The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon
Pages of that book saddened dictators for decades.
Although dictators are being ousted not by factbooks but other means, but even just making dictators sad a bit is better than licking their boots. -
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
Could be the leadup to denying the existence of sovereign countries?
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon Aww, the CIA stopped being fun now
Was it updated past 2020? Probably not, huh?
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon This was one of first things I used on the internet. I think it was on fed world.gov back in the Gopher days.
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon the Wayback Machine might help.
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
Thank you. Great publishing. The internet archive may have more.
-
Reality? what do we need reality for, just gets in the way of dictators.
-
Reality? what do we need reality for, just gets in the way of dictators.
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon archive.org?
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon facts are the enemy of MAGA.
-
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon@fedi.simonwillison.net
You really should mirror this into CodeBerg. It is GIT, but located in Germany, Europe — outside U.S. jurisdiction.
(Also outside Microsoft too) -
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon I think I found a 2022 version in the archive.
K3ZH-2BT2: The World Factbook - The World Factbook : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Perma.cc archive of https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ created on 2022-09-30 19:58:32.494416+00:00.
Internet Archive (archive.org)
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon thx Simon.
️
️
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
go to the head of the class.....kudos
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon removing sources of information is entirely consistent with preferring an uneducated uninformed electorate. I believe it was Reagan‘s advisors that warned him that an educated electorate was a threat to their policies.
So now when the Dear Leader stands up to pontificate about other countries there is no CIA source available to contradict him.
The US is now a backward country with increasing levels of illiteracy and education becoming increasingly unattainable for most
-
@simon @KanaMauna don't be ridiculous. There's no particular reason other than: the orange menace doesn't like the word "fact".
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon think also to the internet archive.org band their wayback machine. #github is owned by #microsoft so no guarantees on that forum.
-
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/the-world-factbook/
@simon thank you!
-
@simon @KanaMauna don't be ridiculous. There's no particular reason other than: the orange menace doesn't like the word "fact".
