The World Factbook

The World Factbook, also known as the CIA World Factbook,[1] is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the Government Publishing Office. The Factbook is available in the form of a website that is partially updated every week. It is also available for download for use off-line. It provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of each of 267 international entities[2] including U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.

The World Factbook
CountryUnited States
LanguageAmerican English
SubjectGeneral
GenreAlmanac about the countries of the world
PublisherCentral Intelligence Agency
Publication date
See frequency of updates and availability, no longer published in paper book form by the CIA
Websitecia.gov/the-world-factbook

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.[3] However, it is frequently used as a resource for academic research papers and news articles.[4] As a work of the U.S. government, it is in the public domain in the United States.[5]

Sources
Cover of the U.S. government print edition of The World Factbook (2016–17 edition)

In researching the Factbook, the CIA uses the sources listed below. Other public and private sources are also consulted.[6]

The World Factbook website as it appeared in December 2014

Because the Factbook is in the public domain, people are free under United States law to redistribute it or parts of it in any way that they like, without permission of the CIA.[6] However, the CIA requests that it be cited when the Factbook is used.[5] Copying the official seal of the CIA without permission is prohibited by U.S. federal law—specifically, the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. § 403m).

Frequency of updates and availability

Before November 2001 The World Factbook website was updated yearly;[7] from 2004 to 2010 it was updated every two weeks;[7] since 2010 it has been updated weekly.[8] Generally, information currently available as of January 1 of the current year[9] is used in preparing the Factbook.

Government edition

The first classified edition of Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version in June 1971.[10] The World Factbook was first available to the public in print in 1975.[10] In 2008 the CIA discontinued printing the Factbook themselves, instead turning printing responsibilities over to the Government Printing Office.[11] This happened due to a CIA decision to "focus Factbook resources" on the online edition.[12] The Factbook has been on the World Wide Web since October 1994.[13] The web version receives an average of six million visits per month;[4] it can also be downloaded.[14] The official printed version is sold[15] by the Government Printing Office and National Technical Information Service. In past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM,[16] microfiche,[17] magnetic tape,[17] and floppy disk.[17]

Reprints and older editions online

Many Internet sites use information and images from the CIA World Factbook.[18] Several publishers, including Grand River Books,[19] Potomac Books (formerly known as Brassey's Inc.),[20] and Skyhorse Publishing[21] have published the Factbook in recent years.

Entities listed
Map of the world published by the CIA World Factbook in 2016

As of July 2011, The World Factbook comprises 267 entities,[2] which can be divided into the following categories:[22]

Independent countries
The CIA defines these as people "politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory."[22] In this category, there are 195 entities.
Others
Places set apart from the list of independent countries. Currently there are two: Taiwan and the European Union.
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
Places affiliated with another country. They may be subcategorized by affiliated country:
Miscellaneous
Antarctica and places in dispute. There are six such entities.
Other entities
The World and the oceans. There are five oceans and the World (the World entry is intended as a summary of the other entries).[4]

Territorial issues and controversies

Areas not covered

Specific regions within a country or areas in dispute among countries, such as Kashmir, are not covered,[23] but other areas of the world whose status is disputed, such as the Spratly Islands, have entries.[23][24] Subnational areas of countries (such as U.S. states or the Canadian provinces and territories) are not included in the Factbook. Instead, users looking for information about subnational areas are referred to "a comprehensive encyclopedia" for their reference needs.[25] This criterion was invoked in the 2007[26] and 2011[27] editions with the decision to drop the entries for French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion. They were dropped because besides being overseas departments, they were now overseas regions, and an integral part of France.[26][27] Since the Trump administration's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in late 2020, most of its data has been merged into Morocco's page.[28][29]

Chagos Archipelago

Some entries on the World Factbook are known to be in line with the political views and agenda of the United States. The United States is behind both the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritian territory and the forcible expulsion of the Chagossians from their lands to establish a military base on one of the island of the archipelago, namely Diego Garcia.[30] The US does not recognise the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago and the archipelago is listed as the British Indian Ocean Territory on the CIA Website.[31] The website further erroneously mentioned that the Chagos Archipelago is also claimed by the Seychelles,[31] while officially 116 countries including the Seychelles against only 6 countries including the United States voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution dated 24 May 2019 which called upon the United Kingdom to withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally to enable Mauritius to complete the decolonization of its territory as rapidly as possible.[32][33]

Kashmir

Maps depicting Kashmir have the Indo-Pakistani border drawn at the Line of Control, but the region of Kashmir administered by China drawn in hash marks.[34]

Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus, which the U.S. considers part of the Republic of Cyprus, is not given a separate entry because "territorial occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States Government are not shown on U.S. Government maps."[35]

