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The World Factbook

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The World Factbook
Emblem
LanguageAmerican English
SubjectGeneral
GenreAlmanac about the countries of the world
PublisherCentral Intelligence Agency
Publication date
See frequency of updates and availability, discontinued February 2026
Publication placeUnited States
WebsiteThe World Factbook at the Wayback Machine (archived January 31, 2026)

The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook,[1] was a reference resource produced by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) between 1962 and 2026 with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. From 1971 it was not classified, and available to the public in print since 1975, initially by the CIA, and later the Government Publishing Office. The Factbook was also available via a Web site, and could be downloaded. It provided a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 258 international entities,[2] including U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.

The World Factbook was prepared by the CIA for the use of U.S. government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements.[3] As a work of the U.S. government, it was in the public domain in the United States. It was frequently used as a resource for academic research papers and news articles.[4]

On February 4, 2026, following the restriction and closure since 2024 of other government-funded information Web sites, the CIA announced, with no warning and no explanation, that The World Factbook was discontinued. It has been archived by The Mozilla Data Collective and the Factbook Archive.[5][6]

Data

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Cover of the U.S. government print edition of The World Factbook (2023 edition)

Sources

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In researching the Factbook, the CIA used the sources listed below, among other public and private sources.[3]

Structure

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Information on the listed entities was provided in the following categories: "introduction or background, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues."[7]

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The World Factbook website as it appeared in January 2025

As a work of the U.S. government, the Factbook was in the public domain and could be redistributed in part or in whole without need for permission,[8][3] although the CIA requested that the Factbook be cited if used.[8] Copying the official seal of the CIA without permission is prohibited by the US federal Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. § 403m).

Frequency of updates and availability

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Before November 2001, The World Factbook website was updated yearly;[9] from 2004 to 2010 it was updated every two weeks;[9] From 2010 to 2026 it was updated weekly.[10] Generally, information available as of January 1 of the current year was used in preparing the Factbook.[11] Following efforts by CIA director John Ratcliffe to "end programs that don't advance the agency's core missions", the Factbook was discontinued on February 4, 2026,[12][13] with all pages made inaccessible.[14] No reason was given for the discontinuation.[13]

Government edition

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The first classified edition of Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version in June 1971.[15] The World Factbook was first available to the public in print in 1975.[15] Until 2008 the CIA printed the Factbook; from then until its discontinuation it was printed by the Government Printing Office[16] following a CIA decision to "focus Factbook resources" on the online edition.[17] In 2017, the printed book was officially discontinued.[18] The Factbook was made available via the World Wide Web beginning October 1994,[19] receiving about six million visits per month in 2006;[4] it was also available for download.[20] The official printed version was sold[21] by the Government Printing Office and National Technical Information Service. In past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM,[22] microfiche,[23] magnetic tape,[23] and floppy disk.[23]

Reprints and older editions online

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Many Internet sites use information and images from the CIA World Factbook.[24] Several publishers, including Grand River Books,[25] Potomac Books (formerly known as Brassey's Inc.),[26] and Skyhorse Publishing[27] have published the Factbook in recent years. Older editions since 2000 were available for download (but not browsing) from the Factbook website until 2026.[8][14]

Discontinuation

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On February 4, 2026, the CIA announced, with no warning and no explanation[28][29] and refusing to comment on the record, that The World Factbook was discontinued.[14] All versions were removed from the CIA's website immediately, which was disruptive for academic users such as the Boston University Questrom School of Business which was using it for open-book tests.[citation needed] The Mozilla Data Collective has since published a dataset that includes the 260 world entities listed in the Factbook, capturing "the final state of the public data (Jan 23, 2026) before the official website was retired."[5] There is also another website called "Factbook Archive" that contains the information of The World Factbook from 1990 to 2025.[6]

The news channel CNN linked the closure to restriction and closure since 2024 of other government-funded information Web sites, including closure of health sites, and restrictions on the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service.[14]

Entities listed

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Main article: List of entities and changes in The World Factbook
Map of the world published by the CIA World Factbook in 2016

As of July 2011, The World Factbook comprised 266 entities,[2] which can be divided into the following categories:[30]

Independent countries
The CIA defines these as people "politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory."[30] In this category, there are 195 entities.
Others
Places set apart from the list of independent countries. There are two of these: Taiwan and the European Union.
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
Places affiliated with another country. They may be subcategorized by affiliated country:
Miscellaneous
Antarctica and places in dispute. There are six such entities.
Other entities
The World and the oceans. There are five oceans and the World (the World entry is intended as a summary of the other entries).[4]

Reception

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Reference Reviews reviewed The World Factbook in 2016, praising its "up-to-date facts and figures" through its weekly updates while expressing concern over its usability due to difficult content navigation and inadequate font sizes.[31]

The Factbook has been criticized for serving the interests of the United States by controlling how other countries are represented and for taking, at least in some cases, an ahistorical perspective.[7]

