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In the Energy category, the Electricity access field has been updated for all countries with the latest available data. Additionally, in the Economy category, two new fields launched: Credit ratings and Ease of Doing Business Index Scores. These fields, in addition to the newly updated fields of Imports, Exports, Exchange rates, and Inflation rates for many countries, showcase the most recent business and trade environments in the world economy.

Years of wrangling were brought to a close this week when officials from Nepal and China announced that they have agreed on the height of Mount Everest. The mountain sits on the border between Nepal and Tibet (in western China), and its height changed slightly following an earthquake in 2015. The new height of 8,848.86 meters is just under a meter higher than the old figure of 8,848 meters. The World Factbook rounds the new measurement to 8,849 meters and this new height has been entered throughout the Factbook database.

Most countries have had their macroeconomic entries updated with the latest available data. The updated fields include: "GDP (purchasing power parity)," "GDP - per capita (PPP)," "GDP - real growth rate," "Labor force,"  and  "Unemployment rate."

More One-Page Country Summaries have recently been added to the site; the current total stands at 194. Additional One-Pagers are under development.

For the 60-plus countries where a "Terrorist group(s)" entry appears, a new direct link has been set up to Appendix T: Terrorist Organizations. The appendix provides details on US State Department-designated terrorist groups' aims, organization, tactics, weaponry, funding, etc.

In the Communications category, the entries for "Telephones - mobile cellular" and "Telephones - fixed lines" have been updated for all countries with the latest available data.

The "National Air Transport System" entry is a valuable indicator of economic and transportation activity. The quality of a country's air transport system is important since it binds a country together internally as well as connecting it to the wider global community. Found in the Transportation category, the "National Air Transport System" field has recently been updated for each country with the latest information regarding the number of registered air carriers, the number of fixed-wing aircraft they operate, and the numbers of passengers and amount of air cargo carried. For a more detailed description of this entry, please consult the Definitions and Notes under the Reference section of The World Factbook.

A new "Terrorist group(s)" entry - under a Terrorism category - has been added to more than 60 countries in The World Factbook. Included are 65-plus terrorist groups designated by the US State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), as well as an additional 12 non-designated, self-proclaimed branches and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) FTO. Supplementing this basic information is a new Appendix T, focused on Terrorist Organizations, that provides details on each cited group's history, goals, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, weapons, size, and sources of support.

The World Factbook is pleased to announce the addition of charts showing urban growth rate and total population growth rate over time for all of the world's countries - as well as more than two dozen dependencies. These new graphics utilize UN data and are a collaborative effort of The World Factbook and USAID. The charts appear in every country's People and Society section, under the "Urbanization" entry.

Did you know that there are seven countries in the world whose populations exceed the staggering total of 200 million? You can quickly find out what those countries are - as well as locate all country population totals - by clicking on the References tab>Guide to Country Comparisons>People and Society>Population.