# World Factbook (JSON)

**Last Updated:** January 23, 2026

## Overview

This dataset contains the CIA World Factbook country profiles converted into
machine-readable JSON. It covers over 260 world entities.

The data represents the final snapshot of the Factbook before the official
website was retired on **February 4, 2026**.

This archive includes two versions:
1. **Standard:** Clean, developer-friendly JSON (text only).
2. **Raw Cache:** Strict copy of the original site structure (includes image paths).

## 1. Standard Data (`/data/standard`)

**Best for:** General use, apps, data science.

This is the "clean" distribution found in the primary `factbook.json` repository.
It contains the core text profiles without the complex nesting of the raw site.

* **Source:** https://github.com/taruen/factbook.json
* **Origin:** Forked from the original work by Gerald Bauer at:
  https://github.com/factbook/factbook.json
* **Format:** JSON files organized by region (e.g., `europe/gm.json`).

## 2. Raw Cache Data (`/data/raw-cache`)

**Best for:** Linking images, full reconstruction, digital archaeology.

This version preserves the exact structure of the original `cia.gov` website.
Crucially, it contains the `media` fields with **file paths** to the original
flags, maps, and locator images.

* **Source:** https://github.com/taruen/cache.factbook.json
* **Origin:** Forked from the original work by Gerald Bauer at:
  https://github.com/factbook/cache.factbook.json
* **Key Feature:** Contains `src` paths for images (e.g.,
  `/attachments/flags/...`).

### Linking Images
The raw cache contains paths like:
`"src": "/attachments/flags/AG-flag.jpg"`

You can retrieve these images from the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) or
the separate media repository:
* **Media Repo:** https://github.com/factbook/media

## Content & Scope

Both versions cover ~260 world entities.

* **Regions:** Africa, Antarctica, Australia-Oceania, Central America,
  Central Asia, East & SE Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceans,
  South America, South Asia, World.

### Country Codes
This dataset uses the standard US Government **GEC (formerly FIPS)** country
codes, which differ slightly from ISO-3166.

* **Germany:** `gm` (FIPS) vs `de` (ISO)
* **Vietnam:** `vm` (FIPS) vs `vn` (ISO)

## Acknowledgements

This archive is built upon the open source work of **Gerald Bauer**.

* **Primary Maintainer:** Gerald Bauer (factbook.json)
* **Archive Maintainer:** Taruen (This distribution)

## License

**Public Domain (CC0 1.0 Universal)**
The original data is US Government public domain work. The JSON conversion is
dedicated to the public domain.
