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December 2020
December 15, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: American Flag
December 10, 2020 - World Factbook: Years of wrangling were brought to a close this week when officials from Nepal and China announced that they have agreed on the height of Mount Everest...
December 8, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Thuraya Satellite Phone
December 3, 2020 - World Factbook: Most countries have had their macroeconomic entries updated with the latest available data. The updated fields include: "GDP (purchasing power parity)," "GDP - per capita (PPP)," "GDP - real growth rate," "Labor force," and "Unemployment rate."
December 2, 2020 - Wilderness Survival Training from the CIA Archives
December 1, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999
November 2020
November 25, 2020 - World Factbook: More One-Page Country Summaries have recently been added to the site; the current total stands at 194. Additional One-Pagers are under development.
November 24, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Bible Used in Service Honoring Spann
November 24, 2020 - New "Ask Molly" talks about how veterans can continue to serve their country working at the CIA.
November 19, 2020 - World Factbook: For the 60-plus countries where a "Terrorist group(s)" entry appears, a new direct link has been set up to Appendix T: Terrorist Organizations. The appendix provides details on US State Department-designated terrorist groups' aims, organization, tactics, weaponry, funding, etc.
November 17, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan’s Medal of Honor
November 12, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Communications category, the entries for "Telephones - mobile cellular" and "Telephones - fixed lines" have been updated for all countries with the latest available data.
November 10, 2020 - The Legend of Wild Bill: How Donovan Got His Nickname
November 10, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Memorial Wall Star Carving Tools
November 5, 2020 - World Factbook: Found in the Transportation category, the "National Air Transport System" field has recently been updated for each country with the latest information regarding the number of registered air carriers, the number of fixed-wing aircraft they operate, and the numbers of passengers and amount of air cargo carried.
November 3, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Admiral Calland’s Desert Combat Uniform Top
October 2020
October 30, 2020 - Superstitions at CIA
October 28, 2020 - World Factbook: A new "Terrorist group(s)" entry - under a Terrorism category - has been added to more than 60 countries in The World Factbook.
October 27, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Stereoscope and Case
October 22, 2020 - World Factbook: The World Factbook is pleased to announce the addition of charts showing urban growth rate and total population growth rate over time for all of the world's countries - as well as more than two dozen dependencies. These new graphics utilize UN data and are a collaborative effort of The World Factbook and USAID. The charts appear in every country's People and Society section, under the "Urbanization" entry.
October 20, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Paratrooper’s M2 Pocket Knife
October 15, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that there are seven countries in the world whose populations exceed the staggering total of 200 million? You can quickly find out what those countries are - as well as locate all country population totals - by clicking on the References tab>Guide to Country Comparisons>People and Society>Population.
October 13, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: PRC-112B1 Survival Radio
October 8, 2020 - World Factbook: This week (4-10 October) is World Space Week, the largest annual space event in the world; this year's theme is "Satellites Improve Life." Many fascinating satellite and space station images may be found under the 'World' entry, as well as some of the ocean entries, particularly those of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.
October 7, 2020 - The latest unclassified edition of Studies in Intelligence, Volume 64 Number 2, is available now for your reading pleasure
October 6, 2020 - CIA Celebrates Contributions Of Officers with Disabilities
October 6, 2020 - New "Ask Molly" column talks about the recent launch of CIA Labs
October 6, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: A-12 Full Pressure Suit
September 2020
September 30, 2020 - History of the World Factbook
September 30, 2020 - World Factbook: For each of the 55 African country entries, the "Population distribution" field that appears under both the 'Geography' and 'People and Society' categories, now has an added map link to supplement the text describing how the population is dispersed throughout the country.
September 29, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Pin
September 24, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that water-related rankings - the top ten longest rivers, the top ten largest lakes, as well as other interesting aquatic facts - may be found under the 'World' entry>Transportation>Waterways?
September 22, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Mi-17 Helicopter Clock
September 21, 2020 - CIA Unveils Its First Ever Federal Lab
September 17, 2020 - World Factbook: Many new photos have recently been added for the following island entities: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
September 15, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Plaster Cast of CIA Seal
September 10, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Communications section, the "Internet users" numbers for most countries were recently updated with the latest available data.
September 8, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Moleskine Notebook
September 2, 2020 - New "Ask Molly" column discusses the role intuition plays in decision-making at CIA.
September 1, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Tessina Camera Concealed in Cigarette Pack
August 2020
August 26, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Military and Security category, the "Military and security service personnel strengths" entry was recently updated with the latest estimated numbers.
August 25, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: DCI Allen W. Dulles’s Stamps
August 20, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that you can find multiple maps to almost a hundred countries under the References tab>Regional and World Maps>Maps at CIA?
August 18, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Schrade Tool
August 13, 2020 - World Factbook: Most of the northern third of Africa is barren desert - the massive Sahara. Did you know that much of the southern part of the continent is also desert or semidesert?
August 11, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: OSS Job Register
August 6, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that the 48 contiguous United States are slightly larger than Australia, the smallest of the seven continents? Check out maps showing the relative sizes of all the continents compared to the US under the 'World' entry, Geography>"Area - comparative."
August 4, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Desert Storm Leaflets
July 2020
July 30, 2020 - World Factbook: Significant numbers of new photographs have recently been added to the following Mediterranean country entries: Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, and Turkey.
July 28, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Flag that Flew Above the Glomar Explorer
July 23, 2020 - World Factbook: Dozens of new telecommunications definitions have been added under the "Telecommunications systems" entry on the Definitions and Notes page (under the References tab).
July 21, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Air America ID Card
July 9, 2020 - World Factbook: Dozens of new One-Page Country Summaries have recently been added to the site bringing the total number of Summaries to 171. Additional One-Pagers are under development and should be ready soon.
July 7, 2020 - The History of CIA’s Seal
July 2, 2020 - World Factbook: The "Marine fisheries" entry, which appears in the Economy category for the five world oceans - the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans - was recently updated with the latest available data.
June 2020
June 30, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Woodsman’s Pal Knife
June 26, 2020 - World Factbook: Substantial quantities of new photos have recently been added to the following Far East country entries: Cambodia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.
June 23, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: U-2 Film Canister
June 18, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Communications category, the "Telecommunication systems" entry - which includes communication over distance by cable, telegraph, telephone, radio, computer (including the Internet), or broadcasting system - has been updated for all countries.
June 17, 2020 - Families of CIA
June 16, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Afghan Hat
June 15, 2020 - Check out the latest issue of Studies in Intelligence. [PDF 2.4MB*]
June 11, 2020 - World Factbook: The World Factbook is proud to announce a major enhancement to its military information database. Three new fields have been added to the Military and Security category of every country that should be of value to researchers across many disciplines. The new entries are: "Military and security service personnel strengths," "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions," and "Military deployments."
June 9, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Escape & Evasion Survival Kit
June 4, 2020 - World Factbook: The World Factbook presents a couple of geographic puzzles for budding geographers to work on while at home undertaking online learning. Check out What's New on the WFB home page.
