CIA: World Factbook

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) produces the World Factbook annually. Profiles can be selected by country and provide information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues of 267 world entities. Additional reference tabs cover such content as maps of major world regions, flags of the world, and a valuable guide to country comparisons. The Factbook is available for free download in compressed, .zip file format.