List of entities and changes in The World Factbook
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of entities and changes in The World Factbook. The World Factbook was an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world.
At the time of its discontinuation in February 2026, The World Factbook consisted of 258 entities.[1] These entities can be divided into categories.[2] These categories are:
- Independent countries
- Others
- Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
- Miscellaneous
- Other entities
After the list of entities, there is a table that lists entities that have been dropped, added, renamed, or consolidated in The World Factbook.
Independent countries
The list of entities follows below. The names and flags of entities are as listed in the Factbook and may differ from other sources.
This is a list of independent countries. The CIA defines an independent country as people "politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory".[2] In this category, there are 195 entities:
Others
This is a list of other places set apart from the list of independent countries. There are two entities in this category:
| Flag of entity | Name of entity |
|---|---|
 |
Taiwan |
 |
European Union |
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
This category is a list of places affiliated with another country. They may be subdivided into categories using the country they are affiliated with:
Miscellaneous
This category is for Antarctica and places in dispute. There are five entities here:
Other entities
This category is for the World and the oceans. There are five oceans and the World (the World entry is intended as a summary of the other entries [3]) :
Changes in The World Factbook
This table lists changes in the entities in the Factbook. Entities that have been added are in green; dropped entities are in red; the flag last used by the entity is shown as well. Entities that have changed their name are in blue; entities that have been redirected and consolidated into another entry are in purple.
| Name of entity | Date change was made | Comments | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antarctica | 1988 | one of more than 40 entities added to the Factbook in order to provide a complete picture of the world | [4] | |
| Arctic Ocean | ||||
| Atlantic Ocean | ||||
| Indian Ocean | ||||
| Pacific Ocean | ||||
| World | ||||
| Soviet Union | 1992 | dropped | [5] | |
| Yugoslavia | ||||
| Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone | ||||
| Armenia | replaced the Soviet Union in the Factbook | |||
| Azerbaijan | ||||
| Belarus | ||||
| Estonia | ||||
| Georgia | ||||
| Kazakhstan | ||||
| Kyrgyzstan | ||||
| Latvia | ||||
| Lithuania | ||||
| Moldova | ||||
| Russia | ||||
| Tajikistan | ||||
| Turkmenistan | ||||
| Ukraine | ||||
| Uzbekistan | ||||
| Bosnia and Hercegovina | replaced Yugoslavia in the Factbook | |||
| Croatia | ||||
| Macedonia | ||||
| Serbia and Montenegro[C] | ||||
| Slovenia | ||||
| Czechoslovakia | 1993 | dropped after the country splits into the Czech Republic and Slovakia | [6] | |
| Czech Republic | added after Czechoslovakia splits | |||
| Slovakia | ||||
| Eritrea | added upon independence from Ethiopia | |||
| Vatican City | renamed Holy See (Vatican City) | |||
| Ivory Coast | renamed Cote d'Ivoire | |||
| Macedonia | 1994 | renamed The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | [7] | |
| Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the (Palau) | 1995 | renamed Palau | [8] | |
| Kazakhstan | 1996 | renamed Kazakstan; spelling changed | [9] | |
| Burkina | renamed Burkina Faso | |||
| Corsica | added | |||
| Zaire | 1997 | renamed Congo, Democratic Republic of the | [10] | |
| Congo | renamed Congo, Republic of the | |||
| Corsica | dropped | [11] | ||
| Western Samoa | 1998 | renamed Samoa | [12] | |
| Kazakstan | renamed Kazakhstan; spelling change | |||
| Wake Island | 1999 | renamed Wake Atoll | [13] | |
| Wake Atoll | 2000 | renamed Wake Island | [14] | |
| Southern Ocean | added | |||
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2001 | renamed Yugoslavia | [15] | |
| East Timor | January 1, 2002 | added | [16] | |
| Yugoslavia | March 19, 2003 | renamed Serbia and Montenegro | [17] | |
| Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of | November 30, 2004 | renamed Macedonia after a November 2004 decision [18] to refer to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as such | [19] | |
| Akrotiri | added because both Akrotiri and Dhekelia are dependencies and not lease areas[20] | [21] | ||
| Dhekelia | [22] | |||
| European Union | December 16, 2004 | added due to the fact the European Union has nation like qualities[20] | [23] | |
| Man, Isle of | January 10, 2006 | renamed Isle of Man | [24] | |
| Baker Island | March 29, 2006 | redirected and consolidated in United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry[25] | [26] | |
| Howland Island | [27] | |||
| Jarvis Island | [28] | |||
| Johnston Atoll | [29] | |||
| Kingman Reef | [30] | |||
| Midway Islands | [31] | |||
| Palmyra Atoll | [32] | |||
| United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges | a consolidation of the entries for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, and Palmyra Atoll[25] | [33] | ||
| Serbia and Montenegro | June 13, 2006 | dropped due to independence of Montenegro[34] | [35] | |
| Serbia | June 29, 2006 | added due to independence of Montenegro[34] | [36] | |
| Montenegro | [37] | |||
| Bassas da India | September 7, 2006 | consolidated in Iles Eparses entry[38] | [39] | |
| Europa Island | [40] | |||
| Glorioso Islands | [41] | |||
| Juan de Nova Island | [42] | |||
| Tromelin Island | [43] | |||
| Iles Eparses | a consolidation of the entries for Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island[38] | [44] | ||
| French Guiana | January 18, 2007 | dropped because the area is now an Overseas region and a part of France proper | [45] | |
| Guadeloupe | ||||
| Martinique | ||||
| Reunion | ||||
| Saint Barthelemy | July 19, 2007 | added due to the fact the area is now an Overseas collectivity of France[46] | [47] | |
| Saint Martin | [48] | |||
| Bassas da India | dropped because the area is now part of the Iles Eparses district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands[46] | [49] | ||
| Europa Island | ||||
| Glorioso Islands | ||||
| Juan de Nova Island | ||||
| Tromelin Island | ||||
| Iles Eparses | ||||
| East Timor | renamed Timor-Leste due to a decision of the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) to use the latter instead of the former[46] | [50] | ||
| Kosovo | February 28, 2008 | added[46] | [51] | |
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | September 1, 2009 | renamed South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | [52] | |
| Saint Helena | January 15, 2010 | renamed Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha | [53] | |
| Netherlands Antilles | October 12, 2010 | dropped after the Netherlands Antilles dissolves.[54] | [55] | |
| Curacao | October 20, 2010 | added after the Netherlands Antilles dissolves[54] | [56] | |
| Sint Maarten | [57] | |||
| Mayotte | April 8, 2011 | dropped because the area is now an Overseas department and a part of France proper[58] | [58] | |
| South Sudan | July 11, 2011 | added following independence from Sudan[59] | [60] | |
| Cape Verde | January 7, 2014 | renamed Cabo Verde | [61] | |
| Swaziland | May 25, 2018 | renamed Eswatini | [62][63] | |
| Macedonia | February 19, 2019 | renamed North Macedonia | [64][65] | |
Notes
B These entities have been consolidated into the United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges entry.[25]
C On April 27, 1992, Serbia and Montenegro, the final two republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), formed a new nation, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).[66][67] Until 2001, the U.S. Government did not recognize the FRY as a state.[68] The U.S. government also decided not to accept the FRY or any the other republics as a successor state to the SFRY.[69]
