Country Information

Current Wars and Conflicts

International Relations

Travel Guides

The CIA World Factbook
Information on the countries of the world, from the famous spy center, The Central Intelligence Agency. Find out all the basic data about people, land and politics of a country. Includes maps.

U.S. State Department Country Background
Background information about the countries of the world. First select a geographic region, then a country, and background information on that country will be displayed.

U.S. State Department: Bureau of Consular Affairs
Links to embassies and consulates of different countries on the Web. Not all countries are listed. See Travel Warnings & Consular Information Sheets for information about dangerous areas of the world for travelers.

Library of Congress: Country Studies
Library of Congress offers this series of online books which provide extensive information on all aspects of the country, its society, natural resources, economy, history, and international relationships.

BBC News Country Profiles
Background information about the countries of the world. Country profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries; also include audio and video clips from the BBC News archives.

Washington Post Country News
Search the Washington Post for articles and other information about the countries of the world.

International Data From the U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Department collects and makes available statistics, such as population and related facts, for many countries of the world.

USAID Regional Information
Information about the various countries provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

ArabNet
Over 1,800 links to information resources about the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

Maps Collection
The Perry-Castaneda collection of online maps is very large, including maps from the U.S., its states and cities, and many countries of the world.

World Flag Database
"There are over 260 pages on countries and international organizations. Each page contains basic information on the country, including its formal name, capital city, area, population, currency, languages, and religions. The flags include the national and state flags, ensigns, and sub-national flags.

Handbook of International Economic Statistics
The Handbook provides basic worldwide statistics for comparing the economic performance of major countries and regions. The data for countries presented are official data from the country cited, CIA estimates, or estimates made by other organizations.

Search Greenpeace
Search the files of the highly respected environmental organization, Greenpeace, for information related to your country of interest. Just type the name of the country, and the files will be retrieved.

Japan Info-Links
Very well selected and useful set of links to information about all aspects of Japanese life and culture. Created by the American School In Japan, for their students' use.

African Countries Information
Links to information on the countries of Africa. Provides data on social, political and cultural affairs.

EcoNews Africa
EcoNews Africa is a newsletter which analyses global environment and development issues from an African perspective and reports on local, national, and regional activities that contribute to global solutions.
 

The World Bank Regions and Countries
A source of economic and related data on many of the countries of the world. Select your country or region to obtain the information available. Requires Adobe Acrobat reader to view many of the files.

Lonely Planet Travel Guides
Information on many countries of the world, of interest to people who would travel there.

Lycos Travel and Country Guides
Start your search fro information about countries and traveling there. A good place to start is in the section down in the middle of the page: Destination Guides. Each country guide includes a description of the country, and provides links to additional information in several topic areas.

Excite Travel, Country Information
Links to information on cities and countries. Seems to be able to connect with quite a bit of useful information. Includes the CIA World Factbook, and usually has many links to additional information about countries, their people and institutions.

Geographia Travel Guide
Organizes travel and country information according to region or continent. Includes special features on the home page as well.

Country and City Travel Guides
Links to information on countries of the world (and their cities). Click on the name of the continent/region, and follow through to the country or city information you seek.

CDC Travel Information
The U.S. Center for Disease Control offers background information on regions and countries of the world. Select the region or continent you want information about, and the information will be displayed.

War List from the Center for Systemic Peace
Offers a brief description of global conflicts.

1. Use this page to identify a war or conflict to study.
2. Come back to this page, and use one of the other links below to obtain more information about the one you have chosen.

 

INCORE Country Guides: Conflict Data Service
Has a current list of links to information about countries and regions of the world which are at war, have the threat of war, or have the need of peacekeeping forces to keep them from warfare. Click on a region or country, and explore the links on the page that comes up for the kind of information you need.

Country/Conflict Section from The Children and Armed Conflict Unit
Has up-to-date information on armed conflicts around the world (and their impact on children). Select an area or country, and be sure to scroll down the page to the section "Reports/Papers".

Ongoing Wars: Children as Casualties, etc.
The Demographic, Environmental and Security Issues Project catalogs and reviews current wars, conflicts, military occupations and oppression of minority groups by force. Be sure to check the "Addendum #3 -- September 1997" for the latest update.

Contemporary Conflicts
A list of links to information about countries and regions of the world which are at war or have the threat of war, or have the need of peacekeeping forces to keep them from warfare.

Contemporary Conflicts In Africa
A very thorough Web site which provides links to information about the many wars and conflicts in Africa. Be sure to completely explore each page that comes up, because there is a lot of information available.

2001 United Nations Peace Operations and Current UN Peace-keeping and Overview & Full Report
Note: See the separate "buttons" for: Background, and News and Developments. The United Nations keeps military observers in certain areas as a way to maintain cease fire agreements when countries have been helped to cease warring against each other. (The Comprehensive List covers all such operations since the beginning of the UN.)

Human Rights Watch World Report
Reports are available on many of the countries of the world. Although the focus is on human rights, many reports show how the country's wars and conflicts have negatively affected the people.

CARE Ongoing Relief Programs
Information about how CARE implements relief and development efforts around the world (much of which results from the effects of war and conflicts).

International Red Cross: Operations By Country
Maps, facts and figures, reports, news releases and publications on the countries (over 50) in which the International Committee of the Red Cross is currently actively involved. The ICRC acts to help all victims of war and internal violence, attempting to ensure implementation of humanitarian rules restricting armed violence.

U.S. State Department Travel Warnings
Gives an analysis of places having serious problems with conflict, violence and war. "Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides... to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country."
 

The United Nations
Home Page of the United Nations Organization, with its headquarters in New York.

U.N. Security Council
The U.N. Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is so organized as to be able to function continuously, and a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at United Nations Headquarters.

Introduction to the United Nations
A helpful overview of the purpose, organization and history of the United Nations.

United Nations On the Internet
This page contains information links to some United Nations and other related international organizations, arranged in alphabetical order. Please note that this page is NOT an official entry point for access to United Nations information servers; it is simply an unofficial list provided for the convenience of UNDCP staff, member states and other interested parties.

Department of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN)
The U.S. Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency and is responsible for implementing the President's foreign policies. The U.S. has diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries and maintains about 260 embassies, consulates, and missions around the world.

The Embassy Page
Information about the embassies of countries that conduct foreign relations with the U.S.

CIA World Factbook
Information on the countries of the world, from the famous spy center, The Central Intelligence Agency.

Chiefs of State
This directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments is updated monthly. It is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid and includes as many governments of the world as is considered practicable, some of them not officially recognized by the United States. Regimes with which the United States has no diplomatic exchanges are indicated by the initials ``NDE''. (More information from the CIA.)

Rulers of Countries
Lists the current, recent and past rulers of various countries of the world. Birth and death years are provided with the names and terms of the rulers (b. = born, d. = died, s.a. = see above).

International Resources
A starting place for Internet exploration of International Relations: How countries of the world relate to one another.