The World Factbook

The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook, is a reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the Government Publishing Office. The Factbook is available in website and downloadable formats. It provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 266 international entities, including U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.

The World Factbook

Emblem of The World Factbook
Language	American English
Subject	General
Genre	Almanac about the countries of the world
Publisher	Central Intelligence Agency
Publication date	See frequency of updates and availability, no longer published in paper book form by the CIA
Publication place	United States
Website	www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/

The World Factbook is 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. It is also frequently used as a resource for academic research papers and news articles. As a work of the U.S. government, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Sources

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

In researching the Factbook, the CIA uses the sources listed below, among other public and private sources.

• Antarctic Information Program (National Science Foundation)
• Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center (Department of Defense)
• Bureau of the Census (Department of Commerce)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor)
• Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs
• Defense Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense)
• Department of Energy
• Department of State
• Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior)
• Maritime Administration (Department of Transportation)
• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense)
• Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Department of Defense)
• Office of Insular Affairs (Department of the Interior)
• Office of Naval Intelligence (Department of Defense)
• Oil & Gas Journal
• United States Board on Geographic Names (Department of the Interior)
• United States Transportation Command (Department of Defense)

Copyright

The World Factbook website as it appeared in January 2025

The Factbook is in the public domain and may be redistributed in part or in whole without need for permission, although the CIA requests that the Factbook be cited if used. 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

Before November 2001, The World Factbook website was updated yearly; from 2004 to 2010 it was updated every two weeks; since 2010 it has been updated weekly. Generally, information currently available as of January 1 of the current year is used in preparing the Factbook.

Government edition

The first classified edition of Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version in June 1971.The World Factbook was first available to the public in print in 1975. Until 2008 the CIA printed the Factbook; from then it has been printed by the Government Printing Office following a CIA decision to "focus Factbook resources" on the online edition. The Factbook has been available via the World Wide Web (The internet) since October 1994, receiving about six million visits per month in 2006; it can also be downloaded. The official printed version is sold by the Government Printing Office and National Technical Information Service. In past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM,microfiche,magnetic tape, and floppy disk.

Reprints and older editions online

Many Internet sites use information and images from the CIA World Factbook. Several publishers, including Grand River Books, Potomac Books (formerly known as Brassey's Inc.), and Skyhorse Publishing have published the Factbook in recent years. Older editions since 2000 may be downloaded (but not browsed) from the Factbook Web site.

Entities listed

Map of the world published by the CIA World Factbook in 2016

As of July 2011^[update], The World Factbook comprises 266 entities, which can be divided into the following categories:

Independent countries

The CIA defines these as people "politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory." In this category, there are 195 entities.

Others

Places set apart from the list of independent countries. Currently there are two: Taiwan and the European Union.

Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty

Places affiliated with another country. They may be subcategorized by affiliated country:

• Australia: 6 entities
• China: 2 entities
• Denmark: 2 entities
• France: 8 entities
• Netherlands: 3 entities
• New Zealand: 3 entities
• Norway: 3 entities
• United Kingdom: 17 entities
• United States: 14 entities

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).

Territorial issues and controversies

Political

Areas not covered

Specific regions within a country or areas in dispute among countries, such as Kashmir, are not covered, but other areas of the world whose status is disputed, such as the Spratly Islands, have entries. Subnational areas of countries (such as U.S. states or the Canadian provinces and territories) are not included in the Factbook. Instead, users looking for information about subnational areas are referred to "a comprehensive encyclopedia" for their reference needs. This criterion was invoked in the 2007 and 2011 editions with the decision to drop the entries for French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion. They were dropped because besides being overseas departments, they were now overseas regions, and an integral part of France. Since the Trump administration's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in late 2020, most of its data has been merged into Morocco's page.

