The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) announced the retirement 1 of The World Factbook on February 4, 2026. The Factbook has long been one of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) most valuable public reference products. For many years, going back to 1962 when it was known as The National Basic Intelligence Factbook, it was an excellent resource to intelligence professionals. In 1971, an unclassified companion was issued . . . and then in the 1997 it went digital and was available to the world on www.cia.gov.
It has been a longstanding, one-stop basic reference about countries around the world. Government officials, members of Congress, the military services, news organizations, academics, teachers, students, and travelers all found The World Factbook a valuable resource. It provided unclassified basic . . . and sometimes detailed information about each country in the world; providing information on geography, population, politics, economy, military strength, and much more. For many visitors The World Factbook was a starting point for a variety of research topics.
It also displayed useful maps for each country – maps detailing the political, administrative, transportation, and terrain aspects of the countries. Fortunately, the CIA still has its map resource online. Time will tell if this stays online or gets taken down.
The origins of The World Factbook actually goes back to the World War II era. The United States needed to undertake a more coordinated approach to intelligence gathering and reporting. The Coordinator of Information (COI), led by General William “Wild Bill” Donovan, was responsible for developing a strategic basic intelligence program. 2
The products produced would be the foundation of the other forms of intelligence. Working in conjunction with the Army and Navy intelligence departments, the COI established the Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS). During the years of 1943 to 1947, JANIS published 23 intelligence studies. After the Central Intelligence Agency was established in 1947, it assumed responsibility for the JANIS basic intelligence program. JANIS was then renamed the National Intelligence Survey (NIS). In 1962 it became a printed, classified reference for intelligence officers and ‘cleared’ government officials and military members.
In 1971, the unclassified Factbook was created as an annual summary of the NIS studies. In 1973 it replaced the NIS studies and became the CIA’s publication of basic intelligence. The Factbook became available to the public in 1975 (printed format). 3 Official versions of the Factbook were available from the US Government Printing Office (GPO). It was renamed The World Factbook in 1981. Then it went online in 1997.
There was no reason provided by the CIA for the discontinuance of public access to the Factbook. It is unknown if there is a replacement tool that will be coming soon. Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, there have been many changes to the intelligence community (IC). It is sad to see this valuable legacy of the CIA go away. Hopefully, the agency rolls out a replacement resource for the Factbook soon.
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Image: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Endnotes:
- “Spotlighting the World Factbook As We Bid a Fond Farewell”, CIA, February 4, 2026.
https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/spotlighting-the-world-factbook-as-we-bid-a-fond-farewell/ - “History of the World Factbook”, CIA, September 30, 2020.
https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/history-of-the-world-factbook/ - View The World Factbook 1990 printed version online. CIA, PDF, 408 pages.
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/THE%20WORLD%20FACTBOOK%201990%5B15815916%5D.pdf
References:
The World Factbook, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook
