About the Country Studies / Area Handbooks Program

The Country Studies Series

The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. The series examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors.

The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official United States Government position, policy, or decision. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. Corrections, additions, and suggestions for changes from readers will be welcomed for use in future hard-copy editions (E-mail frds@loc.gov).

Information contained in the online Country Studies is not copyrighted and thus is available for free and unrestricted use by researchers. As a courtesy, however, appropriate credit should be given to the series.

Hard-copy editions of all books in the series (except the regional studies on Macau and Afghanistan) can be ordered from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office at the Online Bookstore (http://bookstore.gpo.gov/).

Features note

Some countries lack graphic information because graphic files were not available or have not yet been converted for mounting on this site.

New Country Studies

Countries may be added without the photographs, maps, and charts.

Note on Timeliness

Studies included here were published between 1988 and 1998. Information on some countries may no longer be up to date. See the "Research Completed" date at the beginning of each study or the "Data as of" date at the end of each section of text. Older studies, including some on countries that no longer exist in the same form, such as East Germany and the Soviet Union, may be retained because they continue to offer historical information of value to researchers.

Map Viewer Note