The World Factbook staff thanks you for your comments, suggestions, updates, kudos, and corrections over the past years. The willingness of readers from around the world to share their observations and specialized knowledge is very helpful as we try to produce the best possible publications. Please feel free to continue to write and e-mail us. When submitting corrections or updates to the Factbook, please include your source(s) of information. At least two Factbook staffers review every submitted item. The sheer volume of correspondence precludes detailed personal replies, but we sincerely appreciate your time and interest in the Factbook. If you include your e-mail address we will at least acknowledge your note. Thank you again.
Answers to many frequently asked questions (FAQs) are explained in the Notes and Definitions section in The World Factbook. Please review this section to see if your question is already answered there. In addition, we have compiled the following list of FAQs to answer other common questions. Select from the following categories to narrow your search:
General
Geography
Spelling and Pronunciation
Policies and Procedures
Technical
Can you provide additional information for a
specific country?
The staff cannot provide data beyond
what appears in The World Factbook. The format and
information in the Factbook are tailored to the specific
requirements of US Government officials and content is focused on
their current and anticipated needs. The staff welcomes suggestions
for new entries.
How often is The World
Factbook updated?
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.
Can I use some or all of The
World Factbook for my Web site (book, research
project, homework, etc.)?
The World Factbook is
in the public domain and may be used freely by anyone at anytime
without seeking permission. However, US Code prohibits use of the CIA
seal in a manner which implies that the CIA approved, endorsed, or
authorized such use. If you have any questions about your intended
use, you should consult with legal counsel. Further information on
The World Factbook's use is described on the Contributors
and Copyright Information page. As a courtesy, please cite The
World Factbook when used.
Why doesn't The World
Factbook include information on states,
departments, provinces, etc., in the country format?
The
World Factbook provides national-level information on countries,
territories, and dependencies, but not subnational administrative
units within a country. A good encyclopedia should provide
state/province-level information.
Is it possible to access older editions of The
World Factbook to do comparative research and
trend analysis?
Previous versions of the Factbook,
beginning with the 2000 edition, are available for downloading - but
not browsing - on the CIA Web site. Hardcopy editions for earlier
years are available from libraries.
Would it be possible to set up a partnership or
collaboration between the producers of The World
Factbook and other organizations or
individuals?
The World Factbook does not partner
with other organizations or individuals, but we do welcome comments
and suggestions that such groups or persons choose to provide.
I can’t find a geographic name for a
particular country. Why not?
The World Factbook
is not a gazetteer (a dictionary or index of places, usually with
descriptive or statistical information) and cannot provide more than
the names of the administrative divisions (in the Government
category) and major cities/towns (on the country maps). Our expanded
Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names, however, includes many of
the world’s major geographic features as well as historic
(former) names of countries and cities mentioned in The World
Factbook.
Why are Taiwan and the European Union listed out
of alphabetical order at the end of the Factbook
entries?
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. With the
establishment of diplomatic relations with China on January 1, 1979,
the US Government recognized the People's Republic of China as the
sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position
that there is only one China and that Taiwan
is part of China.
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. A more complete explanation on the inclusion of the EU into the Factbook may be found in the Preliminary statement.
Since we have an ambassador who represents the US
at the Vatican, why is this entity not listed in the
Factbook?
Vatican
City is found under Holy See. The term
"Holy See" refers to the authority, jurisdiction, and
sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisors to direct the
worldwide Catholic Church. The Holy See has a legal personality that
allows it to enter into treaties as the juridical equal of a state
and to send and receive diplomatic representatives. Vatican City,
created in 1929 to administer properties belonging to the Holy See in
Rome, is recognized under international law as a sovereign state, but
it does not send or receive diplomatic representatives. Consequently,
Holy See is included as a Factbook entry, with Vatican City
cross-referenced in the Geographic Names appendix.
Why is Palestine not listed in The
World Factbook?
The areas that
could potentially form a future Palestinian state - the West
Bank and Gaza Strip - do appear in
the Factbook. These areas are presently Israeli-occupied
with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian 1995 Interim
Agreement; their permanent status is to be determined through further
negotiation.
Why are the Golan Heights not shown as part of
Israel or Northern Cyprus with Turkey?
Territorial
occupations/annexations not recognized by the United States
Government are not shown on US Government maps.