Chagos Archipelago

Some entries on the World Factbook are known to be in line with the political views and agenda of the United States. The United States is said to have been behind both the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritian territory and the forcible expulsion of the Chagossians from their lands to establish a military base on one of the island of the archipelago, namely Diego Garcia. The US does not recognise the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago and the archipelago is listed as the British Indian Ocean Territory on the CIA Website. The website further erroneously mentioned that the Chagos Archipelago is also claimed by the Seychelles, while officially 116 countries including the Seychelles against only 6 countries including the United States voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution dated 24 May 2019 which called upon the UK to withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally to enable Mauritius to complete the decolonization of its territory as rapidly as possible.

Kashmir

Maps depicting Kashmir have the Indo-Pakistani border drawn at the Line of Control, but the region of Kashmir administered by China drawn in hash marks.

Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus, which the U.S. considers part of the Republic of Cyprus, is not given a separate entry because "territorial occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States Government are not shown on U.S. Government maps."

Taiwan/Republic of China

The name "Republic of China" is not listed as Taiwan's official name under the "Government" section, due to U.S. acknowledgement of Beijing's One-China policy according to which there is one China and Taiwan is a part of it. The name "Republic of China" was briefly added on January 27, 2005, but has since been changed back to "none". Of the Factbook's two maps of China, one highlights the island of Taiwan as part of the country while the other does not.

Disputed South China Sea Islands

The Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, subjects of territorial disputes, have entries in the Factbook where they are not listed as the territory of any one nation. The disputed claims to the islands are discussed in the entries.

Burma/Myanmar

The U.S. does not recognize the renaming of Burma by its ruling military junta to Myanmar and thus keeps its entry for the country under the Burma name.

North Macedonia

The country was first entered as Macedonia in the Factbook upon independence in 1992. In the 1994 edition, the name of the entry was changed to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as it is recognised by the United Nations (pending resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute). For the next decade, this was the name the nation was listed under. In the 2004 edition of the Factbook, the name of the entry was changed back to Macedonia, following a November 2004 U.S. decision to refer to the country using this name. On February 19, 2019, the entry was renamed to North Macedonia following the country's name change to the Republic of North Macedonia.

European Union

On December 16, 2004, the CIA added an entry for the European Union (EU) for the first time. The "What's New" section of the 2005 Factbook states: "The European Union continues to accrue more nation-like characteristics for itself and so a separate listing was deemed appropriate."

United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges and Iles Eparses

In the 2006 edition of The World Factbook, the entries for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Johnston Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and the Midway Islands were merged into a new United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry. The old entries for each individual insular area remain as redirects on the Factbook website. On September 7, 2006, the CIA also merged the entries for Bassas da India, Europa Island, the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island into a new Iles Eparses entry. As with the new United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry, the old entries for these five islands remained as redirects on the website. On July 19, 2007, the Iles Eparses entry and redirects for each island were dropped due to the group becoming a district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in February.

Serbia and Montenegro/Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) broke apart in 1991. The following year, it was replaced in the Factbook with entries for each of its former constituent republics. In doing this, the CIA listed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), proclaimed in 1992, as Serbia and Montenegro, as the U.S. did not recognize the union between the two republics. This was done in accordance with a May 21, 1992, decision by the U.S. not to recognize any of the former Yugoslav republics as successor states to the recently dissolved SFRY.

A map of Serbia and Montenegro from the 2000 edition of The World Factbook. Notice how the disclaimer is printed in the upper right hand corner. One can see how the capital cities of both republics are individually labeled on the map.

These views were made clear in a disclaimer printed in the Factbook: "Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been recognized as a state by the United States." Montenegro and Serbia were treated separately in the Factbook data, as can be seen on the map. In October 2000, Slobodan Milošević was forced out of office after a disputed election. This event led to democratic elections and U.S. diplomatic recognition. The 2001 edition of the Factbook thus referred to the state as Yugoslavia. On March 14, 2002, an agreement was signed to transform the FRY into a loose state union called Serbia and Montenegro; it took effect on February 4, 2003. The name of the Yugoslavia entity was altered in the Factbook the month after the change.

Kosovo

On February 28, 2008, the CIA added an entry for Kosovo, which declared independence on February 17 of the same year. Before this, Kosovo was excluded in the Factbook as it is the subject of a territorial dispute.

