The UVA Library Government Documents Section owns the Statistical Abstract in paper back to 1886. These volumes are on Post 13 in the Documents Reading Room. Circulating copies of some years are available in the 3rd floor New Stacks. For many tables the Documents Section will have the source titles. Be sure to multiply the number in a given column by the unit indicator given at the head of the table.
Some tables are absolute numbers and others are rates.
References in the index refer to table numbers since the 1987 edition. A great deal of data is available on other countries, including trade data, GNP, demographic information, education, and foreign aid. The best way to find this data is to search the index under foreign countries. Statistical Abstract is available on CD-ROM as well as in paper. The software, called Textware Lite, works fairly well but requires some explanation.