Taiwan/Republic of China

The name "Republic of China" is not listed as Taiwan's official name under the "Government" section,[36] due to U.S. acknowledgement of Beijing's One-China policy according to which there is one China and Taiwan is a part of it.[37] The name "Republic of China" was briefly added on January 27, 2005,[38] but has since been changed back to "none".[36] Of the Factbook's two maps of China, one highlights the island of Taiwan as part of the country[34] while the other does not.[39] (See also: Political status of Taiwan, Legal status of Taiwan)

Disputed South China Sea Islands

The Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, subjects of territorial disputes, have entries in the Factbook where they are not listed as the territory of any one nation. The disputed claims to the islands are discussed in the entries.[40][41]

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 the Burma name.[42]

North Macedonia

The country was first entered as Macedonia in the Factbook upon independence in 1992.[43] In the 1994 edition, the name of the entry was changed to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as it is recognised by the United Nations (pending resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute).[44][45] For the next decade, this was the name the nation was listed under. In the 2004 edition of the Factbook, the name of the entry was changed back to Macedonia, following a November 2004 U.S. decision to refer to the country using this name.[46][47][48] On February 19, 2019, the entry was renamed to North Macedonia following the country's name change to the Republic of North Macedonia.

European Union

On December 16, 2004, the CIA added an entry for the European Union (EU) for the first time.[49][50] The "What's New" section of the 2005 Factbook states: "The European Union continues to accrue more nation-like characteristics for itself and so a separate listing was deemed appropriate."[37]

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.[51] The old entries for each individual insular area remain as redirects on the Factbook website.[52] 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.[53] As with the new United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry, the old entries for these five islands remained as redirects on the website.[54] On July 19, 2007, the Iles Eparses entry and redirects for each island were dropped due to the group becoming a district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in February.[55]

Serbia and Montenegro/Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) broke apart in 1991. The following year, it was replaced in the Factbook with entries for each of its former constituent republics.[43] In doing this, the CIA listed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), proclaimed in 1992, as Serbia and Montenegro, as the U.S. did not recognize the union between the two republics.[56][57] This was done in accordance with a May 21, 1992, decision by the U.S. not to recognize any of the former Yugoslav republics[58][59] as successor states to the recently dissolved SFRY.

A map of Serbia and Montenegro from the 2000 edition of The World Factbook.[60] 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.

These views were made clear in a disclaimer printed in the Factbook: "Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been recognized as a state by the United States."[61] Montenegro and Serbia were treated separately in the Factbook data, as can be seen on the map.[62] In October 2000, Slobodan Milošević was forced out of office after a disputed election.[63] This event led to democratic elections and U.S. diplomatic recognition. The 2001 edition of the Factbook thus referred to the state as Yugoslavia.[64] On March 14, 2002, an agreement was signed to transform the FRY into a loose state union called Serbia and Montenegro;[65] it took effect on February 4, 2003.[66] The name of the Yugoslavia entity was altered in the Factbook the month after the change.[67]

Kosovo

On February 28, 2008, the CIA added an entry for Kosovo, which declared independence on February 17 of the same year.[68] Before this, Kosovo was excluded in the Factbook.[23] Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute; Serbia continues to claim Kosovo as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 113 out of 193 United Nations member states, including the United States.[69]

East Timor/Timor-Leste

On July 19, 2007, the entry for East Timor was renamed Timor-Leste following a decision of the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN).[70]

Factual

In June 2009, National Public Radio (NPR), relying on information obtained from the CIA World Factbook, put the number of Israeli Jews living in settlements in the West Bank and Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem at 250,000. However, a better estimate, based on State Department and Israeli sources put the figure at about 500,000. NPR then issued a correction. Chuck Holmes, foreign editor for NPR Digital, said, "I'm surprised and displeased, and it makes me wonder what other information is out-of-date or incorrect in the CIA World Factbook."[71]

Scholars have acknowledged that some entries in the Factbook are out of date.[72]

See also
  • World Leaders, another regular publication of the CIA[73]
  • National Security Agency academic publications

Alternative publications

  • Europa World Year Book
  • The New York Times Almanac
  • World Almanac
  • Time Almanac with Information Please
  • Whitaker's Almanack

