The World Factbook is Gone

"On February 4, 2026, the CIA made the surprising decision to shut down the World Factbook after more than sixty years of operation. This move was not just a simple website update. By removing the site and setting up redirects that lead away from historical data, the agency effectively broke millions of links used in schools, news reports, and scientific research. The takedown also removed all historical archives of the World Factbook. The takedown of this resource is a significant blow to the world of open data and public knowledge....

I purchased the domain worldfactbook.us and will hand it over to anyone interested in funding, developing, and maintaining an open-source full-stack restoration of the World Factbook."