June 2, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan’s Belt
June 1, 2020 - A History of Pride at CIA
May 2020
May 28, 2020 - World Factbook: By far the two most common forms of citizenship are by birth (where one is born) or by descent (nationality of one or both parents). The "Citizenship" entry may be found in the Government section.
May 27, 2020 - Asian Pacific American Organization Celebrates 30 Years
May 26, 2020 - Compromise of the Great Seal
May 26, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Glomar Explorer Crew Patch
May 21, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that more than three-quarters of the world’s countries have a maritime boundary of some sort. Check out the WFB website for more information on Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).
May 19, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Pointy-Talkie Language Chart
May 14, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Communications category, the "Telephone systems" field name has been adjusted to "Telecommunication systems" to better reflect its many components including various types of telephone systems, cable transmission, satellite linkage, and diverse categories of radio transmission/relay.
May 12, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: "Belly Buster" Hand-Crank Audio Drill
May 7, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that only about a third of all countries - and only about one-fifth of the world's inhabitants - use daylight savings time? Find more detailed information on time zones and daylight savings time under World>Government>Capital.
May 5, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Al-Qa’ida Gas Mask
April 2020
April 30, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know? In a 100-year period, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about two weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere. Groundwater can take 50 years to just traverse 1 km (0.6 mi). Find many more fascinating geographic facts about our world and its oceans in the "Geographic overview" of the World entry.
April 29, 2020 - Find the Library at Your Place: CIA Resources for National Library Week
April 28, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Al-Qa’ida Training Manual
April 23, 2020 - World Factbook: Most US national parks have been closed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (some outdoor spaces in certain parks, however, remain accessible to the public). Visitors to The World Factbook can safely tour dozens of famous US parks and sites - and view hundreds of photos - by visiting the United States entry and clicking on the VIEW PHOTOS icon.
April 22, 2020 - CIA Celebrates Earth Day 2020
April 21, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan’s Canteen
April 20, 2020 - Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Assessment for 30-Day Public Review
April 16, 2020 - World Factbook: The useful population pyramids that appear in the People and Society category for every country under the "Age structure" entry have been updated with the latest 2020 data. These graphics have also been modified by the US Census Bureau to make them visually more appealing and easier to comprehend.
April 14, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Escape & Evasion Knife
April 9, 2020 - World Factbook: The language and religion entries in The World Factbook's Travel Facts have all been recently updated. We encourage students at home participating in online learning to use Travel Facts, as well as The World Factbook, for their studies of geography and national customs.
April 7, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Mine Probing Tool
April 2, 2020 - World Factbook: The Department of State advises US citizens to avoid all international travel at this time due to the global impact of COVID-19.
March 2020
March 31, 2020 - Celebrating the Women of America's First Intelligence Agency
March 31, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Metal Cuspidor
March 26, 2020 - Explore CIA's Coolest Spy Stories
March 24, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Concealed Compass
March 19, 2020 - World Factbook: Appendix H: Strategic Materials was recently updated with the latest import data.
March 17, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Civil Air Transport "Lucky Dragon" Pin
March 12, 2020 - World Factbook: In the People and Society category, the "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24" entry was recently updated with the latest available data for all countries.
March 10, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan’s Boot Hooks
March 6, 2020 - Advancing Diversity and Inclusion at CIA
March 5, 2020 - CIA Senior Leaders Discuss "Smart Women Smart Power"
March 5, 2020 - World Factbook: Ranging from Andorra to Zimbabwe, a total of 35 new One-Page Country Summaries have been added to site, bringing the total number of Summaries to 141. Additional One-Pagers are under development and should be ready soon
March 3, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Eloise Page ID
February 2020
February 27, 2020 - World Factbook: Did you know that the Philippines' capital of Manila derives its name from the Tagalog "may-nila" meaning "where there is indigo" and refers to the presence of indigo-yielding plants growing in the area surrounding the original settlement? The World Factbook has completed the addition of capital city name etymologies (historical origins); these descriptions appear in the "Capital" entry under the Government section.
February 25, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Golden Cigar Connector Out of US Embassy in Moscow
February 20, 2020 - World Factbook: The World Factbook has completed its Travel Facts project. Nine newly added Travel Facts - from Luxembourg, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Saint Barthelemy, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovakia, Suriname, and Vanuatu - bring the final total to 222 (193 countries and 29 dependencies).
February 18, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: U-2 Pressure Suit and Helmet
February 13, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Transportation category, "Merchant marine" data has been updated with the latest available numbers for all countries that have a merchant marine.
February 11, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Office Computer Used by Aldrich Ames
February 6, 2020 - World Factbook: In the Communications category, the following fields were recently updated for all countries: "Telephones - fixed lines," "Telephones - mobile cellular," and "Fixed broadband."
February 4, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Radio Receiver Concealment
February 3, 2020 - The latest unclassified edition of Studies in Intelligence is now available! Read it here or download the PDF [2.2MB].
January 2020
January 31, 2020 - World Factbook: At 11 pm London time, midnight Central European Time, the United Kingdom completed Brexit and withdrew officially from the European Union (EU) - the first ever country to do so.
January 29, 2020 - World Factbook: Ranging from Albania to Vietnam, a total of 43 new One-Page Country Summaries were recently added to site, bringing the total number of Summaries to 106. Additional One-Pagers are under development and should be ready soon.
January 28, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Argo Producer Notes
January 23, 2020 - World Factbook: In the People and Society category, the following fields were all recently updated: "Population" (projected mid-year numbers), "Age Structure," "Median Age," "Population Growth Rate," "Birth Rate," "Death Rate," "Net Migration Rate," "Sex Ratio," "Infant Mortality Rate," "Life Expectancy," and "Total Fertility Rate."
January 21, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Operation JAWBREAKER Knife
January 16, 2020 - World Factbook: Luzon - the northernmost, largest, and most populous island of the Philippines - is the site of the Taal Volcano (about 60 km south of Manila, the capital, near Batangos) that began erupting on Sunday, 12 January 2020.
January 14, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: Advanced Flaps and Seals Kit
January 9, 2020 - World Factbook: Ten additional Travel Facts have been added to the site bringing the total number to 214! The latest lot includes seven countries (Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, and North Macedonia) and three dependencies (Guam, Montserrat, and the Northern Mariana Islands).
January 7, 2020 - Artifact of the Week: An Air Combat First
December 2019
December 31, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Modified Lady’s Makeup Compact
December 24, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Pneumatic Tube Carrier
December 19, 2019 - World Factbook: The canyon under Denman Glacier in Antarctica was just recently identified as being the deepest point on that continent at -3,500 meters, which also makes it the world's deepest point on land. Challenger Deep - in the Pacific Ocean's Marianas Trench at -10,924 meters - is the lowest point on the earth's surface.
December 17, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: TAR-224 Radio
December 12, 2019 - World Factbook: Dozens more one-page summaries of country information are in production and will soon join the 63 that are currently available. One-page summaries and Travel Facts are our most popular new items.
December 10, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Piece of the Wing Section from a Mi-17 Helicopter
December 5, 2019 - World Factbook: Ten more Travel Facts have been added to the Factbook. This latest batch includes seven countries (Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania) and three dependencies (Faroe Islands, Greenland, Isle of Man). The total number of Travel Facts is now 204.
November 2019
December 3, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Al-Qa’ida Gas Mask Checklist
November 26, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: The President’s Intelligence Checklist
November 21, 2019 - World Factbook: The World Factbook's Standard Time Zones of the World map has a reputation for accuracy that makes it one of the most widely used and reproduced time zone maps in the world.
November 20, 2019 - Check out the newest Ask Molly Column! This week Molly offers advice on emergency preparedness, including tips for creating an emergency action plan for your family and making your own "go-bag."
November 19, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Shrade Tool
November 14, 2019 - World Factbook: Batches of new photos have been added to the following World Factbook entries: Canada, Faroe Islands, France, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
November 12, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: “Dead” Drop Spike
November 7, 2019 - World Factbook: New Travel Facts have been uploaded for the following 10 countries: Kosovo, Montenegro, Mozambique, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan. The total number of available Travel Facts is now up to 194 destinations.
November 5, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: The Day the Wall Came Down
October 2019
October 31, 2019 - World Factbook: In the Government category, the "Constitution" entry for all countries has recently been widely reviewed.
October 29, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Seismic Intruder Detection Devices
October 24, 2019 - Calling all spy kids! Explore our newly redesigned kids' page to read the latest exciting stories at CIA and meet our cuddliest four-legged spies. When you’re ready for a secret mission of your own, check out our games section. Help us crack codes, solve puzzles, and find secret clues to solve intelligence mysteries. We have lesson plans for parents and teachers too!
October 24, 2019 - World Factbook: The fields for "Military and security forces" (formerly "Military branches") and "Military expenditures" have been updated for all countries with the latest available information.
October 22, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Message from Moscow
October 17, 2019 - World Factbook: Dozens of new photos have been added to the following country entries spanning three continents: Botswana, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Namibia, Peru, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
October 15, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Microdot Camera
October 10, 2019 - World Factbook: The latest group of 10 new Travel Facts has been uploaded. The total number of countries and dependencies with Travel Facts now stands at 184.
October 8, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Skyhook Extraction Mechanism Instructions
October 3, 2019 - World Factbook: In the People and Society category, the "Major urban areas" and "Urbanization" entries were recently updated for all countries.
October 1, 2019 - CIA's Response to 9/11: A Panel Discussion at the 9/11 Museum
October 1, 2019 - A new CSI publication is available. "The Middle East Primed for New Thinking: Insights and Policy Options from the Ancient World." [PDF 2.53 MB]
October 1, 2019 - The latest edition of Studies in Intelligence is available.
October 1, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Letter from President Truman to William Donovan
September 2019
September 26, 2019 - CIA's Mi-17 Helicopter Comes Home
September 24, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Brick from Abbottabad Compound
September 24, 2019 - World Factbook: The following countries and entities recently had their maps updated: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Micronesia, Palau, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Syria, Taiwan, and the European Union.
September 19, 2019 - World Factbook: The World Factbook continues to prepare additional country Travel Facts. The latest 9 countries and one dependency that have been added are: Eswatini, Guyana, Haiti, Namibia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Palau, Madagascar, Paraguay, and Guernsey. The total number of countries and dependencies with Travel Facts is now up to 174.
September 17, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: 9/11 Commendation Bar
September 12, 2019 - World Factbook: Did you know that the twin cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela in Honduras, jointly, constitute the capital of the country? However, virtually all governmental institutions are on the Tegucigalpa side, which in practical terms makes Tegucigalpa the capital.
September 10, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Letter Removal Device
September 3, 2019 - World Factbook: The World Factbook Staff tries to keep up with scheduled elections in every country. However, election dates sometimes get changed unexpectedly. For example, earlier this year, the Bolivian Government moved the date of its national parliamentary elections from 27 October - the same date of elections as in Argentina and Uruguay - to 20 October to ensure that Bolivians residing in those countries are able to vote at polling locations in those countries.
September 3, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: George Kisevalter Cufflinks
August 2019
August 29, 2019 - World Factbook: In the People and Society category for all countries, the former "Health Expenditures" field has been replaced with a "Current Health Expenditures" (CHE) entry that is calculated differently. An explanation of the new CHE field appears on the Definitions and Notes page, under the References tab.
August 27, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: The “Flyaway Kit”
August 22, 2019 - World Factbook: Ten new Travel Facts have been added to the website. Included are nine countries (Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay, Zimbabwe) and one dependency (Greenland). The total number of available Travel Facts has now reached 164!
August 21, 2019 - CIA Names New Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer
August 20, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Blood Chit
August 20, 2019 - New CSI Book: The History of CIA's Office of Strategic Research, 1967-81 [PDF 3.0 MB*]
August 15, 2019 - World Factbook: In light of recent events in the Persian Gulf, The World Factbook has added a special statement to the "Maritime threats" entry (in the Military and Security category) for Iran, Oman, and the Indian Ocean that warns of dangers to commercial shipping in the waters off the Iranian coast and around the Arabian Peninsula.
August 13, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: NHB Groundbreaking Shovel
August 8, 2019 - World Factbook: Have you ever been stumped by one of the quiz questions that appeared in What's New? Have you ever wondered at how many people use The World Factbook or how the Factbook's logo developed? Answers to all of these questions and many more may be found on the Did You Know? page - under the About tab.
August 6, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: “Silver Dollar” Hollow Container
August 1, 2019 -- Flying with Sharks: A Plan for Every Outcome
August 1, 2019 - World Factbook: New Travel Facts pages for nine countries and one overseas territory - Grenada, Honduras, Hungary, Malta, Monaco, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Ukraine, Zambia, and Gibraltar - have been added to the website. The total number of entities with Travel Facts pages is now up to 154.
July 2019
July 30, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Irrawaddy Ambush
July 25, 2019 - World Factbook: All of The World Factbook's Travel Facts and One-Page Country Summaries can now be accessed from two new links on the lower left of the home page. Individual country Travel Facts and One-Page Summaries will continue to be accessible from country pages. More Travel Facts - in addition to the already extensive selection - will be available soon.
July 23, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan’s Canteen
July 19, 2019 - CIA Hosts Washington Intern Forum
July 18, 2019 - World Factbook: In the Military category, the "Maritime Threats" field, has been updated with final 2018 numbers for all countries where seagoing piracy is a problem. Overall, there was a more than 10% increase in incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships during 2018 (201) when compared to 2017 (180).
July 16, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Civil Air Transport Bottle
July 12, 2019 - Girls Who Code Founder Reshma Saujani Visits CIA, Meets Program Alumna
July 11, 2019 - World Factbook: A fourth tranche of the ever-popular country comparison maps has been uploaded onto the site, which means that almost 85% of the world's countries are now displayed in comparison to the United States. To see the relative size of a country shown superimposed over part of the US, go to the Geography section and check under "Area – comparative" (the fifth geography entry). Eventually, all country descriptions will include these useful and celebrated maps.
July 10, 2019 - Check out the latest edition of Studies in Intelligence! Unclassified extracts from Volume 63, Number 2, June 2019. [PDF 2.8MB*]
July 10, 2019 - Ask Molly: Q&A. This week's topic is on cybersecurity and protecting yourself online.
July 9, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Distortion Measuring Set
July 3, 2019 - World Factbook: While the availability of electricity has expanded rapidly over many parts of the world in the past few decades, there are still over 1 billion people worldwide that do not have access to electricity. The World Factbook recently updated all of its "Electricity access" entries with the latest available data from 2016 and 2017.
July 2, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Untouchable
June 2019
June 27, 2019 - World Factbook: Four newly revised maps have been added to the site under the References tab>Regional and World Maps. The World Political map displays all the latest updates, including Kazakhstan's new capital, while three Americas regional maps - North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America - all now conform to the Factbook's new map style and colors.
June 27, 2019 - World Factbook: Four newly revised maps have been added to the site under the References tab>Regional and World Maps. The World Political map displays all the latest updates, including Kazakhstan's new capital, while three Americas regional maps - North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America - all now conform to the Factbook's new map style and colors.
June 27, 2019 - World Factbook: Four newly revised maps have been added to the site under the References tab>Regional and World Maps. The World Political map displays all the latest updates, including Kazakhstan's new capital, while three Americas regional maps - North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America - all now conform to the Factbook's new map style and colors.
June 25, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Robot Fish "Charlie"
June 20, 2019 - World Factbook: The World Factbook is proud to unveil its new Travel Facts feature! 144 country pages - ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen - now have an embedded Travel Facts icon, which visitors can click to reveal a downloadable one-page summary of important facts to know before traveling to that country.
June 18, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Stereoscope & Case
June 17, 2019 - CIA's Andrew Hallman Discusses Digital Futures at FedTalks 2019
June 13, 2019 - Ask Molly: June 13, 2019. A writer wants to know if it's possible to get a tour of CIA Headquarters and CIA Museum. Read Molly's response to find out the answer.
June 13, 2019 - World Factbook: The latest rankings (2017) on the top "Ports" and "Airports" have been entered into the 'World' entry. The ports information lists the top 20 container ports in terms of throughput numbers, while the airports data presents the top 10 airports by total passengers and by cargo traffic (in metric tons).
June 12, 2019 - CIA Visits the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program
June 11, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Escape & Evasion Survival Kit
June 6, 2019 - World Factbook: The 8th Women's World Cup soccer tournament kicks off tomorrow in Paris; 24 nations will be competing in this quadrennial championship. To help familiarize visitors with the tourney participants, The World Factbook has prepared special One-Page Summaries for each of the 24 qualified finalists .
June 4, 2019 - Balancing Transparency and Secrecy in a Digital Age
June 4, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Mark IV Radio
May 2019
May 30, 2019 - World Factbook: Caves are an interesting and amazingly varied component of the earth's crust. The World Factbook has added Ten Cave Superlatives to its 'World' entry (under Geography>Terrain) to help you get a feel for the diversity of caves. Check it out and enjoy.
May 28, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Digital X-Ray Detector Panel
May 23, 2019 - World Factbook: Can you name the five countries that have one-syllable names? Hint: they begin with the initials C, F, G, L, and S.
May 21, 2019 - CIA Pays Tribute to Its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony
May 21, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: President Eisenhower Trowel
May 16, 2019 - World Factbook: Although The World Factbook no longer appears in a printed format, annual editions - from 2000 onward - are available online and may be accessed on this site by two pathways. Visitors can click on THE WORLD FACTBOOK ARCHIVE in the upper right portion of any page on the website. Alternatively, the ARCHIVE may be accessed by visiting the Gallery of Covers, under the References tab, and clicking on any of the years that appear highlighted (blue).
May 14, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Bolo Knife with Leather Sheath
May 9, 2019 - World Factbook: For the first time in over a decade, a new appendix has been added to The World Factbook. Appendix H: Strategic Materials lists all of the compounds, metals, non-metals, and rare earth elements deemed to be of critical importance to US national security. The appendix consolidates much of the information that already appears in individual country 'natural resources' and 'economy' entries into a convenient one-stop source. Additionally, much supplementary data is included.
May 7, 2019 - CIA’s Latest Layer: An Onion Site
May 7, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Al-Qa’ida Training Manual
May 2, 2019 - World Factbook: Last year the CIA's sister agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), produced a very well-received Africa Atlas. The NGA has allowed most of the maps from that Atlas to be used on The World Factbook's website. They were recently added and may be found under the References tab>Regional and World Maps.
May 2, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
May 1, 2019 - Transparency at CIA
April 2019
April 30, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Operation JAWBREAKER Knife
April 26, 2019 - CIA Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Becoming the George Bush Center for Intelligence
April 25, 2019 - World Factbook: The Antarctica entry has been extensively updated with information provided by the Department of State's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Afffairs (OES). Included are the latest available figures on deployed staff at Antarctic field stations, and information on Antarctic governance (treaty updates), economic activities (fishing and tourism), natural resources, and environmental issues.
April 23, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan's Boots
April 19, 2019 - DCIA Haspel Visits Auburn University (blog and video)
April 18, 2019 - CIA Director Gina Haspel Speaks at Auburn University
April 18, 2019 - World Factbook: Did you know that despite Madagascar's close proximity to the African continent, ocean currents isolate the island (the world's fourth largest) resulting in high rates of endemic plant and animal species. Approximately 90% of the flora and fauna on the island are found nowhere else on earth. Just recently, five new miniaturized frog species were discovered, the largest of which can sit on a thumbnail with room to spare and the smallest of which is about the size of a grain of rice.
April 16, 2019 - Women in Intel: Maria Gulovich
April 16, 2019 - World Factbook: In response to the US recognition of Israel's claim to the Golan Heights on 25 March 2019, The World Factbook has updated all of its maps that show that portion of the Middle East.
April 16, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Patch (Replica)
April 12, 2019 - World Factbook: The east central African country of Burundi recently announced that it would make Gitega the political capital of the country, while Bujumbura, the former capital, would remain its economic capital. All branches of the government are expected to have moved from Bujumbura to Gitega by 2021. Gitega had been the capital of the Kingdom of Burundi up to 1966, when the country became a republic.
April 11, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
April 9, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Les Marguerites Fleuriront ce Soir
April 4, 2019 - World Factbook: In the People and Society category, "Age structure" field, the accompanying Population Pyramid has been updated for every country with the latest estimated numbers for 2018.
