The 1996 CIA World Factbook

"The 1996 CIA World Factbook" by the United States Central Intelligence Agency is a comprehensive reference guide produced in the late 20th century. This work presents detailed information about various countries and territories around the world, including geography, demographics, governments, and economic data. It serves as a valuable resource for anyone seeking quick and authoritative facts about global nations. The opening of this factbook begins with an introduction outlining the organizational structure of the entries, which are arranged alphabetically by country. It notes that certain supplementary sections are missing and advises users to refer to earlier or later editions for complete information. The first entries feature basic data for countries such as Afghanistan, Albania, and Algeria, including geographical coordinates, flags, population statistics, and brief summaries of economic conditions and political structures. Such foundational details provide readers a snapshot of the global landscape as it was understood in 1996. (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.