The 2004 CIA World Factbook

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

27559

Title

The 2004 CIA World Factbook

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

The 2004 CIA World Factbook offers a comprehensive, data-driven snapshot of global nations as of early 2004. With updated entries for new entities like the European Union and revised maps, this authoritative reference provides essential statistics on geography, economy, demographics, and government for over 250 countries and territories.

Summary up to 500 words

Published by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, The 2004 CIA World Factbook serves as an indispensable, standardized reference for researchers, policymakers, and students seeking reliable global data. This edition presents meticulously organized field listings covering essential metrics such as GDP, population, military strength, climate, and geography for every recognized nation and territory. A significant development in this volume is the inclusion of the European Union as a distinct entity, reflecting its growing nation-like characteristics, alongside the formal addition of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus as dependencies of the United Kingdom. The Factbook also introduces new economic fields, including public debt, current account balances, investment, and foreign exchange reserves, while expanding transnational issue coverage to include refugees and internally displaced persons. To facilitate global comparison, the text provides comprehensive rank orders for forty key fields, allowing users to sort nations by population, area, unemployment rates, and economic indicators. The volume is supported by extensive appendices detailing abbreviations, international organizations, environmental agreements, and cross-reference lists for hydrographic codes and geographic names. Furthermore, the edition features updated maps reflecting boundary changes and spelling corrections, alongside a robust system of notes and definitions. By offering a snapshot of the world as of January 1, 2004, with updates through early 2005, The World Factbook remains a critical tool for understanding the geopolitical and economic landscape of the mid-2000s.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27559.epub.noimages

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data/epubs/pg27559.epub

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2026-07-08 05:31 UTC

Categories

• Politics
• World history
• Geography
• Political Science