April 3, 2019 - Women in Intel: Elizabeth Sudmeier
April 2, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan's Razor and Case
March 2019
March 28, 2019 - World Factbook: On 20 March 2019, Kazakhstan changed the name of its capital city from Astana to Nur-Sultan in honor of its long-serving, recently retired president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. This is not the first time the city has had its name changed. Founded in 1830 as Akmoly, it became Akmolinsk in 1832, Tselinograd in 1961, Akmola in 1992, and Astana in 1998.
March 27, 2019 - The March 2019 unclassified issue of Studies in Intelligence Vol. 63, No. 1 is out! The issue contains articles on the unique challenges of improving intelligence on proliferation issues for policymakers; a history of a small “amateur” intelligence network formed in Japanese-occupied Indochina by expatriate citizens of the UK and the US, who filled a vacuum Allied intelligence, including OSS, could not fill; and a look at the evolution of intelligence organizations in Kenya since the days of British rule ended. Twenty-two books on intelligence are reviewed in this issue—16 of them in the always popular Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf. The full issue is also available in PDF [2.4MB*].
March 26, 2019 - The Intrepid Woman, Betty Ann Lussier
March 26, 2019 - Women in Intel: Betty Ann Lussier
March 26, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Elephant Counter
March 25, 2019 - Michael Collins at CSIS
March 22, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
March 21, 2019 - Women in Intel: Virginia Hall
March 21, 2019 - World Factbook: In the Economy section for the five world oceans - the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans - a new "Marine fisheries" entry has been added that lists and describes the major fishing regions, the total tonnage caught, as well as the principal fish catches.
March 19, 2019 - Women in Intel: "Spy Girl" Betty McIntosh
March 19, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Paratrooper's M2 Pocket Knife
March 18, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
March 18, 2019 - CIA Announces New Deputy Chief Operating Officer: John G. Edwards
March 15, 2019 - Women in Intel: Marion Frieswyk
March 14, 2019 - World Factbook: Where is the Kalahari Desert? You can find out by going to the Appendices tab>Appendix F: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Under the ‘K’ entries you’ll discover the answer.
March 13, 2019 - CIA Secrets to Creative Problem Solving at SXSW
March 13, 2019 - World Factbook: Where in the Kalahari Desert? You can find out by going to the Appendices tab>Appendix F: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Under the ‘K’ entries you’ll discover the answer.
March 12, 2019 - Women in Intel: Captain Czech
March 12, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: $20 Gold Coin Minted in 1858
March 7, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
March 6, 2019 - World Factbook: Have you ever wondered where the hottest, coldest, driest, or wettest places in the world were located? Look no further than the World>Geography>"Climate" entry to find out. New subfields for the earth's ten driest, wettest, coldest, and hottest locales were recently added.
March 5, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Woodsman's Pal Knife
February 2019
February 28, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
February 27, 2019 - World Factbook: The World Factbook has added seven new continent area comparison maps to its 'World' entry under "Area - comparative." Each of these interesting maps compares the United States to one of the world's seven continents. Check them out, the relative sizes of the land areas may surprise you.
February 26, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: DCI Allen W. Dulles's Stamps
February 22, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
February 21, 2019 - World Factbook: The Bosporus is one of the world's most strategic waterways; it is the strait that separates Europe to the west from Asia to the east. Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), one of the great historic cities of the world, straddles the Bosporus; it is the only metropolis in the world located on two continents. Can you identify the two bodies of water that the Bosporus connects? Consulting the map of Turkey will reveal the answer.
February 19, 2019 - To Catch a Spy: 25th Anniversary of the Aldrich Ames Arrest
February 19, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Subminiature "Dual Use" Camera
February 14, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
February 14, 2019 - World Factbook: Greece and its northern neighbor Macedonia recently resolved a nearly-three-decade-old naming dispute in which both countries claimed historical rights to the name "Macedonia." The Republic of Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia and this renaming was officially promulgated on 12 February 2019.
February 12, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Miniature Volume of Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago
February 7, 2019 - Ask Molly Q&A
February 7, 2019 - World Factbook: Where is Tasmania? To find out, go to the Appendices tab>Appendix F: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Under the ‘T’ entries you’ll discover the answer.
February 5, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: A-12 Flight Suit Accoutrement
February 4, 2019 - Have a Question About the CIA? #AskMollyHale!
January 2019
January 31, 2019 - World Factbook: The "Area - comparative" field in the World>Geography category contains many Top Ten rankings. Recently, listings for the Top Ten largest forested countries, the Top Ten most densely forested countries, and the Top Ten largest deserts were added to this field. Check it out.
January 29, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan's Boots
January 23, 2019 - Honoring the Legendary Tony Mendez
January 23, 2019 - World Factbook: Lake Victoria, the world's largest tropical lake and the second largest fresh water lake, is shared among three countries. Can you name them? Consulting one of the Africa maps under the References tab>Regional and World Maps will provide the answer.
January 22, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Air America Pilot Cap
January 18, 2019 - World Factbook: The Yucatan Peninsula is a huge land body extending north from Central America that divides the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea; it is shared by three countries. Can you name them? Various maps under the References tab will help you determine the answer.
January 15, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
January 10, 2019 - World Factbook: These additional six common words - pains, plane, pure, rain, regalia, serial - can also be unscrambled to form the name of a country. How did you do?
January 8, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Compass
January 3, 2019 - World Factbook: Each of following six common words - also, chain, enemy, laity, mail, moan - can be unscrambled to form the name of a country. Did you get them all?
January 1, 2019 - Artifact of the Week: The Well Dressed Spy … Bodyworn Surveillance Equipment
December 2018
December 25, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Pigeon Camera
December 21, 2018 - 50 Years of "Operation Santa Claus"
December 21, 2018 - A Day in the Life of a CIA Cyber Operations Officer
December 18, 2018 - Pan Am 103 Lapel Pin
December 17, 2018 - Sending Holiday Wishes Near and Far
December 14, 2018 - CIA “Spider-Man"
December 13, 2018 - Fifth Installment Available of “The Daily Summary: Informing President Truman"
December 13, 2018 - World Factbook: There are 11 countries whose names begin with an 'A'; all but two of them also end with an 'A'. Can you name the two 'A' countries that don't end with an 'A'?
December 11, 2018 - Handwritten Letter from Stalin’s Daughter
December 6, 2018 - School Without Walls
December 6, 2018 - World Factbook: All of the Energy numbers, including those for "Electricity," "Crude oil," "Refined petroleum products," "Natural gas," and "Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy," have been updated with the latest data available.
December 4, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Mine Probing Tool
December 1, 2018 - Honoring the Legacy of George H.W. Bush - the 11th Director of Central Intelligence
December 1, 2018 - George H.W. Bush - the 11th Director of Central Intelligence
December 1, 2018 - CIA Remembers Former Director, Former President George H.W. Bush
November 2018
November 29, 2018 - World Factbook: The number of countries by continent varies greatly. Africa has the most with 54; South America only has 12. To find out how many countries compose the other four inhabited continents (Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania), and which countries appear on what continent, visit the 'World' entry and go to the Geography category>countries by continent.
