The World Factbook Archives

Download The World Factbook

What: Posted below is the Central Intelligence Agency’s most popular publication — The World Factbook — in compressed, .Zip file format, for the convenience of visitors who wish to download a personal copy.

Updates: We occasionally update these publications, so if you rely on the data for more than simple informational purposes, we recommend that you check back periodically for updates.

Format: The files for both publications are in standard HTML format. They have been compressed in .Zip format for ease of distribution.

Virus check: All files were checked with up-to-date commercial virus detection software prior to posting and, to the best of our ability to determine, were free of known viruses at the time they were posted.

How to use the publication: The files named index.htm and index.html open the publication’s home page. Navigate to the index file in the folder or directory you created using a file manager, such as Windows Explorer, then double-click it to open and begin using the publication.

The World Factbook features: Please note that the downloaded World Factbook functions as a stand-alone publication on your computer. Some features like country photos and anthems will not be available and the Search link will cause your browser to attempt to connect to the CIA’s Web site. The search software resides on our server and cannot be distributed with The World Factbook.

Download previous versions below.