1981
|
Publication becomes an annual product and is renamed
The World Factbook
. A total of 165 nations are covered on 225 pages.
|
1983
|
Appendices (Conversion Factors, International Organizations) first introduced.
|
1984
|
Appendices expanded; now include: A. The United Nations, B. Selected United Nations Organizations, C. Selected International Organizations, D. Country Membership in Selected Organizations, E. Conversion Factors.
|
1987
|
A new Geography section replaces the former separate Land and Water sections. UN Organizations and Selected International Organizations appendices merged into a new International Organizations appendix. First multi-color-cover
Factbook
.
|
1988
|
More than 40 new geographic entities added to provide complete world coverage without overlap or omission. Among the new entities are Antarctica, oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific), and the World. The front-of-the-book explanatory introduction expanded and retitled to Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations. Two new Appendices added: Weights and Measures (in place of Conversion Factors) and a Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names.
Factbook
size reaches 300 pages.
|
1989
|
Economy section completely revised and now includes an Overview briefly describing a country's economy. New entries added under People, Government, and Communications.
|
1990
|
The Government section revised and considerably expanded with new entries.
|
1991
|
A new International Organizations and Groups appendix added.
Factbook
size reaches 405 pages.
|
1992
|
Twenty new successor state entries replace those of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. New countries are respectively: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan; and Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia. Number of nations in the
Factbook
rises to 188.
|
1993
|
Czechoslovakia's split necessitates new Czech Republic and Slovakia entries. New Eritrea entry added after it secedes from Ethiopia. Substantial enhancements made to Geography section.
|
1994
|
Two new appendices address Selected International Environmental Agreements. The gross domestic product (GDP) of most developing countries changed to a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis rather than an exchange rate basis.
Factbook
size up to 512 pages.
|
1995
|
The GDP of all countries now presented on a PPP basis. New appendix lists estimates of GDP on an exchange rate basis. Communications category split; Railroads, Highways, Inland waterways, Pipelines, Merchant marine, and Airports entries now make up a new Transportation category.
The World Factbook
is first produced on CD-ROM.
|
1996
|
Maps accompanying each entry now present more detail. Flags also introduced for nearly all entities. Various new entries appear under Geography and Communications.
Factbook
abbreviations consolidated into a new Appendix A. Two new appendices present a Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes and a Cross-Reference List of Hydrogeographic Data Codes. Geographic coordinates added to Appendix H, Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names.
Factbook
size expands by 95 pages in one year to reach 652.
|
1997
|
The World Factbook
introduced onto the Internet. A special printed edition prepared for the CIA's 50th anniversary. A schema or Guide to Country Profiles introduced. New color maps and flags now accompany each country profile. Category headings distinguished by shaded backgrounds. Number of categories expanded to nine with the addition of an Introduction (for only a few countries) and Transnational Issues (which includes Disputes-international and Illicit drugs).
|
1998
|
The Introduction category with two entries, Current issues and Historical perspective, expanded to more countries. Last year for the production of CD-ROM versions of the
Factbook
.
|
1999
|
Historical perspective and Current issues entries in the Introduction category combined into a new Background statement. Several new Economy entries introduced. A new physical map of the world added to the back-of-the-book reference maps.
|
2000
|
A new "country profile" added on the Southern Ocean. The Background statements dramatically expanded to over 200 countries and possessions. A number of new Communications entries added.
|
2001
|
Background entries completed for all 267 entities in the
Factbook
. Several new HIV/AIDS entries introduced under the People category. Revision begun on individual country maps to include elevation extremes and a partial geographic grid. Weights and Measures appendix deleted.
|
2002
|
New entry on Distribution of Family income - Gini index added. Revision of individual country maps continued (process still ongoing).
|
2003
|
In the Economy category, petroleum entries added for oil production, consumption, exports, imports, and proved reserves, as well as natural gas proved reserves.
|
2004
|
Bi-weekly updates launched on
The World Factbook
website. Additional petroleum entries included for natural gas production, consumption, exports, and imports. In the Transportation category, under Merchant marine, subfields added for foreign-owned vessels and those registered in other countries. Descriptions of the many forms of government mentioned in the Factbook incorporated into the Definitions and Notes.
|
2005
|
In the People category, a Major infectious diseases field added for countries deemed to pose a higher risk for travelers. In the Economy category, entries included for Current account balance, Investment, Public debt, and Reserves of foreign exchange and gold. The Transnational issues category expanded to include Refugees and internally displaced persons. Size of the printed
Factbook
reaches 702 pages.