November 27, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Concealed Compass
November 21, 2018 - World Factbook: While a number of countries around the world celebrate harvest festivals, several observe a special Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving in the United States takes place on the fourth Thursday of November and typically includes a turkey dinner, with lots of trimmings.
November 20, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Lapis Lazuli
November 14, 2018 - Fourth Installment Available of “The Daily Summary: Informing President Truman"
November 14, 2018 - World Factbook: Most maritime commercial cargo is containerized, and the distribution of container ports is a useful indicator of world maritime trade. The “Ports and terminals” entry in the Transportation section of the World entry has been updated to reflect the latest statistics on world container traffic.
November 13, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: William J. Donovan's Canteen
November 8, 2018 - World Factbook: This Sunday, 11 November 2018, marks the centenary of the end of World War I. At 0510 on 11 November 1918 on a railroad siding in the Forest of Compiègne in northern France, the German delegation signed the terms of the armistice that ended the fighting at exactly 1100 on that day.
November 7, 2018 - A Day in the Life of a CIA STEM Scholarship Student
November 6, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Argo Ads and Articles in Variety
November 1, 2018 - World Factbook: In the Government section, “Legislative branch” field, the ‘election results’ entry has been expanded for all European countries with the addition of text describing ‘composition,’ which tallies the number of men and women and the percent of women in unicameral and bicameral legislatures.
October 2018
October 31, 2018 - Spooky Stories for Halloween
October 30, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Advanced Flaps and Seals Kit
October 29, 2018 - DCIA Haspel Presented with the 2018 William J. Donovan Award
October 25, 2018 - World Factbook: Did you know that The Sudd is a vast swamp in the north central region of South Sudan in Africa? Formed by the White Nile, its size varies but can reach some 15% of the countrys total area during the rainy season, making it is one of the worlds largest wetlands.
October 23, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Letter from President Kennedy
October 22, 2018 - The Language of Espionage
October 18, 2018 - World Factbook: There are about a dozen countries in the world that have two capitals, but only one has three. Can you name this African country, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations?
October 16, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Radio Receiver Concealment
October 15, 2018 - Third Installment Available of “The Daily Summary: Informing President Truman"
October 11, 2018 - National Disability Employment Awareness Month at CIA
October 11, 2018 - World Factbook: The Black Sea, which lies between Europe and Asia, is bordered by six countries. Can you name them? Check your answer by consulting any one of a number of maps under the References tab.
October 9, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Headphones with Bullet Strikes
October 4, 2018 - World Factbook: In the Military category, the “Maritime threats” entry, which covers seagoing piracy, was recently updated for all countries where these threats exist.
October 3, 2018 - Director Gina Haspel's Speech at the University of Louisville
October 2, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Black Rhythm
October 1, 2018 - How Missile Detection Technology Helps Fight Breast Cancer
September 2018
September 27, 2018 - World Factbook: In the Communications category, a new “Broadband – fixed subscriptions” field was recently added for all countries. Additionally, the data for “Telephones – fixed lines” and “Telephones – mobile cellular” has been updated.
September 26, 2018 - Mi-17 JAWBREAKER Helicopter Arrives at CIA Headquarters
September 25, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Cast of a Few, Courage of a Nation
September 24, 2018 - Speech: Director Haspel - McConnell Center at the University of Louisville
September 20, 2018 - World Factbook: The “Constitution” entries under the Government category for all Western Hemisphere countries have been expanded with the inclusion of a summary description of the procedure for amending a country’s constitution. Expanded “Constitution” entries are now complete for all of the world’s nations.
September 18, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Truman Seal
September 14, 2018 - Second Installment Now Available of “The Daily Summary: Informing President Truman"
September 13, 2018 - World Factbook: This island country flies the only national flag in the world that consists solely of four horizontal color bands (many countries have three bands, some have five). Can you name this Indian Ocean country?
September 11, 2018 - CIA Honors Victims of 9/11 Attacks
September 11, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: 9/11 Commendation Bar
September 11, 2018 - New 9/11 Memorial at CIA Headquarters
September 9, 2018 - CIA Unveils Memorial to Agency K9s
September 6, 2018 - World Factbook: This large island in the Indian Ocean supports a unique biota; about 90% of its plants and animals are found nowhere else on earth. Can you name this island – the world’s fourth largest – which is also a country?
September 5, 2018 - A Day in the Life of a Publications Officer
September 4, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Letter Removal Device
August 2018
August 31, 2018 - World Factbook: Forty newly commissioned area comparison maps have been added to the website, meaning that most major countries of the world now are displayed in comparison to the United States. To see the relative size of a country shown superimposed over part of the US, go to the Geography section and check under “Area – comparative” (the fifth geography entry).
August 28, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Uniform of OSS Col. William H. Pietsch, Jr.
August 23, 2018 - World Factbook: The Channel Islands, an archipelago in the British Channel off the coast of France, are composed of two Crown Dependencies. Can you name them? The answer may be found in Appendix F: Cross Reference List of Geographic names.
August 22, 2018 - Director Haspel Welcomes Additions to Leadership Team
August 22, 2018 - DCIA Message to the Workforce: New Chief Operating Officer
August 22, 2018 - DCIA Message to the Workforce: Sonya Holt Selected to Serve as CIA’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
August 22, 2018 - Meet Our New Deputy Director
August 21, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Pneumatic Tube Carrier
August 20, 2018 - CIA Hosts Tony Dungy & James “JB” Brown for CIA Speaker Series
August 16, 2018 - World Factbook: In the Economy category, the fields for “GDP (purchasing power parity),” “GDP (official exchange rate),” “GDP-real growth rate,” “GDP-per capita,” “Inflation rate,” “Public debt,” “Current account balance,” and “Gross national savings” were all recently updated.
August 15, 2018 - CIA Kicks-off “The Daily Summary: Informing President Truman,” A Series of Declassified Releases
August 14, 2018 - Top 10 CIA Myths
August 14, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Civil Air Transport Souvenir Bag
August 9, 2018 - World Factbook: Although Portugal is a small European country, it includes two prominent Atlantic archipelagos. Can you name them? Hint: Consulting any of The World Factbook’s World or Africa maps will quickly reveal the answer.
August 7, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: The Airmens Bond
August 3, 2018 - Project Whale Tale: U-2 Flights Off Aircraft Carriers
August 2, 2018 - World Factbook: Did you know that the earth has two massive ice sheets, one in Antarctica, the other in Greenland. The former, which covers 98% of the Antarctic continent, is the largest single mass of ice on the earth covering an area of 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square miles). Check the References tab>Regional and World Maps to peruse various maps that show the extent of the ice sheets.
