The World Factbook
Introduction
The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. The factbook gives a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, location, telecommunications capacity, government, industry, military capability, etc, of all US-recognized countries and territories in the world.
Purpose
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.
Sources
Information is provided by:
- Antarctic Information Program (National Science Foundation),
- Bureau of the Census (Department of Commerce),
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor),
- Central Intelligence Agency,
- Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs,
- Defense Intelligence Agency (Department of Defense),
- US Department of State,
- US Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior),
- US Maritime Administration (Department of Transportation),
- National Imagery and Mapping 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),
- United States Board on Geographic Names (Department of the Interior), and
- other public and private sources.
Copyright
Because this document is public domain, i.e. not under copyright, people are free not only to redistribute it, but also to modify it in any way they like, without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Many sites have used information and images from the CIA World Factbook, because of its public domain status, including the collaborative on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Besides the World Factbook, the CIA puts out a directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments each week.
Warning
The official seal of the CIA, however, may NOT be copied without permission as required by the CIA Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. section 403m). Misuse of the official seal of the CIA could result in civil and criminal penalties.
Federal law prohibits use of the words "Central Intelligence Agency," the initials "CIA," the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency, or any colorable imitation of such words, initials, or seal in connection with any merchandise, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Central Intelligence Agency. [1] (http://www.cia.gov/)
Controversy
The Factbook caused some controversy in 1998 when British journalists noticed it contained some glaring errors - most notably that 'the United Kingdom gained its independence in 1801'.
See also: Abbreviations used in CIA World Factbook
External links
- 2004 CIA World Factbook (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/)
- 2004 CIA World Factbook (http://www.memoware.com/?screen=doc_detail&doc_id=15510&back=main) for Pocket PC and Palm OS devices
- Nationmaster.com (http://www.nationmaster.com): statistics with bars, based on the Factbook
- Authorama CIA World Factbook (http://www.authorama.com): The complete Factbook as XHTML1.0 (easily readable, no images, device-independent)
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