The World Factbook

Also known as CIA World Factbook, World Factbook, CIA World Fact Book, The World Factbook (Online), CIA World Factbook (Online), World Factbook (Online), World Fact Book

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.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

Vinony's link graph records 2,124 inbound references to The World Factbook, and connects out to Central Intelligence Agency, United States Government Publishing Office and United States.

Vinony files it under 1962 establishments in the United States, 2026 disestablishments in the United States and Academic works about intelligence analysis.

Vinony links it to 61 Wikipedia language editions.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: scientific journal
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Genre: reference work
Country of origin: United States
Publisher: United States Government Publishing Office
Main subject: economic history
Official website: purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/LPS35389
Image: WFB 2016.jpg

Show 17 more facts

title: The World Factbook
Commons gallery: CIA World Factbook
language of work or name: English language
place of publication: Washington, D.C.
work available at URL: catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000532922
described at URL: library.ohio-state.edu/record=b1173881~S7
Library of Congress Classification (works and editions): G122
Dewey Decimal Classification (works and editions): 910.5
author name string: National Foreign Assessment Center
publication interval: 2
short name: World Factbook
Regensburg Classification (works and editions): MB 1600
URL: legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/cia_country.html
copyright status: public domain
Commons category: World Factbook
discontinuation date: 2026-02-00
publication date: 1962-00-00

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Encyclopedic overview

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “The World Factbook” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.