August 2, 2018 - Wakandan Technology Today: A CIA Scientist Explores the Possibilities
August 2, 2018 - CIA Hosts Inaugural STEM Camp to Bolster STEM Recruitment
August 1, 2018 - President Trump Announces Intent To Appoint Veteran Agency Officer Vaughn F. Bishop as CIA Deputy Director
July 2018
July 31, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Skyhook Extraction Mechanism Instructions
July 26, 2018 - That Time CIA Used Tiger Droppings as a Covert Tracking Device
July 26, 2018 - World Factbook: Did you know that there are four countries that make up the Horn of Africa, the eastern part of the continent that sticks out into the Indian Ocean? They are Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti (the initials spell SEED). The Horn designation is derived from its shape being reminiscent of a rhinoceros horn. Check out the Africa maps under the References tab>Regional and World Maps to see for yourself.
July 25, 2018 - GRAB: First Signals Intelligence Satellite
July 24, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Belly Buster Drill
July 19, 2018 - World Factbook: The World Factbook Archives have been expanded and now include all the editions from 2000 to 2017. The Archives may be accessed by clicking on Download Publication in the upper right corner of the home page.
July 17, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Minox B Camera
July 16, 2018 - The latest issue of Studies in Intelligence is out! This issue of features articles on: intelligence today and tomorrow, historical perspectives on OSS, analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, intelligence in popular culture and media, and the always popular Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf. Unclassified extracts from Studies in Intelligence Volume 62, Number 2 (June 2018) are also available in PDF [4.3MB*]
July 12, 2018 - World Factbook: Newly redesigned special one-page country Summaries for the World Cup finalists – Croatia and France – may be found at the end of the introductory Background statement for those two countries. The Summaries highlight key World Cup information in addition to selected facts from The World Factbook.
July 11, 2018 - CIA Makes Progress on Women in Leadership
July 10, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Distortion Measuring Set
July 5, 2018 - World Factbook: Special World Cup one-page-country Summaries are available for the eight countries that have reached the quarter finals of the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament - Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, England (United Kingdom), France, Russia, Sweden, Uruguay. The Summaries are located at the end of the introductory Background statements for each of those countries.
July 3, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: Flag that Flew Above the Glomar Explorer
June 2018
June 28, 2018 - World Factbook: Which of these countries – Belgium, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Serbia, or Switzerland – is the smallest participating in the World Cup tournament (by area)? Find the answer by going to the References tab and clicking on the Guide to Country Comparisons>Geography>Area.
June 26, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: FBIS Text Message Announcing Yugoslavian President Tito's Death
June 25, 2018 - CIA Celebrates Pride Month
June 25, 2018 - Daniel Craig Visits the Agency to Discuss the Reel vs Real of Espionage
June 21, 2018 - World Factbook: The five African nations competing at the ongoing soccer World Cup tournament in Russia – Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia – include two of the world’s most populous countries and three others with residents in excess of 11 million.
June 19, 2018 - Artifact of the Week: “Dead” Drop Spike
June 14, 2018 - World Factbook: The World Factbook is pleased to announce the addition of one-page country Summaries to its site. Links to 10 selected country Summaries – those of Afghanistan, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, North Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States – may be found at the end of the introductory Background statement for each of those countries.
June 12, 2018 - CIA Pays Tribute to its Fallen in Annual Memorial Ceremony
June 12, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: OSS Wax Seal Embosser
June 12, 2018 - Happy Birthday, President Bush!
June 11, 2018 - CIA Releases Material, Including Videos, About President George H.W. Bush
June 7, 2018 - World Factbook: In the People and Society category, “Urbanization” field, both of the subfields - for ‘urban population’ and ‘rate of urbanization’ - were recently updated for all countries.
June 6, 2018 - A Day in the Life of a Cyber Threat Analyst
June 5, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: “Silver Dollar” Hollow Container
June 4, 2018 - Former CIA Officers Discuss the Reel vs. Real of Espionage with Cast, Creator of The Americans.
May 2018
May 31, 2018 - World Factbook: On 18 April 2018, the king of Swaziland announced his intention to change the internationally used name of his country to more closely reflect the Swazi-language form of the name. On 25 May 2018, the US Board on Geographic Names – Foreign Names Committee voted to approve the changes and they have now been incorporated into The World Factbook.
May 30, 2018 - CIA's "Reel vs Real" Event with Special Guests from FX's "The Americans." #ReelvsRealCIA
May 29, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Studio Six Productions Logo Items
May 25, 2018 - Ian Fleming: The Man Behind the Most Famous Spy
May 22, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: E Street Complex Sign with CIA Seal
May 21, 2018 - Gina Haspel Sworn in as First Female CIA Director
May 16, 2018 - World Factbook: Many national flags exhibit either numerous stars or merely one star in their design. There are only four countries that prominently display just two stars on their flag. Can you identify them? Consult the References tab>Flags of the World to determine the answer. Hint: Three of the four countries all begin with the same letter of the alphabet.
May 15, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Message from Moscow
May 10, 2018 - World Factbook: On Friday 4 May 2018 at 11:30 pm (23:30 hours), North Korea turned its clocks forward one-half hour to Saturday 5 May 12:00 midnight to align its time zone with that in South Korea. This time difference is 9 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC; formerly Greenwich Mean Time) and 14 hours ahead of Washington, DC. Time differences for every country in The World Factbook may be found in the Government category, “Capital” entry.
May 9, 2018 - Gina Haspel SSCI Statement for the Record
May 8, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Air America ID Card
May 3, 2018 - World Factbook: Although most of the length of the Amazon River passes through Brazil, that country is not the ultimate source of that river. Can you name the country where the Amazon originates? Hint: You can determine the answer by consulting either of the South America maps under the References tab>Regional and World Maps.
May 2, 2018 - A Day in the Life of a Field Utility Systems Specialist
May 1, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: U-2 Model used by Francis Gary Powers
April 2018
April 26, 2018 - Gina Haspel Assumes Role of Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
April 26, 2018 - World Factbook: After almost six decades of rule by the Castro brothers – first Fidel and then Raul – Cuba on April 19th installed a new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel. Check the Government section, "Executive branch" entry to see other recently inaugurated or newly elected presidents including those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Botswana, Costa Rica, Montenegro, Paraguay, and Sierra Leone.
April 24, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: U-2 Pilot’s Partial Pressure Suit and Helmet
April 19, 2018 - World Factbook: Sunday April 22 will mark Earth Day, which was “born” in the United States in 1970 and is now observed in virtually every country on earth (192 of 195 countries by last count). Planet earth was “born” a very long time ago, see the “Geography – note” in the World entry to find out just how old the earth is. While in the World entry, check out the “Geographic overview” to learn a lot of additional fun facts about the earth.
