The World Factbook

The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook, was a reference resource produced by the US Central Intelligence Agency from 1962 until 2026. It offered quick, almanac-style information about the countries of the world, including details on their demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military.

It was created to help U.S. government officials and was not classified after 1971. Since 1975, the public could read it in print, first through the CIA and later the Government Publishing Office. People could also access it online and download it.

The Factbook gave two to three pages of information for each of 258 international places, such as U.S.-recognized countries, areas that depend on other countries, and other regions.

It was often used for school research and news stories because, as a work of the U.S. government, it was free to use in the United States.

On February 4, 2026, the CIA stopped publishing The World Factbook with no warning or reason. Now, it is kept safe by The Mozilla Data Collective and the Factbook Archive.

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