. These documents cover the from 1492-1962 and are accompanied by essays and biographies from leading scholars.

EUR-Lex
Free database provides access to European Union treaties, legislation, case-law, parliamentary questions, legislative proposals, the Official Journal of the European Union, and the European Court Reports.

Eurostat
Statistical data and publications from the European Commission.

Facts on International Relations and Security Trends (FIRST)
An integrated database containing information on armed conflicts and peace keeping, arms production and trade, military expenditure, armed forces and weapons.

Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
"Public database of official texts of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations."

Human Rights Watch - United Kingdom
News and reports related to human rights.

LexisNexis Academic Country & Region Reports CU
News, country briefings, and country risk guides. Filter by country or choose "Country & Region Reports" from publication type.

Macmillan Cabinet Papers 1957-1963 CU
Macmillan was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, read full-text primary sources covering such subjects as Apartheid in South Africa, the Berlin Wall, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

OECDiLibrary CU
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) online collection of statistical databases, books and periodicals.

Spartacus Encyclopedia of British History 1700-1950
A free resource for all students of British history. The encyclopedia currently contains over 2,000 entries and is an attempt to show the history of Britain through the eyes of people from all levels of society.

Times Digital Archive, 1785-1985 CU
Searchable access to the complete backfile of The Times (London), available in full page images.

U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics - United Kingdom
U.S. trade in goods (imports, exports and balance) with United Kingdom.

World dataBank
Contains data from the World Bank, including the World Development Indicators & Global Development Finance, Gender Statistics, Education Statistics, Health Nutrition and Population Statistics, African Development Indicators, Global Economic Monitor, and Millennium Development Goals. Users can select variables (some going as far back as 1960) to create customized tables, charts, maps, and reports.

WHO/Europe Databases
Databases of national health statistics and other data on the health situation in European countries.

Worldwide Incidents Tracking System (WITS)
WITS is the National Counterterrorism Center's database of terrorist incidents.
British Embassy in the United States
Diplomatic representation of the United Kingdom in the United States.

Commonwealth of Nations - United Kingdom
"The Commonwealth is an association of 53 independent states consulting and co-operating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding and world peace. The Commonwealth's 2 billion citizens, about 30 per cent of the world's population, are drawn from the broadest range of faiths, races, cultures and traditions."

Embassy of the United States in London, UK
Diplomatic representation of the U.S. in the United Kingdom. They also have an embassy in Cardiff.

European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom
Country site for the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union.

Group of Eight (G-8) Information Centre
The G8 is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Group of Twenty (G-20)
The G-20 is a group of 19 of the world's largest economies and the European Union. The G-20 is an informal forum that promotes open and constructive discussion between industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability.

IMF - United Kingdom
Country information, reports and publications from the International Monetary Fund.

NATO Member Country
The United Kingdom is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949.
  • UK to NATO
    Permanent British delegation to NATO.
Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations
Web site of member state missions and their representatives to the United Nations.

ReliefWeb - United Kingdom
ReliefWeb, administered by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), provides news, documents, maps, and background information on emergency assistance by country.

UNHCR
News, operations, statistics, background, analysis and policy, and maps from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Select United Kingdom from the "Browse by country" drop-down menu on the right.

United Nations Association of United Kingdom
UN system in United Kingdom.

United Nations Division for Sustainable Development - United Kingdom
Economic, social and environmental policies and plans for sustainable development from the UN Department Economic and Social Affairs.

U.S. Department of State - United Kingdom
U.S.-British relations, diplomacy, and country background notes.
  • Background Notes - United Kingdom
    Provides country background and foreign policy information for the American public from the Department of State's Bureau of Public Affairs.
World Trade Organization - United Kingdom
Provides key information on trade statistics, WTO commitments, disputes, trade policy reviews, and notifications for member countries.
UNAIDS - United Kingdom
Country situation analysis and news from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

WHO/Europe
Official site of the World Health Organization Europe (WHO/Europe).   
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. ICJ "has a twofold role: to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States (Contentious cases ) and to give advisory opinions (Advisory proceedings) on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies." NTI - United Kingdom Profile
Nuclear, biological, chemical and missile development programs, policies and activities from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). NTI is non-profit organization with a mission to strengthen global security and fulfill the Non-Proliferation Treaty's goals and ambitions. NTI's members are from the United States, Russia, Japan, India, Pakistan, China, Jordan, Sweden, France and the United Kingdom.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The OSCE is responsible for post-conflict elections, human rights and regional military stabilization. There are 56 participating states (including the United Kingdom).

United Kingdom: Security Assistance
Country-by-country listing provides information on Political-Military-administered security assistance funds from the US Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

United Nations Security Council Permanent Member
The UN Security Council is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council is composed of five permanent members — China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States — and ten nonpermanent members that are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms and not eligible for immediate re-election.
There are numerous secondary, federal, and international sources of information on Great Britain available in the collection. For the uncataloged material check out the Finding Guides to the British Studies Collections in the University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries which contain entries for primary materials, collections of sources, and some reference or research aids. Includes holdings in Government Information and the other branches of the library.

 

Try these searches to see some of the resources in Chinook, the library catalog:

 

Electronic Resources Print and Electronic Resources
Great Britain and econom* Great Britain and econom*
Scotland and histor* Scotland and histor*
Wales and politic* Wales and politic*
Great Britain
(government publications only)		 Great Britain
(government publications only)
The * replaces up to five characters in a word.

For additional foreign information, arranged by subject, see the Subject Page.

European Union Resources

Finding Guide to the British Studies Primary Source Research Collections in the University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries

Foreign Relations and International Aid

History Subject Guide

Ireland: Country Guide