Internet update
As an analyst I am continually being challenged to uncover information on new, emerging or even more obscure markets for clients. Other times it is just standard markets, but when you are covering Europe, accessing information can be more of a challenge. Before the advent of the internet uncovering such information, especially for overseas markets, was always a challenge given the constraints of time. These days such information is more readily available via the internet – it is an online encyclopaedia.
I am fortunate at Jones Lang LaSalle to have access to various information services provided by third parties, or direct property information from our network of offices across Europe and the rest of the world, but this will not provide everything or preclude the need to investigate particular areas in more detail.
A while ago I undertook a study looking at the Nordic region and to my amazement there was a wealth of information available in English. Google(www.google.co.uk) as ever is the trusty first resource, and often the first results emerge linking to the free encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/). For most countries or even cities, there is a wealth of information on the history, geography, demography, politics, economy, and various rankings on a range of measures including the environment, democracy and doing business.
Looking at Norway draws up a similar level of information, including the fact it is ranked second by the IMF for GDP per capita. Clicking a link then draws up a full list to reveal the winners and losers – Luxembourg being top and Burundi last. There will often be links in the description to other parts of the web site, or to external resources.
From the country you can easily drill down to a city or region. Type in Malmo or Gothenburg and you will draw up a host of similar information on these cities. Details on specific regions can also be found. Take the Oresund Region,for example, and up pops a page on the area. Admittedly the depth of information is limited, however via the links section you are directed to the official web site for the Oresund Region (www.oresundsregionen.org/). This site provides a section all about the region all in English. There is detailed information on business, and doing business in the region, on education and the workforce. A press section is also available.
A key driver of the region had been the bridge linking Sweden to Denmark. Wikipedia provides a link to the official site of the bridge (http://osb.oeresundsbron.dk/frontpage/?lang=1),which provides a range of facts including the history of the bridge, various facts and traffic flows on a monthly basis.
For more detailed statistics why not try the official Sweden Statistics site(www.scb.se). Just like the UK’s ONS site this provides a range of statistics, including a searchable database in English on a range of business and consumer stats. If you are conversant with Swedish, then a more comprehensive range of figures are available to view or download.
Norway has a similar site (www.ssb.no/en/)where you can also browse through various statistics, or access a mini-guide(available to download in Adobe Acrobat format) which supplies a host of figures on the area. To the left of the browser you will find a list of various areas,including housing and construction, which links you through to various statistics. Both Finland (www.stat.fi)and Denmark (www.dst.dk) also have similar official sites.
Beyond Wikipedia, what other encyclopaedias are available on the web? I did quick Google search on the keyword and out came a selection of different sites. The first (www.encyclopedia.com/)is not as good as Wikipedia. Type in a keyword and up pops a range of links to other pages. It is a little cumbersome compared to other sites and requires patience. I chose Sweden as a keyword and a range of summary statistics came out of the results, but I was not overly impressed.
As the name suggests, www.britannica.com/,is the site for the Encyclopaedia Britannica and does provide some useful free information. Again I typed in Sweden and it provided a link to a pdf fact sheet full of data on demography, the economy, health and trade. The site also had links to a range of recent events. Having thought the site would be a subscriber service, I was surprised from this simple search, what free information was available.
Finally, there is Microsoft’s Encarta, http://encarta.msn.com/. Like encylopaedia.com, the level of information was limited. The most useful link is that through to Wikipedia. If you are seeking to translate articles, then why not select the appropriate link– useful if you find a Swedish site with little English content and need to translate a short sentence.
Besides the above site, other useful sources for country facts include the CIA, where its fact book (go to www.cia.gov/then select the “Quick Links” to the fact book) enables the user to browse through a list of countries via the drop down menu. After selecting a country a summary page emerges covering aspects such as the area, demography,Government, the economy, communications and transportation, and of course some military details! Maps and flags are also available to view. Most of the information is just point-in-time figures of which most are likely to be available on the local statistical site anyway. Nonetheless, it is a useful one-stop-shop, especially for the more obscure countries.
There is also the OECD (www.oecd.org)and the IMF (www.imf.org). Both organisations do require you to pay for many reports, but it is worth searching to see what free content is available.
Happy surfing.
AcknowledgementsThe views expressed are those of the author and not those of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Nigel AlmondAssociate Director, Jones Lang LaSalle
