The WomanStats Project web site is, by its own disclaimer, “The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world.” With over 240 variables on women for all nation-states with a population over 200,000 (currently totaling 172 nation-states), the site offers valuable and free access to data on the status of women around the world.
The WomanStats Project compiles data about women from many sources, including inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, governmental agencies, scholarly articles and books, news reports, and interviews with country experts.
The site is coordinated by a board of directors from three universities: Brigham Young University, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Data can be search by variable or by country and then exported to a .CSV file. The site offers a codebook which is necessary for interpreting the data. A continuous work in progress, the site also has a data entry section where volunteers can help add and update data. Also of note to geographers are the three sample maps depicting Women’s Physical Security, Trafficking of Women, and Son Preference/Sex Ratio.
