comprehensive gazetteers and better maps. The US Board on Geographic
Names (BGN) compiled the names; the Department of the Interior
produced the gazetteers; and CIA produced the maps.

The Hoover Commission's Clark Committee, set up in 1954 to study the
structure and administration of the CIA, reported to Congress in 1955
that: "The National Intelligence Survey is an invaluable publication
which provides the essential elements of basic intelligence on all
areas of the world. . . . There will always be a continuing
requirement for keeping the Survey up-to-date." The Factbook was
created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS
studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962,
and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS
program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and
gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made
available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing
Office (GPO). The 1996 edition was the first to be printed by GPO. The
year 1998 marks the 51st anniversary of the establishment of the
Central Intelligence Agency and the 55th year of continuous basic
intelligence support to the US Government by The World Factbook and
its two predecessor programs.

_________________________________________________________________

@CONTRIBUTORS AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

The World Factbook 1998

The World Factbook is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency
for the use of US Government officials, and the style, format,
coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific
requirements. Information is provided by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (Department of Labor), Bureau of the Census (Department
of Commerce), Central Intelligence Agency, Council of Managers of
National Antarctic Programs, Defense Intelligence Agency
(Department of Defense), Defense Special Weapons Agency (Department
of Defense), Department of State, Fish and Wildlife Service
(Department of the Interior), Maritime Administration (Department
of Transportation), National Imagery and Mapping Agency (Department
of Defense), Antarctic Information Program (National Science
Foundation), Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Department of
Defense), Office of Insular Affairs (Department of the Interior),
Office of Naval Intelligence (Department of Defense), US Board on
Geographic Names (Department of the Interior), US Coast