The 2009 CIA World Factbook

"The 2009 CIA World Factbook" by the United States Central Intelligence Agency is a comprehensive reference work written in the early 21st century. This publication serves as a factual resource that details the geographic, demographic, economic, governmental, and military information about countries worldwide. The focus of the book is to provide reliable and up-to-date data for policymakers, researchers, and the general public. The opening of "The 2009 CIA World Factbook" presents a structured overview of the content, which includes recent updates on various countries, including changes in government and economic statistics. It emphasizes the importance of timely information, with sections highlighting updates on elections, economic indicators, and new imagery, reflecting the dynamic nature of global affairs. Additionally, it outlines the organization of country profiles, listing categories such as geography, people, economy, and government that guide the reader in navigating the extensive data presented. (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.