Alcove 9: An Annotated List of Reference Websites

International Relations: Country Surveys

Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
Published by the Central Intelligence Agency and kept reasonably current. Arranged alphabetically by country; no way to search by name or cabinet position, however.

Country Indicators for Foreign Policy
The CIFP database provides an at-a-glance global overview of a variety of country traits relevant to the international climate. As such, it can assist in understanding and analyzing the economic, political, military and environmental situations of countries and help guide policymakers in conducting diplomatic relations.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress. The reports cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This site includes full text of the latest reports as well as an archive of reports from 1993 to 1999.

Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)
Full text of the over 100 published overviews of the politics, economics, and culture of selected nations. Users can browse the table of contents for each study, or perform keyword searches of one or more studies.

The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency)
Provides three types of finished intelligence information. The three types of finished intelligence are: basic, current, and estimative. Basic intelligence provides the fundamental and factual reference material on a country or issue. Current intelligence reports on new developments. Estimative intelligence judges probable outcomes. Basic information is arranged by country, with maps, charts, and statistics (many of which are available as viewable GIF files, or downloadable TIFF or PDF files).