The World Factbook

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The World Factbook 2007 (government edtion) cover.
The World Factbook 2007 (government edtion) cover.
The World Factbook 2007 (Potomac Books reprint edition) cover.
The World Factbook 2007 (Potomac Books reprint edition) cover.

The World Factbook (ISSN 1553-8133; also known as the CIA World Factbook)[1] is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The Factbook provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 268 U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.

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.[2] However, it is frequently used as a resource for student papers, web sites and non-governmental publications.[3] As a work of the U.S. government, it is in the public domain.[4]

Contents

[edit] Factbook sources

In researching the Factbook, the CIA uses the sources listed below. Other public and private sources are also consulted.[2]

[edit] Copyright

Because the Factbook is in the public domain, people are free to redistribute and modify it in any way they like, without permission of the CIA.[2] However, the CIA requests that it be cited when the Factbook is used.[4] 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:[5]

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.

[edit] Frequency of updates and availability

The World Factbook website as it appears in February 2007.
The World Factbook website as it appears in February 2007.

Before November 2001, The World Factbook website was updated yearly. Since then, the Factbook website is updated every two weeks; the print edition is still updated annually.[6] Generally, information currently available as of January 1 of the current year is used in preparing the printed Factbook, which is released around the middle of each year.[7]

[edit] The government edition of the Factbook

The World Factbook has been available to the public in print since 1975 [8] and on the World Wide Web since October 1994 [9]. The Web version gets an average of 6 million visits per month;[3] it can also be downloaded.[10] The official printed version is sold [11] at cost by the Government Printing Office and National Technical Information Service. In past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM,[12] microfiche, magnetic tape, and floppy disk.[13]

[edit] Reprints

Many Internet sites, including Wikipedia, use information and images from the CIA World Factbook.[14] Several publishers, including World Almanac Books, Grand River Books, and Potomac Books (formerly known as Brassy's Inc.) have re-published the factbook in different formats. Many electronic editions of the factbook have been available for sale from third parties since the 1980s.

[edit] Entities in the Factbook

Main article: List of entities and changes in The World Factbook

As of January 2007, The World Factbook consists of 268 entities.[15] These entities can be divided into categories.[15] They are:

Independent countries 
This category has independent countries, which the CIA defines as people "politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory".[15] In this category, there are 193 entities.
Others 
The Other category is a list of other places set apart from the list of independent countries. Currently there are two: Taiwan and the European Union.
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty 
This category is a list of places affiliated with another country. They may be subdivided into categories using the country they are affiliated with:
Miscellaneous 
This category is for Antarctica and places in dispute. There are six entities.
Other entities 
This category is for the World and the oceans. There are five oceans and the World (the World entry is intended as a summary of the other 267 entries).[3]

[edit] Oddities and controversies

[edit] Political

Areas not covered

Specific regions within a country or areas in dispute among countries, such as Kurdistan, Kashmir and Kosovo, are not covered,[16] but other areas of the world whose status is disputed, such as the Spratly Islands, have entries.[17]

Kashmir
Maps depicting Kashmir have the India–Pakistan border drawn at the Line of Control, but the region of Kashmir occupied by China drawn in hash marks.[18]
Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus is not given a separate entry or listed as part of Turkey because "territorial occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States Government are not shown on U.S. Government maps."[19]
Taiwan/Republic of China
Taiwan has a separate entry not listed under T, but at the bottom of the list.[20] The name "Republic of China" is not listed as Taiwan's "official name" under the "Government" section,[21] due to U.S. recognition of Beijing's One-China Policy according to which there is one China - the People's Republic of China - and Taiwan is a part of it.[22] The name "Republic of China" was briefly added on January 27, 2005[23] but has since been changed back to "none".[24] (See also: Political status of Taiwan, Legal status of Taiwan)
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 "Burma". This is done because the name change "was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma". As a result, the US government has never adopted the name Myanmar.[25]
Macedonia
The Republic of Macedonia is entered under Macedonia.[26] This is despite the fact that no international organisations such as the United Nations,[27] the European Union,[28] NATO,[29] the European Broadcasting Union,[30] and the International Olympic Committee[31] use this short form (they all use the phrase The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) The history of the name used for the entry is a bit complex. In the 1992 edition of The World Factbook, the entry for the nation was listed under the former[32] (at the same time, new entries were added for the 20 nations that were formed out of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia; the latter two being dropped.) In the 1994 edition, the name of the entry was changed to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.[33] For the next decade, this was the name the nation was listed under. Finally, in the 2005 edition of the Factbook, the name of the entry was changed back to Macedonia.[34] This came after a November 2004 US decision to refer to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the Republic of Macedonia.[35] (See also Macedonia naming dispute.)
European Union
On December 16, 2004, the CIA added an entry for the European Union.[36] According to the CIA, the European Union was added because the EU "continues to accrue more nation-like characteristics for itself". Their reasoning was explained in this small statement in the introduction:

