Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- © United Nations
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) was established in Geneva in 1964 as a special organ of the General Assembly.
It was to serve as a forum for trade negotiations for the promotion of international trade, especially between countries with different levels of development, with the aim of accelerating economic growth in developing countries.
UNCTAD is headquartered in Geneva.
Documentation
UNCTAD issues a considerable amount of documents and reports, handbooks, statistical papers and yearbooks.
The official documents up to the year 2000 can be accessed through the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and
the UN Libraries, and electronically through the UNCTAD database Digital Library.
The UNCTAD official web site provides background information, news, multilingual full text documents and reports, summaries and abstracts of publications. The annual publications are posted online, some of them from their first issues.
Trade and Development Report is an annual overview of the role of developing countries in world trade. The latest report can be accessed online at the UNCTAD official web site.
UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics provides data about world trade and international economic development based on international and national sources.
The Least Developed Countries ... Report provides an analysis of the situation within a group of 49 countries defined by the United Nations as "the least developed" - LDCs. The most recent reports are published online at the UNCTAD official web site.
World Investment Report examines the effects of globalization, investments and transnational companies. It focuses on themes of special interest to developing countries. The reports is posted at the UNCTAD official web site.
Information Economy Report (IER)and E-commerce and Development Report (ECDR). The digital revolution and e-commerce has changed the economic landscape. These reports contain basic facts about e-commerce and discuss sectors of special interest to developing countries and suggest e-measures to create opportunities to develop the new technique.
Review of Maritime Transport identifies the main trends in the development of sea-borne trade with special emphasis on developing countries and provides relevant statistical data. The latest report can be accessed through the UNCTAD official web site.
Databases and Indexes
References to UNCTAD documents from 1979 onwards with links to full texts for recent years can be accessed through the United Nations online catalogue - UNBISnet.
The following databases are accessible through the UNCTAD official web page, Statistical databases on-line:
UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics contains a chronology of economic data and development indicators, in some cases going back to 1950.
Commodity Price Bulletin provides periodic indices of commodity indices.
UNCTAD-TRAINS (Trade Analysis and Information System) contains information about trade regulations for over 130 countries.
Foreign Direct Investment Database supplies investment data for 196 countries.