where changes may have
occurred but have not yet been approved by the BGN). The World Factbook
is prepared using the standard American English computer keyboard and
does not use any special characters, symbols, or most diacritical
markings in its spellings.

Why doesn't The World Factbook include pronunciations of country or
leader names?

There are too many variations in pronunciation among English-speaking
countries, not to mention English renditions of non-English names, for
pronunciations to be included. American English pronunciations are
included for some countries like Qatar and Kiribati.

Why is the name of the Labour party misspelled?

When American and British spellings of common English words differ, The
World Factbook always uses the American spelling, even when these
common words form part of a proper name in British English.

Policies and Procedures

What is The World Factbook's source for a specific subject field?

The Factbook staff uses many different sources to publish what we judge
are the most reliable and consistent data for any particular category.
Space considerations preclude a listing of these various sources.

The names of some geographic features provided in the Factbook differ
from those used in other publications. For example, in Asia the
Factbook has Burma as the country name, but in other publications
Myanmar is used; also, the Factbook uses Sea of Japan whereas other
publications label it East Sea. What is your policy on naming
geographic features?

The Factbook staff follows the guidance of the United States Board on
Geographic Names (BGN). The BGN is the component of the United States
Government that develops policies, principles, and procedures governing
the spelling, use, and application of geographic names--domestic,
foreign, Antarctic, and undersea. Its decisions enable all departments
and agencies of the US Government to have access to uniform names of
geographic features. The position of the BGN is that the names Burma
and Sea of Japan be used in official US Government maps and
publications.

Why is most of the statistical information in the Factbook given in
metric units, rather than the units standard to US measure?

US Federal agencies are required by the Metric Conversion Act of 1975
(Public Law 94-168) and by Executive Order 12770 of July 1991 to use
the International System of Units, commonly referred to as the metric
system or SI. In addition, the m