The 2001 CIA World Factbook

"The 2001 CIA World Factbook" by the United States Central Intelligence Agency is a comprehensive reference publication that provides a wealth of information about countries and geographic entities around the globe, compiled around the turn of the 21st century. This annual Factbook includes detailed data on geopolitical, economic, demographic, and environmental topics relevant to each country, reflecting the state of the world as of January 1, 2001. It serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding global dynamics. The beginning of this edition presents the structure and contents, establishing a format for easy navigation across various topics, such as country listings, field descriptions, and appendices dedicated to abbreviations and international organizations. It gives insight into the preparation process of the Factbook, the historical context of its creation, and updates made for the 2001 edition. As it introduces the various sections, including critical data on individual countries like Afghanistan and Albania, it sets the stage for a deeper exploration of global affairs through easily accessible statistics and geopolitical information. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

The Central Intelligence Agency, known informally as the Agency, metonymously as Langley and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.