Historical statistics of the United States: earliest times to the present.
The essential starting point for U.S. historical statistics. Covers population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, economic sectors, and governance and international relations. The introductory essays discuss the data sources and broad trends and are very valuable.
Datapedia of the United States: American history in numbers
Gathers together a wide range of data from government sources on demographics; the environment; industry and services; health, social welfare and law enforcement; education, society and leisure; economics; politics and defence. Although the emphasis is on the recent past, there is a substantial amount of data from the 20th century and some from earlier. The introductory essays include brief summaries of recent trends.
Historical statistics of the states of the United States: two centuries of the census, 1790-1990
A compilation based on U.S. census data and arranged by state. Includes population, agriculture, and manufacturing, plus population for the 200 largest cities. Useful for understanding changes in state demographics & economics over time.
Historical statistics of Black America
Massive 2-volume compilation arranged by topic. Includes a subject index and an index by year. Topics include: agriculture; business and economics; crime, law enforcement, and legal justics; education; family; income, spending and wealth; labor and employement; media; military and military affairs, miscellany; politics and elections; population; professions; religion; slavery and the slave trade; sports and leisure; and vital statistics. Covers 18th c. through 1975, but for many highly specific topics there is data for only one year. (For data up to 2009, see also Black Americans: a statistical sourcebook)
Nations within a nation: historical statistics of American Indians
Slim volume mostly based on U.S. government sources; coverage is best for the 20th century to 1980. Includes statistics for: land, population, removal/relocation, vital statistics and health, U.S. government (Bureau of Indian Affairs) activities, healthcare and education, employment and income, and economic development.
IPUMS: historical census data available to download for statistical software analysis
International historical statistics
Online edition of the three books listed below, updated to 2010. The first place to look for international historical statistics. The are similarly arranged and cover: population and vital statistics, labour force, agriculture, industry, external trade, transport and communication, finance, prices, education, and national accounts.
The world economy
The data in this compendium were assembled "to quantify ... long term changes in world income and population" and to study the cases of differences in world development. Both the tables and the accompanying essays are concise and well documented.
State, economy, and society in Western Europe, 1815-1975: a data handbook in two volumes.
This 2-volume set is the result of an effort to collect comparable data on politics and society in modern Western Europe after the Congress of Vienna. Vol. I covers nation states; the practice of democracy; government revenue, expenditure and bureaucracy; and welfare and education. Vol. II covers population and families; urbanization and housing; economic growth; labor and income distributions; and trade unions and strikes. Economic data (below the level of the GNP) is mostly excluded; for this see Mitchell's work above. Check the end of Vol. II for notes about sources, which are not given in the main body of the handbook. This is now being superseded by a new series published by Palgrave Macmillan, "Societies of Europe," which currently includes four volumes
Oxford Latin American Economic History Database (1900-2000)
Statistical series for economic and social indicators covering 20 Latin American countries
East European and Soviet data handbook: political, social, and developmental indicators, 1945-1975
Sections include population, party membership, national and religious affiliation, education, classes, party leaders, occupations, and developmental indicators/GNP. In English.
Historical statistics of Canada
Good coverage for the 20th century; much less material from earlier.
British historical statistics
Excellent for the 19th & 20th centuries; some data for the 18th and 17th.
Historical statistics of Japan. New edition.
For the 20th century, the League of Nations and the United Nations, plus some nongovernmental organizations, are an essential source of international statistical information.