July 20, 2009 - Latest updates include changes to the chief of state or head of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Lithuania, and Panama. New photographs have been added for Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, and South Africa.

July 01, 2009 - With the launch of the new Web site, the former "Rank Order" function was renamed "Country Comparisons." The link to Country Comparisons may be found under the References tab. In addition, many of the regional reference maps now incorporate both elevation and vegetation on landmasses, and bathymetry for ocean areas. Statistics for "Unemployment rate" and "Inflation rate (consumer prices)" now include two year's worth of data.

June 08, 2009 - Completely redesigned website - presenting a cleaner look, improved navigation, and a host of added features - launched on the World Wide Web. Among the major enhancements are downloadable and printable photos for nearly 100 countries, a "Did You Know?" section explaining the impact of the Factbook around the world, and built-in world rankings for many of the Factbook information fields. Government sections reflect the results of recent parliamentary elections in Kuwait - where women were elected for the first time - and India, as well as presidential elections in Lithuania, Mongolia, Panama, and South Africa.

April 27, 2009 - Significant updates made to the People and Economy categories; statistics for "GDP - real growth rate" and "GDP - per capita" (at purchasing power parity) now include three year's worth of data, in 2008 dollars. The Urbanization entry under People expanded to include all countries.

April 03, 2009 - In addition to regular country updates, statistics for "GDP (purchasing power parity)" now include three year's worth of data, in 2008 dollars.

March 20, 2009 - Recent major leadership changes in Guinea-Bissau, Latvia, and Madagascar included in the Government sections of those countries.

March 02, 2009 - Latest US Census Department figures - updating basic demographic data for all countries - entered into the database. Entries on religions, languages, ethnic groups, and literacy also updated.

February 06, 2009 - Country information updated across all categories. Economic data now includes 2008 estimates where available.

Ongoing - Revision of some individual country maps, first introduced in the 2001 edition, continues. Several regional maps have been updated to reflect boundary changes and place name spelling changes.