References

Citations
  1. Directorate of Intelligence (2011-07-12). "CIA – World Factbook". Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2011-07-14. The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
  2. Directorate of Intelligence. "About The World Factbook—Copyright and Contributors". Retrieved 30 December 2021. 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. Information is provided by other public and private sources. The Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without the permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
  3. "CIA World Factbook 2006 Now Available" (Press release). Central Intelligence Agency. 2006-04-05. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-11. The World Factbook remains the CIA's most widely disseminated and most popular product, now averaging almost 6 million visits each month. In addition, tens of thousands of government, commercial, academic, and other Web sites link to or replicate the online version of the Factbook. * * * Included among the 271 geographic entries is one for the "World," which incorporates data and other information summarized where possible from the other 270 country listings.
  4. 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.)?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-23. The World Factbook is in the public domain and may be used freely by anyone at any time without seeking permission.* * * As a courtesy, please cite The World Factbook when used.
  5. Directorate of Intelligence. "About The World Factbook—Copyright and Contributors". Retrieved 30 December 2021. 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. Information is provided by other public and private sources. The Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
  6. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): How often is The World Factbook updated?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-26. Formerly our Web site (and the published Factbook) were only updated annually. Beginning in November 2001 we instituted a new system of more frequent online updates. The World Factbook is currently updated every two weeks.
  7. Directorate of Intelligence (2010-11-24). "World Factbook Updates – October 22, 2010". Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-01. Since 2004, The World Factbook website has been updated on a bi-weekly schedule. Culminating a three-month trial effort, we are pleased to announce that the Factbook will now be updated on a weekly basis.
  8. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Notes and Definitions: Date of information". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-23. In general, information available as of 1 January 2007 was used in the preparation of this edition.
  9. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – History". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-03. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971.
  10. Directorate of Intelligence (2009-06-08). "CIA – The World Factbook – About :: History: 2008". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-08. Printing of the Factbook turned over to the Government Printing Office.
  11. Directorate of Intelligence (2008). CIA – The World Factbook 2008: Purchasing Information. ISBN 9780160873614. Retrieved 2015-04-19. The Government Printing Office has assumed production of The World Factbook print edition. The CIA has decided to focus Factbook resources exclusively on the World Wide Web online edition...
  12. Miller, Jill Young. "CIA puts data on the internet." Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 12 December 1994.
  13. Central Intelligence Agency. "The World Factbook Archives - The World Factbook". Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  14. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Purchasing Information". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-23. Other users may obtain sales information about printed copies from the following: Superintendent of Documents...National Technical Information Service
  15. Directorate of Intelligence (1999). "The World Factbook 1999 – Purchasing Information (mirror)". Retrieved 2006-09-24. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prepares The World Factbook in printed, CD-ROM, and Internet versions.
  16. Directorate of Intelligence (1995). "Publication Information for The World Factbook 1995 (mirror)". Retrieved 2006-09-24. This publication is also available in microfiche, magnetic tape, or computer diskettes.
  17. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): I am using the Factbook online and it is not working. What is wrong?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-24. Hundreds of "Factbook" look-alikes exist on the Internet. The Factbook site at: www.cia.gov is the only official site.
  18. Texas A&M University Libraries. "Introduction to Comparative Politics POLS 329". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-02. The world factbook (Handbook of the Nations). Detroit, Mich.: Grand River Books, 1981–.
  19. Potomac Books. "The World Factbook 2008 CIA's 2007 Edition". Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  20. Skyhorse Publishing. "CIA World Factbook 2008, The". Archived from the original on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  21. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Notes and Definitions: Entities". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2011-07-12. "Independent state" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. * * * There are a total of 266 separate geographic entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows...
  22. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why don't you include information on entities such as Tibet or Kashmir?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-24. Also included in the Factbook are entries on parts of the world whose status has not yet been resolved (e.g., West Bank, Spratly Islands). Specific regions within a country or areas in dispute among countries are not covered.
  23. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – Spratly Islands". Retrieved 2006-09-24.
  24. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why doesn't The World Factbook include information on states, departments, provinces, etc., in the country format?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-26. The World Factbook provides national-level information on countries, territories, and dependencies, but not subnational administrative units within a country. A comprehensive encyclopedia might be a source for state/province-level information.
  25. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Why has The World Factbook dropped the four French departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, and French Guiana?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-26. The reason the four entities are no longer in The World Factbook is because their status has changed. While they are overseas departments of France, they are also now recognized as French regions, having equal status to the 22 metropolitan regions that make up European France.
  26. Directorate of Intelligence (2011-04-08). "World Factbook Updates – April 8, 2011". Archived from the original on April 9, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-11. The Indian Ocean island entity of Mayotte became an overseas department of France on 31 March. The change in status makes it an integral part of France and so its description is now included in the France country profile of The World Factbook. (Archived by WebCite at )
  27. "US State Department, CIA Use Undivided Moroccan Map". Morocco World News.
  28. "Morocco". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2 August 2022.
