The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said on Wednesday that it is closing the curtains on the CIA World Factbook after more than 60 years. This publication by the US spy agency served as a popular reference manual.
The CIA announced the news in a post on its website and offered no reason for ending publication of the World Factbook.
About the CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook was first launched in 1962 as a printed classified reference manual for intelligence officers. It offered a detailed, by-the-numbers view of foreign nations, their economies, armies, resources, and societies.
It served not only the CIA, but was useful to other federal agencies as well. “The World Factbook has served the intelligence community and the general public as a long-standing basic overview of countries and communities around the world,” the CIA wrote.
Within ten years, the unclassified version became public.
After being made available online in 1997 at CIA.gov, the Factbook quickly became a popular reference site for journalists, trivia connoisseurs, and college essay writers, visited by millions each year.
“The World Factbook appealed to researchers, news organizations, teachers, students and international travelers,” the CIA said. “Some readers have even asked if their preferred geographical indication or world entity could be included on the high-profile site.”
The spy agency noted that only CIA insiders know that the officers donated some of their personal travel photos to The World Factbook, which contained more than 5,000 photographs that could not be accessed and used without copyright.
Why is the CIA World Factbook closing down?
According to The Associated Press, the decision to close the iconic World Factbook after 60 glorious years follows Director John Ratcliffe’s pledge to end programs that “do not support the agency’s core mission.”
It’s also in line with the Donald Trump administration’s decision to cut staff at the CIA and National Security Agency, forcing the agencies to do more with less.
In February of last year, the White House offered buyouts to every CIA employee and reportedly plans to cut about 1,200 more jobs at the agency over the next few years.
The CIA did not return AP’s request for comment on their decision.
