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What's New
- Country information has been updated as of 29 March, 2006.
- There have been some significant changes to the latest edition of The World Factbook. The European Union is now included as an "Other" entity at the end of the listing. The European Union continues to accrue more nation-like characteristics for itself and so a separate listing was deemed appropriate. A fuller explanation may be found under the European Union Preliminary statement.
- Along with regular information updates, The World Factbook features several new or revised fields. In the Economy category, the Factbook is now reporting national GDP figures in US dollars converted at Official Exchange Rates (OER) in addition to GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rates, since both measures contain information useful to our readers. Traditionally, only PPP-converted GDP values had been reported.
- In the Transportation category, the former Highways entry is now Roadways, while Ports and harbors has been retitled Ports and terminals.
- Revision of some individual country maps, first introduced in the 2001 edition, is continued in this edition. Several regional maps have also been updated to reflect boundary changes and place name spelling changes.
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For additional and more current information on
leadership in selected foreign countries, see Chiefs of State.