Charles M. Blow has a op-ed in the New York Times: "The Kindling of Change" featuring this fabulous graphic comparing measures of development and especially internet access across the region (Click on the link or the image for a higher resolution pop-up):
Notice the useful sources of his data:
- The CIA world factbook : Great for basic economic, demographic and political information.
- Economic Inteligence Unit: Use this resource from the Economist magazine to learn about the nation and region (You will have to set up a free account for access.) Check out their "Democracy Index 2010," to learn about the state of the political system of the nation under scrutiny.
- Miniwatts Marketing Group: internetworldstats.com: This corporate site compiles statistics about interet usage around the world. Their statistics " come mainly from data published by Nielsen Online , ITU, WWW, and other trustworthy local sources"