January 31, 2011 - What do the initials ESA stand for? Check out Appendix A: Abbreviations to find out. New space-based photos have been uploaded for Australia, China, Namibia, Mexico, and the US.

January 25, 2011 - What country enjoyed the lowest unemployment rate in 2010? Find out by checking "Unemployment rate" under the Country Comparison feature (in the References tab). The entire Economy category has been updated to reflect data for years 2010 and earlier.

January 14, 2011 - Did you know that the highest elevation in the Netherlands is not in Europe? Where is it? Find out by checking the "Elevation extremes" field in the Geography section. New space-based photos have been added for Iran and Russia.

January 07, 2011 - What country flag is only one color? To find out visit the Flags of the World page.

December 30, 2010 - What airport handles the most passengers annually? Find out by going to the World entry, Transportation category, "Airports" field, and locating the top ten airports by passengers and by cargo.

December 23, 2010 - If it's noon in Washington, DC, what time is it in Nairobi, Kenya? The answer may be found in the Government section, under "Capital," where the time difference is specified. New photos from Kenya have been uploaded.

December 17, 2010 - How many rare earth elements (REEs) are there? Find the answer in the "Definitions and Notes" (below the References tab). These critical elements, necessary in so many of today's high-tech industries, are now listed in the "Natural resources" field, under Geography, for countries that are producing REEs or initializing mining operations (including Australia, China, Russia, South Africa, and the US).

December 10, 2010 - Quick! What's the national anthem of Australia? Now you can find the name, lyricist, composer, and additional basic anthem info for every country in the world by visiting the new "National anthems" field in the Government section of the Factbook.

November 30, 2010 - Since 2004, The World Factbook Web site has been updated on a bi-weekly schedule. Culminating a three-month trial effort, we are pleased to announce that the Factbook will now be updated on a weekly basis.

November 19, 2010 - Significant updates entered under the People, Government, and Communications categories.

November 11, 2010 - In the Geography category, a new subfield, "volcanism," has been added under the "Natural hazards" field for countries with historically active volcanoes. The Economy section has been updated to reflect the most recent data for 2009 and earlier years.

November 05, 2010 - In the Economy category, the "Oil - exports," "Oil - imports," "Oil - proved reserves," and "Natural gas - proved reserves" fields have been updated with the most recent estimates available.

October 29, 2010 - In the People category, significant updates have been made to the "School life expectancy" and "Education expenditures" fields. In the Economy category, the "Stock of domestic credit" field has been updated to include data for 2009. In addition, the definition has been expanded to include credit provided by all financial institutions, not just banks, as had been The World Factbook practice until now. For some countries this change significantly broadens the coverage.

October 22, 2010 - The dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles has resulted in two new World Factbook entries: the autonomous entities of Curacao and Sint Maarten (the remaining three islands - Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius - have joined the Netherlands as special municipalities). The number of entities in The World Factbook now stands at 267.

October 13, 2010 - In the Economy category, the "Stock of money" and "Stock of quasi money" fields have been updated and renamed as "Stock of narrow money" and "Stock of broad money" in keeping with the International Monetary Fund's new presentation of monetary data. This new format provides greater standardization of reporting and permits more consistent comparisons across countries. Please see "Definitions and Notes" (under the References tab) for descriptions of the new fields.

October 08, 2010 - In the Communications category, the "Internet hosts" field has been updated with 2010 data; significant updates entered in the Geography, Government, and Military categories.

October 01, 2010 - In the Transportation category, the "Merchant marine" field has been updated with the latest available data; substantial updates also entered in fields of the Government and Economy categories.

September 24, 2010 - In the Economy category, new data have been added for 2009 in the fields for "Central bank discount rate" and "Commercial bank prime lending rate."

September 17, 2010 - In the Transportation category, the "Roadways" field has been updated with the latest available data; significant updates also entered in fields of the Government and Military categories.

September 13, 2010 - In the Government category, the amplification of flag descriptions - to include explanations of colors and symbols - has been completed for all of the country entries.

September 03, 2010 - In addition to various population, governmental, and military updates, new photos have been added for Burma, Canada, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

August 23, 2010 - In the Communications category, the former "Radio broadcast stations" and "Television broadcast stations" entries have been replaced by a new "Broadcast media" field that provides information on the approximate number of public and private TV and radio stations in a country, as well as basic information on the availability of satellite and cable TV services. Malawi's recently unveiled new flag may be viewed either in the Flags of the World link or under the Malawi country entry. In the Economy category, GDP statistics have been updated and revised.

August 06, 2010 - In the Transportation category, the "Airports," "Airports - with paved runways," "Airports with unpaved runways," and "Heliports" fields have all been updated with the latest available data.

Ongoing - Revision of some individual country maps, first introduced in the 2001 edition, continues. Several regional maps have been updated to reflect boundary changes and place name spelling changes.