The World Factbook
reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (1962–2026)
AI overview
The World Factbook is a reference resource created and maintained by the CIA that provides basic factual information about countries and territories around the world. It serves as a widely used public resource for people seeking reliable, standardized data on geography, government, economy, and other key facts about nations globally.
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Article
The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook, was a reference resource that was 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 website, 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, 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. 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.