September 13, 2012 - The Economy section includes updated data for "Population below poverty line," "Household income or consumption by percentage share," "Commercial bank prime lending rate," "Stock of narrow money," "Stock of broad money," and "Exchange rates."

September 06, 2012 - What does FAO stand for? Find out in Appendix A: Abbreviations. Then go to Appendix B: International Organizations and Groups to get details.

August 30, 2012 - An update on international maritime piracy appears in the World entry, under "Transportation - note."

August 23, 2012 - The Economy section includes updated data through 2011 for the "Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares."

August 09, 2012 - The World Factbook is celebrating its Golden Anniversary! Exactly 50 years ago - in August of 1962 - the Agency came up with the contracted name Factbook to describe its annual National Intelligence Survey summary. The first unclassified version came out nine years later (June 1971), and it acquired its present name of The World Factbook with the 1981 edition. Annual printing of the Factbook continues, albeit in far smaller quantities than originally; its online presence - begun June 1997 - continues to grow with some 3 million visitors monthly.

August 02, 2012 - In the People and Society section, the "Languages" entry has been updated for dozens of countries.

July 26, 2012 - New photos have recently been added for Australia, Iceland, and Kyrgyzstan.

July 19, 2012 - Data have been updated with the latest estimates for several fields in the Economy section, including "GDP (purchasing power parity)," "GDP (official exchange rate)," "GDP - real growth rate," "GDP - per capita (PPP)," "Taxes and other revenues," "Budget surplus or deficit," "Exports - partners," and "Imports - partners."

July 05, 2012 - What European country has the largest number of first order administrative units (i.e., country subdivisions such as provinces, states, or municipalities) of any nation on earth (211 of them)?

June 28, 2012 - Starting with Sri Lanka and ending at Indonesia, there are seven countries that border the Bay of Bengal. Can you name the middle five countries? Hint: check out the Asia regional map.

June 22, 2012 - In the Transportation category, the "Airports," "Airports - with paved runways," "Airports - with unpaved runways," and "Heliports" fields have all been updated with the latest available data.

June 14, 2012 - The tune of God Save the Queen is used as the national anthem for a number of countries that comprise the Commonwealth of Nations. In addition to the United Kingdom, what other European country uses this tune in its national anthem? Note: A country's "National anthem" entry and its audio file may be found in its Government category.

May 31, 2012 - Name the archipelagic country in the Indian Ocean composed of some 1,200 coral islands, only 200 of which are inhabited, and about 80 of which contain tourist facilities. Check out the Asia regional map, under the References tab, for the answer.

May 24, 2012 - Can you name the Pacific island country that in the 1970s had the world's highest GDP per capita - supported by exports of its rich phosphate deposits - and that currently is the world's smallest independent republic?

May 17, 2012 - To help you quickly find the information you need, the Factbook now offers a helpful Users Guide. This feature may be accessed through the Users Guide button on the left or through the References tab.

May 10, 2012 - What two Caribbean islands are shared by two countries? Find the answer under the References tab, Regional Maps heading, Central America and the Caribbean map. Hint, one island is the second largest in the Caribbean, the other is one of the tiniest.

May 03, 2012 - The "Fiscal year" entry has been reintroduced in the Economy category.

April 18, 2012 - The "Military branches" and "Military service age and obligation" fields have been updated for all countries.

April 12, 2012 - An update on international maritime piracy may be found in the "Transportation - note" under the World entry.

April 05, 2012 - Recent election results from Belize, The Gambia, Germany, Moldova, Russia, Senegal, and Slovakia have been entered in the Government sections of those countries.

March 22, 2012 - The new 2012-13 World Factbook cover - prominently featuring some of the photos from the Factbook's website - has been unveiled in the Gallery of Covers under the References tab. While you are there, find out what year The World Factbook first featured photography in its cover design.

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.