There are two tremendous sources of information about foreign countries that are published by the Federal Government.

One source is called Country Studies, made available by the Defense Department. You can access the entire index of titles at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/list.html

There are 101 countries listed alphabetically, and each one is linked to an in-depth analysis of historical, social, environmental and political information.

Our library owns five of the Country Studies: Cuba, Portugal, Persian Gulf States, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and Venezuela. Our online catalog also provides links to another twenty. Do a Keyword Search in the catalog using Country Study to access the list. Each title marked E-DOC will have a direct link.

The second source is called Background Notes, and they are compiled by the State Department. The library owns historical paper copies, but the link to each of the 200 updated versions is in the library catalog: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS2003

The 200 countries are listed alphabetically, and all information has been updated within the past year. These Background Notes offer comprehensive detailed information about each country: Geography, History, People, Government, Political Conditions, Economy, Foreign Relations, U.S. Relations, Travel, and Business.