The evolution of the European Union (EU) from a regional economic agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's supranational organization of 27 countries across the European continent stands as an unprecedented phenomenon in the annals of history. Dynastic unions for territorial consolidation were long the norm in Europe. On a few occasions even country-level unions were arranged - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were examples - but for such a large number of nation-states to cede some of their sovereignty to an overarching entity is truly unique. Although the EU is not a federation in the strict sense, it is far more than a free-trade association such as ASEAN, NAFTA, or Mercosur, and it has many of the attributes associated with independent nations: its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency, as well as an incipient common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations. In the future, many of these nation-like characteristics are likely to be expanded. Thus, inclusion of basic intelligence on the EU has been deemed appropriate as a new, separate entity in The World Factbook. However, because of the EU's special status, this description is placed after the regular country entries.

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.[37] The old entries for each individual insular area remain as redirects on the Factbook website.[38] 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.[39] As with the new United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry, the old entries for these five islands remain as redirects on the website.[40]
Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro
A map of Yugoslavia 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.
A map of Yugoslavia from the 2000 edition of The World Factbook.[41] 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.
Yugoslavia has had a confusing history in the Factbook. Before 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was included in the Factbook.[42] In 1992, the entry was dropped[43] and entries where added for all of the former republics.[43] In doing this, the CIA listed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) as Serbia and Montenegro.[44] This was done in accordance with a May 21, 1992 decision[45] by the US Government not to recognize the FRY (or any of the other republics)[46] as successor states to the recently dissolved SFRY. The US Government also decided not recognize the FRY itself as a state.[47]
These views were made clear in a disclaimer printed in the Factbook:[48]

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.

Besides the disclaimer, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro were treated separately in the data, as can be seen in the map to the right.[49] In October 2000, Slobodan Milošević resigned after being defeated in elections held the previous month.[50] This event caused a change in the 2001 edition of the Factbook, with the Serbia and Montenegro entity being renamed Yugoslavia.[51] On March 14, 2002, an agreement was signed to transform the FRY into a loose state union called Serbia and Montenegro;[52] it took effect on February 4, 2003.[53] The name of the Yugoslavia entity was changed in the Factbook the month after the change.[54]

[edit] Factual

Before 1998, the United Kingdom profile contained a sentence that asserted the UK had gained independence on 1 January 1801.[55] This terse, confusing description has since been greatly expanded.[56]

The factbook uses standard American English.[57] As a consequence, the name of the governing party in the United Kingdom is spelled "Labor".[56] The Factbook's house style for spelling defers to the United States Board on Geographic Names and the CIA itself; as a consequence the head of Al-Qaeda is referred to as Osama Bin Ladin[58] and the ruler of Libya is referred to as Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi.[59]

[edit] Geography

The map of the United States contains Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the only city noted in the state other than Anchorage.[60] Despite being an oil field town with several thousand temporary workers at any given time, the town has a permanent population of only five residents according to the 2000 census.[61]

[edit] ISBN numbers

This is a list of International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) for the Government edition and Potomac Books reprint of the Factbook. For the reprint editions, the year of the data is in parentheses.

