• Boston College Center for International Higher Education--  "Dedicated to research and service in international higher education," to serve as a "focal point for discussion and thoughtful analysis of higher education." Posts the "International Higher Education" newsletter (with archives) and some publications on higher education around the world from Center faculty and programs. Note the excellent material from the International Network for Higher Education in Africa.

• Braintrack-- Index of links to the higher education institutions of the world, by continent and country.

• Canadian Education Association-- Information and publications about Canadian education and Canadian research on education.

• Canadian Education on the Web-- University of Toronto's site to bring together everything relating to Canada and education on the Internet.

• Center for Higher Education Policy Studies-- At the Universiteit Twente in the Netherlands, "produces and disseminates knowledge with respect to higher education policy, especially at the system and institutional levels." Offers many free insightful publications on higher education issues, such as country reports and the series "Higher Education Policy Issues and Trends."

• Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity-- Co-ordinated from the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex "to develop and encourage the application of knowledge to improve access to basic education... [with] a programme of research focused on countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to analyse policy and practice designed to reduce exclusion." Offers reports, information, bibliographic database, and more. Note especially the CREATE Gateway that "provides links to resources related to access issues in education."

• Council of Ministers of Education, Canada-- Information about all levels of the Canadian educational system, from the "national voice for education" in that country.

• Current Issues in Comparative Education-- From  Teachers College, Columbia University, a free online international journal for debate of issues in comparative and international education.

• Directory of Canadian Universities-- From the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, information on Canadian higher education, universities, and colleges.

• Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science-- Posts "information about the Dutch education system and Dutch policy on education, culture and science" and "practical information about going to school, studying and working in the Netherlands." Also has information and leads about other European education systems.

• Educational Policy Institute-- "Non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to policy-based research on educational opportunity for all students," with offices in several countries. Of special interest among the posted publications is Global Higher Education Rankings, a "systematic and rigorous exploration of the affordability and accessibility of higher education within an international comparative context."

• Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)-- This excellent site is "the world’s premier database of journal and non-journal education literature," offering searchable access to an extensive body of cost-free education-related literature, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Library of Education.

• European Association for International Education-- "Non-profit organisation whose main aim is the stimulation and facilitation of the internationalisation of higher education in Europe and around the world, and to meet the professional needs of individuals active in international education." Excellent professional source on the topic.

• European Centre for Higher Education-- Promotes "co-operation in higher education among Member States of the Europe Region (the countries of Europe, North America, and Israel)." Site posts statistics, monographs, papers, studies, texts, and a review on higher education in Europe.

• European Schoolnet-- Site for European teachers, students, and school administrators, sponsored by more than 25 European Ministries of Education, with much information about education in Europe to serve as "a gateway to national and regional school networks."

• Eurydice-- The official  information network about national education systems in Europe, part of the EU's Socrates Project. Posts studies and descriptions of national education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, and indicators and statistics. Note especially Eurybase, a "highly detailed database – the only one of its kind – on all education systems covered by the Network."

• Institute of International Education-- The best source in the world on study abroad,  IIE conducts statistical and policy research and provides information on international study and work opportunities. Their Open Doors section contains much online information about international student mobility, in the United States and the world.

• Inter-American Development Bank-- The education section of the website of this international organization posts excellent information and analysis on educational matters in Latin America.

• International Archive of Education Data-- Major free downloadable and searchable database from "a project sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics, the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States and other nations." Housed at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, "the Archive acquires, processes, documents, and disseminates data collected by national, state or provincial, local, and private organizations, pertaining to all levels of education in countries for which data can be made available."

• International Institute for Educational Planning-- A part of UNESCO whose mission is "to help Member States improve the quality and effectiveness of their education systems." Site offers information on IIEP services and contains a large searchable archive of free online IIEP publications on a broad range of education issues.

• National Center for Educational Statistics-- The purpose of this Center, in the U.S. Department of Education, is to collect and report "statistics and information showing the condition and progress of education in the United States and other nations in order to promote and accelerate the improvement of American education." Try the site's search engine to find the many international topics available. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is "the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas." Note especially the International Comparisons in Education and the International Education Indicators sections, both "intended to provide snapshots of the U.S. education system in comparison to systems in countries around the world." The Program for International Student Assessment is "an assessment (begun in 2000) that focuses on 15-year-olds' capabilities in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy." International comparisons of education are given in the yearly Digest of Education Statistics. Also see the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study that "provides reliable and timely data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. students compared to that of students in other countries."

• OECD Education Page-- Provides online access to much internationally comparable data and analysis of key aspects of the education systems of OECD member countries, essentially all the Western industrialized democracies. See especially the large online yearly report Education at a Glance-- OECD Indicators.

• Oxfam-- The Oxfam Education page has information and reports on educational issues worldwide.

• United Nations Children's Fund-- UNICEF works for children's rights, protection, and sound development and produces some reports on education and children. The best sources are the annual State of the World's Children reports. The State of the World's Children 1999 is a global report focusing especially on education and children. The State of the World's Children 2004: Girls, Education, and Development has data and analysis on education, particularly regarding girls, and its relationship to human development.

• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization-- One of the best sources worldwide for comparative education analysis. Note the Education Sector, with a wide variety of documents, statistics, IGO and NGO links, and contact points. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics posts "global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, technology, culture and communication." The International Bureau of Education is the center for  information and research in the field of comparative education, with publications online, a very useful Resource Bank, and an IBE Databanks section for great resources and links in that area. Check out the Education for All page, with the Global Monitoring Report and in-depth country information on the status of basic education in over 150 countries. World Data on Education provides databanks on national education systems, country education profiles, and links to related resources.

• U.S. Network for Education Information-- "An interagency and public/private partnership whose mission is to provide official information assistance for anyone seeking information about U.S. education and for U.S. citizens seeking authoritative information about education in other countries." It is also the official U.S. national education information center. This large site provides many links to authoritative sources of information about U.S. and foreign education systems, including a foreign country database.

• Universities Worldwide-- Searchable database of links to thousands of universities in scores of countries, from the University of Innsbruck.

• World Bank Education Page-- Wide variety of authoritative data, statistics, documents, reports, and links on education worldwide from this IGO.

• World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Education-- From Charles Sturt University, Australia, one of the most authoritative collections of searchable, annotated links on the topic, including sources by country.