The US Central Intelligence Agency last week released the 2001 version of its annual reference book the CIA World Factbook (last year's factbook is discussed in the September 1, 2000 Scout Report). The data, which are current as of January 1, 2001 in most cases, cover 266 countries as well as the "world," a category that summarizes the data overall. For each country, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe,...

The US Central Intelligence Agency has recently released the 1999 version of its well-known annual country information reference book (last described in the February 5, 1999 Scout Report). Data is available for more than 260 countries. For each country, map and flag, geographic, population, government, economic, communication, transportation, military, and transnational issue information is...

The US Central Intelligence Agency has recently released the 2000 version of its well-known annual country information reference book (last described in the September 24, 1999 Scout Report). Data are available for more than 260 countries. For each country, map and flag, geographic, population, government, economic, communication, transportation, military, and transnational issue information is...

Since 1975, the heads of state of the major industrial democracies have met annually to discuss the major economic and political issues facing their respective political entities, and more broadly, the entire international community. This past weekend, these seven main countries (with Russia joining the organization in 2006) met in Evian, France. Provided and developed by the University of...

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) has compiled this database of both quantitative and qualitative information related to voting in countries around the world. Users can search this database by country to get available information about a number of factors, including voter turnout, political finance, gender representation in office, and the design of the...

The Inter-Parliamentary Union, a "world organization of parliaments of sovereign States" since 1889, provides this informational site, which is highlighted by two searchable databases, PARLINE and PARLIT. PARLINE contains information about parliaments in over 190 countries, including structure, leader, percentage of women, term, and other useful data which may include distribution by political...

This online series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress presently contains studies of 100 countries. Each study has been prepared by a "multidisciplinary team of social scientists" and offers a textbook-like portrayal of the beliefs, values, institutions, geography, politics, and economics of each country. Texts include photographs, tables, glossaries,...

This 1999 report, from a Department of Defense-appointed panel led by former Senators Warren Rudman and Gary Hart, predicts increasing American strategic vulnerability, especially to terrorist attack. The United States Commission on National Security/21st Century has been charged with examining and assessing post-Cold War defense requirements in the most comprehensive reassessment of US defense...

What is the world like in 2013? It's a great question, and The Economist has a few answers. Each year, this publication publishes a guide to the trends and quandaries that will consume the attention of policy-makers, politicians, concerned citizens, and others across the globe. The materials here include political analyses, technology reports, and commentaries on culture. The pieces here are...

Provided by the UN Foundation, UN Wire is a new "daily news summary covering the United Nations, global affairs and key international issues." Users interested in the UN or global affairs will find UN Wire an excellent resource for quick, concise accounts of the day's major stories. Each day, UN Wire covers issues such as UN Affairs; Health; Women, Children, and Population; Environment; Trade;...