April 17, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Sculpted Clay Ear
April 12, 2018 - New edition of Studies in Intelligence! Check out the unclassified extracts from the March 2018 issue of Studies: Volume 62, Number 1. There are over a dozen articles in this edition covering Historical Perspectives, Intelligence Today and Tomorrow, Intelligence in Public Media, and, of course, the ever-popular Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf. All available now for your reading pleasure. PDF version available here: [PDF 12.9MB*]
April 11, 2018 - World Factbook: This week is National Library Week. One of the largest and most famous libraries in the ancient world was the Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt (founded about 295 B.C., it may have survived in some form into the 5th century A.D.). The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, an Egyptian National Library established in 2002 on the site of the original Great Library, commemorates the original archive and cultural center. Consult the map of Egypt to find the location of Alexandria. Note that it is not on the Nile River as many other major Egyptian cities are. Can you think why the ancients may have wanted to set up the library where they did?
April 10, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Manganese Nodule Encased in Lucite
April 5, 2018 - World Factbook: The ongoing National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC commemorates Japan’s friendship gift of 3,020 cherry trees to the US in 1912 – and provides an opportunity for a Japan-related query. Japan is composed of four main Home Islands and 6,848 smaller islands and islets. Can you name the Home Islands? The answer may be found in the Japan entry by checking the Japan map or the Geography – note.
April 3, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: George Kisevalter Cufflinks
April 2, 2018 - 20th Anniversary of the US Embassy Bombings in East Africa
March 2018
March 29, 2018 - A Day in the Life of a Science, Technology, and Weapons Analyst
March 29, 2018 - World Factbook: The Gulf of Tonkin in Southeast Asia borders what countries? A. Cambodia, B. China, C. Vietnam, D. Both A & C, or E. Both B & C. Find the answer by checking the References tab>Regional and World Maps>Southeast Asia map(s).
March 28, 2018 - Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to CIA’s Predecessor, OSS
March 27, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: A Psychological Analysis of Hitler by Walter Langer
March 26, 2018 - New CSI Publication - Voices from the Station: The Evacuation of the US Embassy in Saigon [PDF 987 KB*]
March 23, 2018 - Counterintelligence at CIA: A Brief History
March 23, 2018 - Get to Know our Deputy Director
March 22, 2018 - World Factbook: The Baltic Sea, an extension of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Europe, is bordered by nine countries. Can you name them? Consult the References tab>Regional and World Maps>Europe to identify them.
March 20, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Civil Air Transport (CAT) "Lucky Dragon" Pin
March 19, 2018 - Bipartisan Support for Gina Haspel’s Nomination to be CIA Director From Distinguished National Security Leaders.
March 15, 2018 - World Factbook: South America only has two landlocked countries. Can you name them? Check the References tab>Regional and World Maps>South America to come up with the answer.
March 14, 2018 - Happy Pi Day!
March 13, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Compass
March 9, 2018 - CIA Chief Operating Officer Speaks to Annuitants at CIRA Event
March 9, 2018 - World Factbook: Africa has the most countries (54) of any continent; 16 of these countries (30%) are landlocked. Can you name them? Refer to the References tab>Regional and World Maps>Africa to see if you can find them all.
March 7, 2018 - Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Helge Boes
March 6, 2018 - The Women Who Lived at CIA
March 6, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Thuraya Satellite Phone
March 5, 2018 - World Factbook: There is an amazing diversity of “fascinating facts at your fingertips” available in The World Factbook, here are some examples. The height of a horse is measured in hands. How wide is a hand - in either centimeters or inches? Find the answer in Appendix G: Weights and Measures. Which country produces more electricity, India or Russia? Locate the answer under the References tab>Guide to Country Comparisons>Energy>Electricity Production. Where are the next Summer Olympics to be held? See Appendix B: International Organizations and Groups>International Olympic Committee.
March 1, 2018 - OSS Creates First CI Division
February 2018
February 28, 2018 - CIA Kicks-off Signature School Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago
February 28, 2018 - Making Black History, Today
February 27, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Identification Card of Allen W. Dulles
February 23, 2018 - World Factbook: The Arabian Peninsula Is composed of seven countries entirely and parts of two others; it occupies about 3.2 million square kilometers and is often cited as the world’s largest peninsula. Can you name its seven constituent parts? (Note that one of the seven countries is an offshore archipelago linked to the peninsula by a causeway.) The Middle East maps – under the References tab>Regional and World Maps – will provide the answer.
February 22, 2018 - Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Billy Jack Johnson
February 20, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Insectothopter
February 16, 2018 - World Factbook: The Southern Cross constellation (also known as Crux) is a group of four bright stars in the southern sky; it is distinctly displayed on the national flags of five Southern Hemisphere countries. In the flag of Brazil, it appears centered within a spray of stars and can be overlooked. However, on the flags of the other four countries the constellation makes up a conspicuous part of the design. Can you name the four additional countries that carry the Southern Cross? Check the Flags of the World page under the References tab to find the answers. Hint: The countries all fall within, or border on, the South Pacific Ocean.
February 14, 2018 - Romeo Spies
February 13, 2018 - Pompeo Testifies on Top Global Threats Facing the US Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Today
February 13, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Office Computer Used by Aldrich Ames
February 9, 2018 - World Factbook: Expansion of the “Constitution” entry under the ‘Government’ category continues with the inclusion of a summary description of the procedure for amending a country’s constitution. Expanded entries are now available for countries in East Asia and the Pacific region as well as the previously completed entries for African, European, Middle Eastern, and South and Central Asian countries. In coming weeks, amending procedures will be added for Western Hemisphere countries.
February 6, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Pointy-Talky Language Chart
February 1, 2018 - World Factbook: If the temperature in the West African city of Dakar is 98 degrees Fahrenheit, what is this in degrees Celsius? See Appendix G: Weights and Measures to find out how to convert from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius or vice versa. Then check out one of the Africa maps (under the References tab>Regional and World Maps) to find out what country Dakar is the capital of.
January 2018
January 31, 2018 - Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Frank A. Darling
January 31, 2018 - Remembering CIA’s Heroes: Dr. Lansing H. Bennett
January 30, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Bust of William J. Casey
January 26, 2018 - World Factbook: In the economy and energy categories, all of the data have been updated through 2017, or through the most recent year for which data are available.
January 23, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Former Soviet Pilot Viktor Belenko’s Military ID Document
January 19, 2018 - World Factbook: This landlocked country – one of two in South America – holds the record for the most official languages. According to its 2009 constitution, it has 37 official languages (Spanish plus 36 indigenous languages). Check the appropriate “Language” entries to determine the name of the country.
January 18, 2018 - Statement from CIA Director Pompeo on Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner
January 16, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Office of Strategic Services Silk Escape and Evasion Map
January 11, 2018 - World Factbook: Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake and the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, after North America’s Lake Superior. It is also one of the sources of the Nile River. The lake is divided among three countries. Can you name them? Check any of the Africa maps under the References tab to come up with the answer.
January 9, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: AN-2 Throttle
January 5, 2018 - World Factbook: No less than five African countries have at least two national capitals (usually one serves as an administrative capital while the other seats the legislature). The countries are: Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania. Check the “Capital” entry (under Government) for each of these countries to learn the names of the dual (and in one case triple) capital cities.
January 2, 2018 - CIA Artifact of the Week: Civil Air Transport Picture