East Timor/Timor-Leste

On July 19, 2007, the entry for East Timor was renamed Timor-Leste following a decision of the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN).

Factual

In June 2009, US National Public Radio (NPR), relying on information obtained from The World Factbook, put the number of Israeli Jews living in settlements in the West Bank and Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem at 250,000. However, a better estimate, based on the State Department and Israeli sources put the figure at about 500,000. NPR then issued a correction. Chuck Holmes, foreign editor for NPR Digital, said, "I'm surprised and displeased, and it makes me wonder what other information is out-of-date or incorrect in the CIA World Factbook."

The Factbook currently states that only four percent of Botswana are practitioners of the indigenous Badimo religion, in reality a great majority of Botswana follow at least some of the traditions deemed Badimo.

Scholars have acknowledged that some entries in the Factbook are out of date.

The inclusion of the metric countries.

The government's own National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contradicts the CIA's Factbook website, stating that three countries have "not adopted" the metric system is incorrect. At the time a better term would be have been "not committed", however this is not the case anymore as of 2023 all countries listed are committed to adopting the metric system including the US.

See also

• History portal
• Literature portal
• World portal

• World Leaders, another regular publication of the CIA
• National Security Agency

Alternative publications

• Europa World Year Book
• The New York Times Almanac
• The TIME Almanac
• Whitaker's Almanack
• The World Almanac

