CIA World Factbook
The CIA World Factbook is produced by CIA's Directorate of Intelligence. The Factbook includes facts
and statistics on more than 250 countries and other entities.
BBC News Country Profiles
Full BBC News profiles include history, politics and economic background of countries and territories,
and background on key institutions. They also include audio or video clips from BBC archives.
Consular Information Sheets and
Current Travel Warnings
Consular Information Sheets are available for every country of the world. They include information
such as location of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country, unusual immigration practices,
health conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and
security information, and drug penalties. Current Travel Warnings are issued when the State
Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a country.
Background Notes (U.S. Department of State)
Background Notes include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions,
economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special
sovereignty. The Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications
of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus.
Within each Background Note, click on the link under "OFFICIAL NAME" to go a "country page"
containing additional information and special report links in the left column.
Currency Converter
Currency converter for 164 currencies.
Country Studies/Area Handbooks
Country Studies/Area Handbook profiles describe and analyze the historical setting, the social,
economic, political, and national security systems, and the institutions of a country. Profiles
also examine the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural
factors. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Army, the original intent of the series was to
analyze lesser known areas of the world or regions in which U.S. forces might be deployed.
As a result, only 101 countries and regions are covered. The date of information for each
country appears on the title page of each country and at the end of each secion of text.
Political Risk Yearbook 
Country Reports on 106 countries. Gives political and economic risk analysis available.
Each Country Report focuses specifically on political and business information: finding
developing markets, determining currency movements, preparing for capital investments,
or making judgments about corporate security.
PARLINE Database (National Parliaments)
Created by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (ICU) PARLINE provides brief
information on the parliament of a country and, when available, a link to the Web site for that
country's parliament. For more national parliament resources, see:
Social Sciences Library: Parliaments
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