Why don’t you include information on
entities such as Tibet or Kashmir?
The World Factbook
provides information on the administrative divisions of a country as
recommended by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN). The
BGN is a component of the US Government that develops policies,
principles, and procedures governing the spelling, use, and
application of geographic names - domestic, foreign, Antarctic, and
undersea. Its decisions enable all departments and agencies of the US
Government to have access to uniform names of geographic features.
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.
What do you mean when you say that a country is
"doubly landlocked"?
A doubly landlocked
country is one that is separated from an ocean or an ocean-accessible
sea by two intervening countries. Uzbekistan
and Liechtenstein are the only
countries that fit this definition.
Why is the area of the United States described as
“slightly larger than China” in the Factbook
, while other sources list China as larger in
area than the United States?
It all depends on whether
one is looking at total area (land and water) when making the
comparison (which is the criterion used by the Factbook) or
just land area (which excludes inland water features such as rivers
or lakes).
Total area (combining land and water)
United States = 9,826,630 sq km
China = 9,596,960 sq
km
Land only (without any water features)
United States = 9,161,923 sq km
China = 9,326,410 sq
km
Why has The World Factbook
dropped the four French departments of
Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, and French Guiana?
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. In other words, they are now recognized as being part of
France proper. Their status is somewhat analogous to Alaska and
Hawaii vis-a-vis the contiguous United States. Although separated
from the larger geographic entity, they are still considered to be an
integral part of it.
Why is the spelling of proper names such as
rulers, presidents, and prime ministers in The
World Factbook different than their spelling in
my country?
The Factbook staff applies the names
and spellings from the Chiefs of State link on the CIA Web
site. The World Factbook is prepared using the standard
American English computer keyboard and does not use any special
characters, symbols, or most diacritical markings in its spellings.
Surnames are always spelled with capital letters; they may appear
first in some cultures.
The spelling of geographic names, features,
cities, administrative divisions, etc. in the Factbook
differs from those used in my country. Why is this?
The
United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) recommends and approves
names and spellings. The BGN is the component of the United States
Government that develops policies, principles, and procedures
governing the spelling, use, and application of geographic names -
domestic, foreign, Antarctic, and undersea. Its decisions enable all
departments and agencies of the US Government to use uniform names of
geographic features. (A note is usually included where
changes may have occurred but have not yet been approved by the BGN).
The World Factbook is prepared using the standard American
English computer keyboard and does not use any special characters,
symbols, or most diacritical markings in its spellings.
Why doesn’t The World
Factbook include pronunciations of country or
leader names?
There are too many variations in
pronunciation among English-speaking countries, not to mention
English renditions of non-English names, for pronunciations to be
included. American English pronunciations are included for
some countries like Qatar and Kiribati.
Why is the name of the Labour party
misspelled?
When American and British spellings of common
English words differ, The World Factbook always uses the
American spelling, even when these common words form part of a proper
name in British English.
What is The World Factbook’s
source for a specific subject field?
The Factbook
staff uses many different sources to publish what we judge are the
most reliable and consistent data for any particular category. Space
considerations preclude a listing of these various sources.
The names of some geographic features provided in
the Factbook differ from
those used in other publications. For example, in Asia the Factbook
has Burma as the country name, but in other publications Myanmar is
used; also, the Factbook
uses Sea of Japan whereas other publications label it East Sea. What
is your policy on naming geographic features?
The
Factbook staff follows the guidance of the United States
Board on Geographic Names (BGN). The BGN is the component of the
United States Government that develops policies, principles, and
procedures governing the spelling, use, and application of geographic
names - domestic, foreign, Antarctic, and undersea. Its decisions
enable all departments and agencies of the US Government to have
access to uniform names of geographic features. The position of the
BGN is that the names Burma and Sea of Japan be used in official US
Government maps and publications.
Why is most of the statistical information in the
Factbook given in metric
units, rather than the units standard to US measure?
US
Federal agencies are required by the Metric Conversion Act of 1975
(Public Law 94-168) and by Executive Order 12770 of July 1991 to use
the International System of Units, commonly referred to as the metric
system or SI. In addition, the metric system is used by over 95
percent of the world's population.
Why don’t you include information on
minimum and maximum temperature extremes?