government editions
[62]
Potomac Books reprints

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

  1. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2006-04-05). Press Release: CIA World Factbook 2006 Now Available. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.
  2. ^ a b c Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Contributors and Copyright Information. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  3. ^ a b c
  4. ^ a b Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Can I use some or all of The World Factbook for my Web site (book, research project, homework, etc.)?. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  5. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. Use of the Central Intelligence Agency Seal. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  6. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): How often is The World Factbook updated?. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  7. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Notes and Definitions: Date of information. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  8. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook -- History. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  9. ^ Miller, Jill Young. "CIA puts data on the internet." Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 12 December 1994.
  10. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. CIA Download Page. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  11. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Purchasing Information. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  12. ^ The World Factbook staff (1999). The World Factbook 1999 - Purchasing Information (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  13. ^ The World Factbook staff (1995). Publication Information for The World Factbook 1995 (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  14. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): I am using the Factbook online and it is not working. What is wrong?. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  15. ^ a b c Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Notes and Definitions: Entities. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
  16. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why don’t you include information on entities such as Tibet, Kashmir, or Kosovo?. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  17. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Spratly Islands. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  18. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - China (map). Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  19. ^ 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?. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  20. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. The World Factbook - Country Listing. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  21. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Taiwan. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  22. ^ 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?. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  23. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2005-01-27). The World Factbook - Taiwan (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  24. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Taiwan. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  25. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Burma. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  26. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Macedonia. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  27. ^ United Nations. Growth in UN Membership. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  28. ^ European Commission. Background information - The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  29. ^ North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. "The situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is critical". Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  30. ^ European Broadcasting Union. Members' Logos. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  31. ^ International Olympic Committee. LIST OF NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEES PARTICIPATING IN THE XIX OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES IN SALT LAKE CITY. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  32. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1992). The World Factbook 1992 - Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  33. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1994). The World Factbook 1994 - Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  34. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2004-11-30). The World Factbook - Macedonia (mirror). Retrieved on September 23, 2006.
  35. ^ "US snubs Greece over Macedonia" (HTML), 2004-11-04. Retrieved on 2006-09-23. (in English)
  36. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - European Union. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  37. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  38. ^ For an example of a redirect, see what happens with the profile for Kingman Reef.
  39. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Iles Eparses. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  40. ^ For an example of a redirect, see what happens with the profile for Juan de Nova Island.
  41. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2000). CIA World Factbook 2000 - Country Maps (mirror). Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  42. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1989). Yugoslavia Government - 1989: 1989 CIA World Factbook (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  43. ^ a b Directorate of Intelligence (1992). 1992 CIA World Factbook: Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  44. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1992). 1992 CIA World Factbook: Serbia and Montenegro (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  45. ^ Department of State. Chiefs of Mission by Country, 1778-2005: Serbia and Montenegro. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
  46. ^ White, Mary Jo (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. Retrieved on 2007-02-03. “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")”
  47. ^ Department of State (August 1999). Serbia and Montenegro (08/99) (See Yugoslavia). Retrieved on 2007-02-03.
  48. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1999). CIA -- The World Factbook 1999 -- Serbia and Montenegro (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
  49. ^ For an example, see the profile for the FRY in the 1999 World Factbook.
  50. ^ "Kostunica sworn in as president of Yugoslavia" (HTML), 2000-10-07. Retrieved on 2006-10-30. (in English)
  51. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2001). CIA -- The World Factbook -- Notes and Definitions. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
  52. ^ "Yugoslav partners sign historic deal" (HTML), 2002-03-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-30. (in English)
  53. ^ "Yugoslavia consigned to history" (HTML), 2003-02-04. Retrieved on 2006-11-17. (in English)
  54. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2003-03-19). CIA - The World Factbook 2002: What's new (mirror). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  55. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (1996). The World Factbook - United Kingdom (mirror). Retrieved on September 23, 2006.
  56. ^ a b Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - United Kingdom. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  57. ^ Directorate of Intelligence. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why is the name of the Labour party misspelled?. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  58. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Afghanistan. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  59. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - Libya. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  60. ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). The World Factbook - United States (map). Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
  61. ^ US Census Bureau. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
  62. ^ The ISBN for each edition can be found on the Government Printing Office Bookstore website.
  63. ^ Central Intelligence Agency. Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.

[edit] External links

1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/e/The_World_Factbook_3b26.html"