  29. "Annex 26 - U.K. Foreign Office, Colonial Office and Ministry of Defence, U.S. Defence Interests in the Indian Ocean, D.O. (O)(64)23, FCO 31/3437" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 1964-04-23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  30. "Introduction :: BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY". Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  31. "Resolution A/RES/73/295 Vote - Request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965". United Nations Digital Library. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  32. "Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965". United Nations Digital Library. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  33. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – China (map)". Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  34. 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?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-23. Territorial occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States Government are not shown on US Government maps.
  35. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – Taiwan". Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  36. 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?". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-23. Taiwan is listed after the regular entries because even though the mainland People's Republic of China claims Taiwan, elected Taiwanese authorities de facto administer the island and reject mainland sovereignty claims. * * * The European Union (EU) is not a country, but it has taken on many nation-like attributes and these are likely to be expanded in the future.
  37. Directorate of Intelligence (2005-01-27). "The World Factbook – Taiwan". Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  38. "China". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  39. "Paracel Islands". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  40. "Spratly Islands". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  41. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – Burma". Retrieved 2006-09-23. since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
  42. Directorate of Intelligence (1992). "The World Factbook 1992 – Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations". Retrieved 2006-09-23. Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia have replaced Yugoslavia.
  43. "Official site of the U.N., List of UN Member States". Un.org. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  44. Directorate of Intelligence (1994). "The World Factbook 1994 – Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations". Retrieved 2006-09-23. The name of Macedonia was changed to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
  45. Directorate of Intelligence (2004-11-30). "The World Factbook – Macedonia)". Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  46. Staff reporter (2004-11-04). "US snubs Greece over Macedonia". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-09-23. Greece has protested strongly at a decision by the US to refer to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) simply as "Macedonia".
  47. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – Macedonia". Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  48. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – European Union". Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  49. Directorate of Intelligence. "The World Factbook – Why doesn't The World Factbook include information on states, departments, provinces, the European Union, etc., in the country format? (mirror)". Retrieved 2007-06-02. The World Factbook provides national-level information on countries, territories, and dependencies, but not on subnational administrative units within a country or supranational entities like the European Union.
  50. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges". Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  51. For an example of a redirect, see what happens with the profile for Kingman Reef.
  52. Directorate of Intelligence (2006-09-19). "The World Factbook – Iles Eparses (mirror)". Retrieved 2007-11-10.
  53. For an example of a redirect, see what happens with the profile for Juan de Nova Island (mirror).
  54. Directorate of Intelligence (2007-07-19). "CIA – The World Factbook 2007: What's New". Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-20. The five former entities of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island, previously grouped as Iles Eparses (Scattered Islands), now constitute a district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
  55. Department of State (August 1999). "Serbia and Montenegro (08/99) (See Yugoslavia)". Retrieved 2007-02-03. (Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been recognized as a state by the United States.)
  56. Directorate of Intelligence (1992). "1992 CIA World Factbook: Serbia and Montenegro (mirror)". Retrieved 2006-10-29.
  57. Department of State. "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Kingdom of Serbia/Yugoslavia". Retrieved 2019-04-29. On May 21, 1992, the U.S. announced that it would not recognize the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) as a successor state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The FRY was composed of the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro.
  58. White, Mary Jo (2000-01-31). "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" (MS Word). Retrieved 2010-10-17. 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")
  59. Directorate of Intelligence (2000). "CIA World Factbook 2000 – Country Maps (mirror)". Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  60. Directorate of Intelligence (1999). "CIA – The World Factbook 1999 – Serbia and Montenegro". Archived from the original on 1999-11-09. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 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.
  61. For an example, see the profile for the FRY in the 1999 World Factbook.
  62. Staff reporter (2000-10-07). "Kostunica sworn in as president of Yugoslavia". CNN. Archived from the original on September 22, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
  63. Directorate of Intelligence (2001). "CIA – The World Factbook – Notes and Definitions". Archived from the original on 2002-08-03. Retrieved 2010-10-17. The entity of Serbia and Montenegro is now officially known as Yugoslavia.
  64. Staff reporter (2002-03-14). "Yugoslav partners sign historic deal". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-10-30. Serbia and Montenegro have signed an accord which will consign the name Yugoslavia to history and shelve any immediate plans for Montenegrin independence.
  65. Staff reporter (2003-02-04). "Yugoslavia consigned to history". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-11-17. From now on it will be called just Serbia and Montenegro—the two remaining republics joined in a loose union.
  66. Directorate of Intelligence (2003-03-19). "CIA – The World Factbook 2002: What's new". Archived from the original on 2003-04-08. Retrieved 2010-10-17. Yugoslavia has been renamed Serbia and Montenegro as of 4 February 2003.
  67. Directorate of Intelligence (2008-02-28). "The World Factbook – Kosovo". Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  68. "Kosovo's parliament declares independence". CTV.ca. 2008-02-17. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2008-08-24. Serbia opposes the declaration of independence* * *
  69. Directorate of Intelligence (2007-07-19). "CIA – The World Factbook 2007: What's New". Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-20. The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) now recognizes Timor-Leste as the short form name for East Timor* * *
  70. Alicia Shepard (2 June 2010). "NPR Ombudsman CIA get numbers wrong on Jewish Settlers". National Public Radio. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  71. Richard Collin & Pamela L. Martin. An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013), p. 41.
  72. Central Intelligence Agency. "World Leaders". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-25.

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