The World Factbook (New ed)

The "World Factbook" is the basic source of reference on the countries of the World.

Prepared annually by the Central Intelligence Agency for the use of US Government officials, its style, format, coverage and content are designed to meet their specific requirements.

It provides comparable information on each country, information that is divided into the following sections: geography; people; government; economy; communications; transportation; military; and transnational issues. Also included are appendices, which list amongst other things international organizations and a cross-referenced list of geographic names.

The text also includes three folded maps: "Political Map of the World, April 2001", "Physical Map of the World, April 2001" and "Standard Time Zones of the World".