Website of the Week

 
We've all probably heard that the CIA is pretty good at collecting information; but did you know they'll share it?

The World Factbook is a CIA compiled database of covering 267 world entities.

The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map. (CIA) 

The site is searchable by textbox using country names, or a drop down menu, or even a scroll-over map. There is a User Guide located on the lower left portion of the top page. This will help users to compare regions and countries as well as including definitions and a FAQ section. Choose a country and check out all the information included. The site will highlight the country on the global map as well as a close-up map view. The flag and photos of the country are right there. Drop down menus cover information such as;

• Introduction
• Geography
• People and Society
• Government
• Economy; Energy; Communications
• Transportation; Military and Security
• Transnational Issues 

Would you like to know the address of your county's embassy here in the U.S.? It's here. How about how many people in the country have access to the internet? It's here. How about what percentage of roads in the country are paved versus unpaved? That's here too!

The last section on "Transnational Issues" gives the most current information regarding areas of conflict and unrest... maybe a good place to check prior to travel?

If you'd like to list the Central Intelligence Agency as one of your inside sources on your next paper, look no further.

Review by Sarah Way, SWC Librarian