“One of the longest-running intelligence publications and a symbol of the CIA, the World Factbook, has ceased publication,” the agency said in a statement on its official website. The CIA points out that for decades this guide has served the intelligence community, as well as the general public, as a unique and irreplaceable source of data on countries and their communities, although the reason for the cessation of publication has not been clarified.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe has previously announced plans to eliminate programs that do not contribute to the agency’s core missions, and the World Book of Facts has been among the longest-running publications of its kind. The original version, then classified, was called the “Basic National Intelligence Fact Book” and was launched in 1962, while the first public version was published in 1971.
The book has been a favorite among journalists, researchers and students for years, providing a detailed overview of countries, their economies, armed forces, resources and social structures. A decade later, the publication was renamed the “World Book of Facts,” and in 1997 it went digital, becoming available to a global audience through the CIA.gov site, where it logged millions of views annually.
The cessation of publication marks the end of one of the longest-running reference sources of information about countries in the world, whose importance to researchers will continue to be recognized through digital archives and previously issued publications.
(Vijesti.ba)
