diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index e96cd6b3..1110eddc 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -3,14 +3,42 @@ What's the World Factbook? The World Factbook [1][2] published by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -offers free country profiles in the public domain (that is, no copyright(s), no rights reserved). +offers free country profiles in the public domain (that is, no copyright(s), no rights reserved, no license). - [1] [The World Factbook](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/) - [2] [Wikipedia Article: The World Factbook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook) +**Note: All country profiles use the original / official two-letter GEC (formerly FIPS) codes and NOT the ISO codes (you + might be used to) e.g. `au.json` for Austria (and NOT `at.json`), `gm.json` for Germany (and NOT `de.json`), and so on.** + + + +## Background + +For a little background on this factbook project from the humble author, +see the all-in-one page talk slides / notes titled [Turn the World Factbook into Open (Structured) Data](https://github.com/geraldb/talks/blob/master/factbook.md). + +Find some more notes on [query examples (and import instructions) for MongoDB](MONGO.md) +from another talk. Happy exploring the world with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) datasets / documents. + + +## Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Qs) & Answers + +### Q: Why not just use the ISO country codes? Not a bug, a feature request. + +A: The factbook has many more entities / countries than ISO and sometimes with a different definition - +it's NOT an easy 1:1 mapping, see [Appendix D - Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-d.html). + +### Q: I noticed that you've got Zambian data under ZA for the African region... It should be South African data... + +A: See why not ISO codes - Uhhh... nevermind, I see it's stored under SF. Weird, but, ok :) + +### Q: Can you update the datasets? + +A: Since November 2020 the datasets get auto-updated using / fetching the original +online CIA World Factbook country profile web pages twice a month, that is, +every 1st and 15th of every month. See the [GitHub Actions log](https://github.com/factbook/factbook/actions) for details. -> Note: All country profiles use the "official" two-letter GEC (formerly FIPS) codes and NOT the ISO codes (you -> might be used to) e.g. `au` for Austria (and not `at`), `gm` for Germany (and not `de`), and so on. ## Examples @@ -63,7 +91,7 @@ Europe/Austria - `au.json`: some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers" }, - "Elevation extremes": { + "Elevation": { "lowest point": { "text": "Neusiedler See 115 m" }, @@ -76,6 +104,7 @@ Europe/Austria - `au.json`: magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower" }, ... +} ``` @@ -414,12 +443,20 @@ United States (14): `xx` World + ## Build Your Own Up-to-Date Country Profiles See the [`factbook`](https://github.com/factbook/factbook) command line tool and scripts for details. + +## Real-World Usage + + + + + ## License ![](https://publicdomainworks.github.io/buttons/zero88x31.png)