The World Factbook

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The World Factbook
Cover of the current World Factbook
description documentation
Area of ​​Expertise Statistics on the countries of the world
language English
First edition 1962
Frequency of publication weekly online
Web link World Factbook website
ISSN (online) 0277-1527

The World Factbook (from 1975 to 1980 National Basic Intelligence Factbook ; also known as the CIA World Factbook ) is published by the CIA and contains statistical data on all countries in the world , mostly from the areas of demographics , economics , infrastructure , politics and the military . It also contains a number of attachments such as lists of country codes, flags, etc.

The World Factbook was originally intended for use by members of the federal government of the United States ; it first appeared as a secret document in 1962. A publicly accessible version has also existed since 1971; the World Factbook has been published in print since 1975. A version has been published on the Internet since 1994 . This is updated weekly and is therefore always more current than the printed version. In addition, all editions since 2000 are completely available for download .

The factbook is in the public domain because it is created by US government employees. Its content can therefore be used as desired without special permission. However, the use of the CIA seal is prohibited.

Errors in the factbook

Like other comparable works, the World Factbook also contains a lot of incorrect and / or outdated information. Checking the information is difficult because the factbook does not usually name any sources. The free availability and standardized representation of each country make the factbook a frequently cited reference work, so that errors can find widespread use. In some cases, misstatements in the World Factbook attracted public attention:

  • The fertility rate of Singapore is stated by the media as the lowest in the world, often based on quotes from the World Factbook - according to the Factbook it is currently (2017) at 0.82 children / woman, but the World Bank and the Singapore Statistical Office name more than 1.2.
  • The factbook estimated the Jewish population in the West Bank to be half that of 250,000; in fact, according to the US State Department and the Israeli government, there were 500,000 people in 2009. The reason was that the data from 2003 were no longer updated. In addition, in June 2005 the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip were evacuated; however, the Factbook claimed there were 5,000 settlers in the area for almost five years.
  • In order to change the constitution in Switzerland by popular initiative , one million signatures are supposedly required; in fact there are 100,000.

Web links

Commons : PD CIA WF  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alicia C. Shepard: CIA Gets Numbers Wrong on Jewish Settlers. In: Website NPR . National Public Radio , June 2, 2010, accessed August 6, 2017 .