The Factbook
staff judges that this information would only be useful for some
(generally smaller) countries. Larger countries can have large
temperature extremes that do not represent the landmass as a whole.
In the future, such a category may be adopted listing the extremes,
but also adding a normal temperature range found throughout most of a
country’s territory.
What information sources are used for the country
flags?
Flag designs used in The World Factbook
are those recognized by the protocol office of the US Department of
State.
Why do your GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
statistics differ from other sources?
We have two sets
of GDP dollar estimates in The World Factbook , one derived
from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations and the other derived
using official exchange rates (OER). Other sources probably use one
of the two. See the Notes
and Definitions section on GDP and GDP methodology for more
information.
On the CIA Web site, Chiefs
of State is updated weekly, but the last update
for the Factbook was an
earlier date. Why the discrepancy?
Although Chiefs of
State and The World Factbook both appear on the CIA Web
site, they are produced and updated by separate staffs. Chiefs of
State includes fewer countries but more leaders, and is updated
more frequently than The World Factbook, which has a much
larger database, and includes all countries.
Some percentage distributions do not add to 100.
Why not?
Because of rounding, percentage distributions do
not always add precisely to 100%. Rounding of numbers always results
in a loss of precision - i.e., error. This error becomes apparent
when percentage data are totaled, as the following two examples show:
|
|
Original Data |
Rounded to whole integer |
|
Example 1 |
43.2 |
43 |
|
|
30.4 |
30 |
|
|
26.4 |
26 |
|
|
100.0 |
99 |
|
|
||
|
Example 2 |
42.8 |
43 |
|
|
31.6 |
32 |
|
|
25.6 |
26 |
|
|
100.0 |
101 |
When this occurs, we do not force the numbers to add exactly to 100, because doing so would introduce additional error into the distribution.
What rounding convention does The
World Factbook use?
In deciding on
the number of digits to present, the Factbook staff assesses
the accuracy of the original data and the needs of US Government
officials. All of the economic data are processed by computer -
either at the source or by the Factbook staff. The economic
data presented in The Factbook, therefore, follow the
rounding convention used by virtually all numerical software
applications, namely, any digit followed by a "5" is
rounded up to the next higher digit, no matter whether the original
digit is even or odd. Thus, for example, when rounded to the nearest
integer, 2.5 becomes 3, rather than 2, as occurred in some
pre-computer rounding systems.
Why do you list “Independence” dates
for countries like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom?
For
most countries, this entry presents the date that sovereignty was
achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For other
countries, the date may be some other significant nationhood event
such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification,
federation, confederation, establishment, or state succession and so
may not strictly be an “Independence” date. Dependent
entities have the nature of their dependency status noted in this
same entry.
Does The World Factbook
comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act regarding
accessibility of Web pages?
The World Factbook
home page has a link entitled "Text/Low Bandwidth Version."
The country data in the text version is fully accessible. We believe
The World Factbook is compliant with the Section 508 law in
both fact and spirit. If you are experiencing difficulty, please use
our comment form to provide us
details of the specific problem you are experiencing and the
assistive software and/or hardware that you are using so that we can
work with our technical support staff to find and implement a
solution. We welcome visitors' suggestions to improve accessibility
of The World Factbook and the CIA Web site.
I am using the Factbook
online and it is not working. What is wrong?
Hundreds of
“Factbook” look-alikes exist on the Internet.
The Factbook site at: www.cia.gov is the only official site.
When I attempt to download a PDF (Portable
Document Format) map file (or some other map) the file has no image.
Can you fix this?
Some of the files on The World
Factbook Web site are large and could take several minutes to
download on a dial-up connection. The screen might be blank during
the download process.
When I open a map on The
World Factbook site, it is fuzzy or granular,
or too big or too small. Why?
Adjusting the resolution
setting on your monitor should correct this problem.
Is The World Factbook
country data available in machine-readable format? All I can find is
HTML, but I’m looking for simple tabular data.
The
Factbook Web site now features "Rank Order" pages
for selected Factbook entries. "Rank Order" pages
are available for those data fields identified with a small bar chart
icon located next to the title of the data entry. In addition, all of
the "Rank Order" pages can be downloaded as tab-delimited
data files that can be opened in other applications such as
spreadsheets and databases.