Goodbye, Factbook: CIA Shuts Down World Reference Publication After Six Decades

The CIA Erased The World Factbook With No Warning… And Told Everyone To ‘Stay Curious’

For over half a century, the CIA's World Factbook has been one of the most quietly useful things the federal government has ever produced. A comprehensive, regularly updated, freely available reference on every country in the world—population stats, government structures, economic data, geography, the works. It was the kind of thing that made you think,…

Goodbye, Factbook: CIA shuts down world reference publication after six decades

For more than 60 years, people seeking raw, country-by-country economic and demographic data have turned to the CIA’s World Factbook. But this week, the "gold standard" for global statistics went dark. On Wednesday, without explanation, the agency quietly shuttered the online reference, replacing it with a farewell note that urged readers to "stay curious about the world and find ways to explore it … in person or virtually." How the World Factbo…

In CIA’s decision to shutter World Factbook, information becomes collateral damage

For over 60 years of existence, the CIA manual went from being reference material for intelligence officers to one for the public at large. But it might have become an unwitting casualty of domestic political upheaval

Why Did The CIA End 'The World Factbook'

The Central Intelligence Agency has abruptly shut down The World Factbook, ending decades of public access to one of the U.S. government’s most widely used reference tools. The site disappeared on February 4 without prior notice or explanation, leaving educators, librarians, journalists, and researchers scrambling for alternatives.First launched in 1962 for government use and later made public, the Factbook became a trusted source for country-le…

End of an era as CIA discontinues popular World Factbook reference site