References

Citations

1. Central Intelligence Agency (January 3, 2008). "Where in the World is Mt. Kilimanjaro? Visit the CIA World Factbook to Find Out". Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
2. "The World Factbook". CIA. January 5, 2023. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
3. 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 the permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
4. "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.
5. "The World Factbook - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)". CIA. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
6. 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).
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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...
13. Miller, Jill Young. "CIA puts data on the internet." Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 12 December 1994.
14. Central Intelligence Agency. "The World Factbook Archives - The World Factbook". Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
15. 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
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): I am using the Factbook online and it is not working. What is wrong?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2006. Hundreds of "Factbook" look-alikes exist on the Internet. The Factbook site at: www.cia.gov is the only official site.
19. Texas A&M University Libraries. "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–.
20. Potomac Books. "The World Factbook 2008 CIA's 2007 Edition". Archived from the original on June 20, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
21. Skyhorse Publishing. "CIA World Factbook 2008, The". Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
22. 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...
23. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why don't you include information on entities such as Tibet or Kashmir?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2008. Also included in the Factbook are entries on parts of the world whose status has not yet been resolved (e.g., West Bank, Spratly Islands). Specific regions within a country or areas in dispute among countries are not covered.
24. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – Spratly Islands". Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
25. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why doesn't The World Factbook include information on states, departments, provinces, etc., in the country format?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2007. The World Factbook provides national-level information on countries, territories, and dependencies, but not subnational administrative units within a country. A comprehensive encyclopedia might be a source for state/province-level information.
26. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why has The World Factbook dropped the four French departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, and French Guiana?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2007. The reason the four entities are no longer in The World Factbook is because their status has changed. While they are overseas departments of France, they are also now recognized as French regions, having equal status to the 22 metropolitan regions that make up European France.
27. Directorate of Intelligence (April 8, 2011). "World Factbook Updates – April 8, 2011". Archived from the original on April 9, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011. The Indian Ocean island entity of Mayotte became an overseas department of France on 31 March. The change in status makes it an integral part of France and so its description is now included in the France country profile of The World Factbook. (Archived by WebCite at )
28. "US State Department, CIA Use Undivided Moroccan Map". Morocco World News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
29. "Morocco". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. August 2, 2022. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
30. "Annex 26 - U.K. Foreign Office, Colonial Office and Ministry of Defence, U.S. Defence Interests in the Indian Ocean, D.O. (O)(64)23, FCO 31/3437" (PDF). International Court of Justice. April 23, 1964. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
31. "Introduction :: BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY". Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
32. "Resolution A/RES/73/295 Vote - Request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965". United Nations Digital Library. May 22, 2019. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
33. "Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965". United Nations Digital Library. May 24, 2019. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
34. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – China (map)". Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
35. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why are the Golan Heights not shown as part of Israel or Northern Cyprus with Turkey?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2006. Territorial occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States Government are not shown on US Government maps.
36. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – Taiwan". Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
37. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why are Taiwan and the European Union listed out of alphabetical order at the end of the Factbook entries?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2006. Taiwan is listed after the regular entries because even though the mainland People's Republic of China claims Taiwan, elected Taiwanese authorities de facto administer the island and reject mainland sovereignty claims. * * * The European Union (EU) is not a country, but it has taken on many nation-like attributes and these are likely to be expanded in the future.
38. Directorate of Intelligence (January 27, 2005). "The World Factbook – Taiwan". Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
39. "China". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
40. "Paracel Islands". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
41. "Spratly Islands". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
42. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – Burma". Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2006. since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
43. Directorate of Intelligence (1992). "The World Factbook 1992 – Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations". Archived from the original on September 9, 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2006. Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia have replaced Yugoslavia.
44. "Official site of the U.N., List of UN Member States". Un.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
45. Directorate of Intelligence (1994). "The World Factbook 1994 – Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations". Archived from the original on September 9, 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2006. The name of Macedonia was changed to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
46. Directorate of Intelligence (November 30, 2004). "The World Factbook – Macedonia". Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
47. Staff reporter (November 4, 2004). "US snubs Greece over Macedonia". BBC News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2006. Greece has protested strongly at a decision by the US to refer to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) simply as "Macedonia".
48. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – Macedonia". Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
49. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – European Union". Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
50. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Why doesn't The World Factbook include information on states, departments, provinces, the European Union, etc., in the country format? (mirror)". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2007. The World Factbook provides national-level information on countries, territories, and dependencies, but not on subnational administrative units within a country or supranational entities like the European Union.
51. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges". Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
52. For an example of a redirect, see what happens with the profile for Kingman Reef.
53. Directorate of Intelligence (September 19, 2006). "The World Factbook – Iles Eparses (mirror)". Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
54. For an example of a redirect, see what happens with the profile Archived 2022-01-26 at the Wayback Machine for Juan de Nova Island (mirror).
55. Directorate of Intelligence (July 19, 2007). "CIA – The World Factbook 2007: What's New". Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2007. The five former entities of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island, previously grouped as Iles Eparses (Scattered Islands), now constitute a district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
56. Department of State (August 1999). "Serbia and Montenegro (08/99) (See Yugoslavia)". Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2007. (Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been recognized as a state by the United States.)
57. Directorate of Intelligence (1992). "1992 CIA World Factbook: Serbia and Montenegro (mirror)". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
58. Department of State. "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Kingdom of Serbia/Yugoslavia". Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2019. On May 21, 1992, the U.S. announced that it would not recognize the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) as a successor state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The FRY was composed of the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro.
59. White, Mary Jo (January 31, 2000). "767 Third Avenue Associates v. United States: Brief For Amicus Curiae United States of America Supporting Appellees and Supporting Affirmance in Part and Reversal in Part" (MS Word). Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2010. Since 1992, the United States has taken the position that the SFRY has ceased to exist, that there is no state representing the continuation of the SFRY, and that five successors have arisen—the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) ("FRY(S&M)"), the Republic of Slovenia ("Slovenia"), the Republic of Croatia ("Croatia"), the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina ("Bosnia-Herzegovina"), and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ("FYROM")
60. Directorate of Intelligence (2000). "CIA World Factbook 2000 – Country Maps (mirror)". Retrieved February 6, 2007.
61. Directorate of Intelligence (1999). "CIA – The World Factbook 1999 – Serbia and Montenegro". Archived from the original on November 9, 1999. Retrieved October 17, 2010. Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been formally recognized as a state by the US. The US view is that the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and that none of the successor republics represents its continuation.
62. For an example, see the profile for the FRY in the 1999 World Factbook.
63. Staff reporter (October 7, 2000). "Kostunica sworn in as president of Yugoslavia". CNN. Archived from the original on September 22, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
64. Directorate of Intelligence (2001). "CIA – The World Factbook – Notes and Definitions". Archived from the original on August 3, 2002. Retrieved October 17, 2010. The entity of Serbia and Montenegro is now officially known as Yugoslavia.
65. Staff reporter (March 14, 2002). "Yugoslav partners sign historic deal". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2006. Serbia and Montenegro have signed an accord which will consign the name Yugoslavia to history and shelve any immediate plans for Montenegrin independence.
66. Staff reporter (February 4, 2003). "Yugoslavia consigned to history". BBC News. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2006. From now on it will be called just Serbia and Montenegro—the two remaining republics joined in a loose union.
67. Directorate of Intelligence (March 19, 2003). "CIA – The World Factbook 2002: What's new". Archived from the original on April 8, 2003. Retrieved October 17, 2010. Yugoslavia has been renamed Serbia and Montenegro as of 4 February 2003.
68. Directorate of Intelligence (February 28, 2008). "The World Factbook – Kosovo". Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
69. Directorate of Intelligence (July 19, 2007). "CIA – The World Factbook 2007: What's New". Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2007. The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) now recognizes Timor-Leste as the short form name for East Timor* * *
70. Alicia Shepard (June 2, 2010). "NPR Ombudsman CIA get numbers wrong on Jewish Settlers". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
71. "Botswana", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, January 19, 2023, archived from the original on April 12, 2021, retrieved January 26, 2023
72. Dube, Musa W. (July 1999). "Consuming a Colonial Cultural Bomb: Translating Badimo Into 'Demons' in the Setswana Bible (Matthew 8.28–34; 15.22; 10.8)". Journal for the Study of the New Testament. 21 (73): 33–58. doi:10.1177/0142064X9902107303. ISSN 0142-064X. S2CID 162928204. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
73. Richard Collin & Pamela L. Martin. An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013), p. 41.
74. "Weights and Measures - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
75. "U.S. Metrication Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)". NIST. August 28, 2023. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Factbook is one of the often cited sources of the U.S./Liberia/Burma metric myth. The first unclassified version of the CIA Factbook was published around the same time the U.S. Metric Study. It's likely that the original list of "uncommitted" countries was incorporated, then edited as countries adopted mandatory metric laws. Over the years, many web resources have quoted the CIA Factbook, perpetuating the metric myth and elevating the map to a pop culture meme.
76. Benham, Elizabeth (October 6, 2020). "Busting Myths about the Metric System". NIST.
77. Central Intelligence Agency. "World Leaders". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2007.