|
2006
|
In the Economy category, national GDP figures now presented at Official Exchange Rates (OER) in addition to GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP). Entries in the Transportation section reordered; Highways changed to Roadways, and Ports and harbors to Ports and terminals.
|
2007
|
In the Government category, the Capital entry significantly expanded with up to four subfields, including new information having to do with time. The subfields consist of the
name
of the capital itself, its
geographic coordinates
, the
time difference
at the capital from coordinated universal time (UTC), and, if applicable, information on
daylight saving time
(DST). Where appropriate, a special note is added to highlight those countries with multiple time zones. A Trafficking in Persons entry added to the Transnational Issues category. A new appendix, Weights and Measures, (re)introduced to the online version of the
Factbook
.
|
2008
|
In the Geography category, two fields focus on the increasingly vital resource of water: Total renewable water resources and Freshwater withdrawal. In the Economy category, three fields added for: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home, Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad, and Market value of publicly traded shares. Concise descriptions of all major religions included in the Definitions and Notes. Responsibility for printing of
The World Factbook
turned over to the Government Printing Office.
|
2009
|
The online
Factbook
site completely redesigned with many new features. In the People category, two new fields provide information on education in terms of opportunity and resources: School Life Expectancy and Education expenditures. Additionally, the Urbanization entry expanded to include all countries. In the Economy category, five fields added: Central bank discount rate, Commercial bank prime lending rate, Stock of narrow money, Stock of broad money, and Stock of domestic credit.
|
2010
|
Weekly updates inaugurated on the
The World Factbook
website. The dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles results in two new listings: Curacao and Sint Maarten. In the Communications category, a Broadcast media field replaces the former Radio broadcast stations and TV broadcast stations entries. In the Geography section, under Natural hazards, a Volcanism subfield added for countries with historically active volcanoes. In the Government category, a new National anthems field introduced. Concise descriptions of all major Legal systems incorporated into the Definitions and Notes. In order to facilitate comparisons over time, dozens of the entries in the Economy category expanded to include two (and in some cases three) years' worth of data.
|
2011
|
The People section expanded to People and Society, incorporating ten new fields. The Economy category added Taxes and other revenues and Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-), while the Government section introduced International law organization participation and National symbols. A new African nation, South Sudan, brings the total number of countries in
The World Factbook
to 195.
|
2012
|
A new Energy category introduced with 23 energy-related fields. Several distinctive features added to
The World Factbook
website: 1) playable audio files in the Government section for the National Anthems entry, 2) online graphics in the form of a Population Pyramid feature in the People and Society category's Age Structure field, and 3) a Users Guide enabling visitors to navigate the
Factbook
more easily and efficiently. A new and distinctive Map of the World Oceans highlights an expanded array of regional and country maps. Size of the printed
Factbook'
s 50th anniversary edition reaches 847 pages.
|
2013
|
In the People and Society section five fields introduced: Demographic profile, Mother's mean age at first birth, Contraceptive prevalence rate, Dependency ratios, and Child labor - children ages 5-14. In the Transnational Issues category, a new
stateless persons
subfield embedded under the Refugees and internally displaced persons entry. In the Economy section two fields added: GDP - composition by end use and Gross national saving. In the Government category the Judicial branch entry revised and expanded to include three new subfields:
highest court(s)
,
judge selection and term of office
, and
subordinate courts
.
|
2014
|
In the Transportation category, the Ports and terminals field substantially expanded with subfields for
major seaport(s)
,
river port(s)
,
lake port(s)
,
oil/gas terminal(s)
,
LNG terminal(s)
,
dry bulk cargo port(s)
,
container port(s)
, and
cruise/ferry port(s)
. In the Geography section, the Land boundaries entry revised for all countries, including the total country border length as well as the border lengths for all neighboring countries.
|
2015
|
In the Government category, the first part of the Legislative Branch field thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated for all countries under a new
description heading
. This subentry includes the legislative structure, the formal name(s), the number of legislative seats, the types of voting constituencies and voting systems, and the member term of office. Area Comparison Maps introduced online for about half of the world’s countries. (More to follow when they become available.)
|
2016
|
In the Government section for all countries, a new Citizenship field added to describe policies related to the acquisition of citizenship and to the recognition of dual citizenship. Also, under the Country Name entry,
etymologies
(historical origins) added to explain how countries acquired their names. A new Electricity Access field added to introduce the Energy category. A Population Distribution field included in both the People and Society and the Geography sections. A major addition to the Transportation category is National Air Transport system with subfields on a country’s
registered air carriers, inventory of registered aircraft, annual passenger traffic, and annual freight traffic
.
|
2017
|
In the Government category the Constitution entry revised and expanded with new subfields for
history
and
amendments
.
|