The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has officially announced that it will cease publishing its highly authoritative reference materials service.World Facts (The World Factbook). For decades, this service has been one of the most comprehensive and free sources of information on the population, geography, economy, and government structure of countries around the world, but it has now been discontinued without a detailed explanation.
The specific reason was not given, but it is likely related to federal budget cuts.
The CIA did not explain in its official announcement why it shut down this popular resource.
However, foreign media speculate that this may be related to the large-scale buyouts and job cuts planned by the US federal government in 2025. Under pressure from budget cuts and workforce reductions, tools that are "public service" rather than core intelligence operations are likely to be included in the list of non-essential projects to be prioritized for elimination.
From the cornerstone of confidential documents to online encyclopedias
The history of the World Factbook dates back to 1962, when it was called The National Basic Intelligence Factbook. It was initially classified as a confidential document and intended for internal use by the U.S. government only.
In 1971, in response to the needs of other government departments and the public interest, the CIA released the first unclassified version of the "National Basic Intelligence Factbook." Then, in 1997, with the rise of the internet, it was officially digitized and became an online database on the CIA's website.
Because its data belonged to the U.S. federal government, this online database entered the public domain, thus becoming the most important source and cornerstone for the early creation of country entries on Wikipedia.