General and cited sources

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Factbook.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The World Factbook

• Official website
• CIA World Factbook as XML
• On stephansmap.org – The CIA World Factbook accessible by location and date range; covers the years 2001–2007. All Factbook entries are tagged with "cia". Requires graphical browser with JavaScript.
• The current CIA World Factbook in Excel spreadsheet format

Mobile versions of the Factbook

• Mobile menu of 36 years of CIA World Factbooks, last updated February 2019
• World Factbook for Android Archived March 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine – Optimized CIA World Factbook version for Android Devices

The Factbook by year

• Countries of the World – 36 years of the CIA World Factbook: (1982–2019)
• Previous editions of The World Factbook from the University of Missouri–St. Louis archive:

1992 Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1993 Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1994 Archived July 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1995 Archived June 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1996 Archived October 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1997 Archived July 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1998 Archived October 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 1999 Archived October 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2000, 2001 Archived June 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2002 Archived May 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2003 Archived June 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2004 Archived June 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2005 Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2006 Archived March 23, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, 2007 Archived June 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, 2008 Archived August 5, 2012, at archive.today

• 1991 CIA World Factbook
• 1990 CIA World Factbook
• 1989 CIA World Factbook
• 1987 CIA World Factbook
• 1986 CIA World Factbook
• 1985 CIA World Factbook
• 1984 CIA World Factbook
• 1982 CIA World Factbook