See also

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Alternative publications

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b "The World Factbook". CIA. January 5, 2023. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Directorate of Intelligence. "About The World Factbook—Copyright and Contributors". Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021. The World Factbook is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for the use of US Government officials, and the style, format, coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific requirements. Information is provided by other public and private sources. The Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
  3. ^ a b c "CIA World Factbook 2006 Now Available" (Press release). Central Intelligence Agency. April 5, 2006. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2007. The World Factbook remains the CIA's most widely disseminated and most popular product, now averaging almost 6 million visits each month. In addition, tens of thousands of government, commercial, academic, and other Web sites link to or replicate the online version of the Factbook. * * * Included among the 271 geographic entries is one for the "World", which incorporates data and other information summarized where possible from the other 270 country listings.
  4. ^ a b "World Factbook (JSON)". Mozilla Data Collective. February 13, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "CIA World Factbook Archive". Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  6. ^ a b Shuler, Jack (July 1, 2003). "The CIA World Factbook: Marriage of Archive and Empire?". Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture. 3 (3): 1–16. ISSN 1547-4348.
  7. ^ a b c "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)". CIA. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): How often is The World Factbook updated?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2009. Formerly our Web site (and the published Factbook) were only updated annually. Beginning in November 2001 we instituted a new system of more frequent online updates. The World Factbook is currently updated every two weeks.
  9. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (November 24, 2010). "World Factbook Updates – October 22, 2010". Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2010. Since 2004, The World Factbook website has been updated on a bi-weekly schedule. Culminating a three-month trial effort, we are pleased to announce that the Factbook will now be updated on a weekly basis.
  10. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Notes and Definitions: Date of information". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2006. In general, information available as of 1 January 2007 was used in the preparation of this edition. Effective 31 December 2025, The CIA has terminated the World Factbook program. Although it may continue to appear online, the information it contains is no longer updated.
  11. ^ "Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell". CIA. February 4, 2026. Archived from the original on February 4, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Klepper, David (February 4, 2026). "CIA ends publication of its popular World Factbook reference tool". AP News. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  13. ^ a b c d Kaur, Harmeet (February 5, 2026). "CIA terminates its World Factbook, overthrowing reference regime". CNN. Archived from the original on February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  14. ^ a b Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – History". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2007. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971.
  15. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (June 8, 2009). "CIA – The World Factbook – About :: History: 2008". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2009. Printing of the Factbook turned over to the Government Printing Office.
  16. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2008). CIA – The World Factbook 2008: Purchasing Information. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160873614. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2015. The Government Printing Office has assumed production of The World Factbook print edition. The CIA has decided to focus Factbook resources exclusively on the World Wide Web online edition...
  17. ^ "Gallery of Covers". CIA.gov. February 28, 2025. Archived from the original on February 26, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  18. ^ Miller, Jill Young. "CIA puts data on the internet." Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 12 December 1994.
  19. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. "The World Factbook Archives – The World Factbook". Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  20. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Purchasing Information". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2006. Other users may obtain sales information about printed copies from the following: Superintendent of Documents...National Technical Information Service
  21. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1999). "The World Factbook 1999 – Purchasing Information (mirror)". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2006. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prepares The World Factbook in printed, CD-ROM, and Internet versions.
  22. ^ a b c Directorate of Intelligence (1995). "Publication Information for The World Factbook 1995 (mirror)". Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2006. This publication is also available in microfiche, magnetic tape, or computer diskettes.
  23. ^ "World Factbook - Frequently Asked Question (section) - I am using the Factbook online and it is not working. What is wrong?". CIA. Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Hundreds of "Factbook" look-alikes exist on the Internet. The Factbook site at: www.cia.gov is the only official site.
  24. ^ Texas A&M University Libraries (January 30, 2007). "Introduction to Comparative Politics POLS 329". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2008. The world factbook (Handbook of the Nations). Detroit, Mich.: Grand River Books, 1981–.
  25. ^ Potomac Books. "The World Factbook 2008 CIA's 2007 Edition". Archived from the original on June 20, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
  26. ^ Skyhorse Publishing. "CIA World Factbook 2008, The". Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
  27. ^ Kirk, Rylee; Walker, Mark (February 5, 2026). "C.I.A. World Factbook Ends Publication After 6 Decades". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  28. ^ Kaur, Harmeet (February 5, 2026). "CIA terminates its World Factbook". CNN. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  29. ^ a b Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Notes and Definitions: Entities". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2011. "Independent state" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. * * * There are a total of 266 separate geographic entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows...
  30. ^ Shores 2016, pp. 1–2.
  31. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. "World Leaders". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2007.

General and cited sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Factbook.
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Mobile versions of the Factbook

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The Factbook by year

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Original (Year) Archive (Date)
University of Missouri–St. Louis
1992 June 11, 2008
1993 July 5, 2008
1994 July 9, 2008
1995 June 20, 2008
1996 October 1, 2008
1997 July 19, 2008
1998 October 1, 2008
1999 October 1, 2008
2000 June 27, 2008
2001 June 15, 2008
2002 May 26, 2008
2003 June 15, 2008
2004 June 15, 2008
2005 May 13, 2008
2006 March 23, 2022
2007 June 12, 2008
2008 August 5, 2012
GPO Permanent Access
1991 May 11, 2011
1990 May 11, 2011
Theodora.com
1989 —
Geographic.org
1987 —
1985 —
1982 —
AllCountries.org
1986 —
WorkMall.com
1984 —
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