June 16, 2011 - During Soviet times, Kazakhs made up less than 50% of the population in Kazakhstan. What is the current ethnic breakdown in that country? Find out by visiting the "Ethnic groups" field under People. A number of the entries in the People category - religions, ethnicity, languages, and literacy - have recently been updated for many countries.

June 09, 2011 - The piracy plague continues unabated. The "Transportation note" entry addressing piracy has been updated for various countries bordering the Indian Ocean, as well as for Nigeria and Brazil.

June 02, 2011 - A new entry "International law organization participation," has been added to the Government category; it addresses jurisdiction of the International Court of justice (ICJ) and of the International Criminal Court (ICCt). Note that the information on ICJ jurisdiction, formerly included in the "Legal system" description, has been moved to this new entry. GDP data have been revised to reflect the most recent estimates for 2008-2010.

May 19, 2011 - Under the Government category, in the "Capital" field, 'daylight saving time' has been updated for 2011.

May 12, 2011 - How many grams in a scruple? Check out the Weights and Measures appendix for the answer!

May 05, 2011 - Which country has the highest number of airports? Check the Country Comparison page to find out!

April 28, 2011 - Significant updates have been made to the "Pipelines" field in the Transportation category.

April 21, 2011 - Did you know that there are more member "countries" of the International Olympic Committee than there are member countries of the UN? (The former includes a number of autonomous or semi-autonomous territories, dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.) To find out just what countries compose each of these organizations, visit Appendix B.

April 08, 2011 - The Indian Ocean island entity of Mayotte became an overseas department of France on 31 March. The change in status makes it an integral part of France and so its description is now included in the France country profile.

March 25, 2011 - What country was formerly named Upper Volta? Find out by checking Appendix F (Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names).

March 18, 2011 - Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, recently devastated northeast Japan, killing thousands and damaging several nuclear power plants. The "Economic overview" for Japan presents a preliminary survey of the calamitous situation.

March 10, 2011 - What country has the longest system of waterways - navigable rivers and canals - in the world? Go to the References tab/ Country Comparison/ Waterways to find out. In the Transportation section, both the "Waterways" and "Roadways" entries have been updated. New photos introduced for Egypt.

March 02, 2011 - What country has three megacites with populations of greater than 15 million? (No, it's not China.) Now you can find out the size of a country's four largest cities, as well as its capital, in the new "Major cities - population" field, in the People section of a country entry. See the Definitions and Notes, under the References tab, to get the exact breakdown on what is included in this new field.

February 24, 2011 - Did you know that the developing world increased its estimated share of worldwide mobile-cellular subscriptions from roughly 35% at the beginning of the decade to nearly 75% in 2010? All of the telephone-related fields, as well as all of the population entries, have been updated with the latest data.

February 16, 2011 - The 2011 Factbook cover has been unveiled in the Gallery of Covers under the References tab! While you are there, find out what year The World Factbook first featured a color cover.

February 02, 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).

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.