Background Notes
Background Notes
The publications listed below include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. The Background Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus. 
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Background Notes Archive
Earlier versions of Background Notes are available in our Previous Editions of Background Notes section.
-Afghanistan (11/08)
-Albania (11/08)
-Algeria (03/09)
-Andorra (05/08)
-Angola (04/09)
-Antigua and Barbuda (03/09)
-Argentina (12/08)
-Armenia (02/09)
-Aruba (02/09)
-Australia (01/09)
-Austria (02/09)
-Azerbaijan (03/09)
-Bahamas, The (04/09)
-Bahrain (04/09)
-Bangladesh (05/09)
-Barbados (10/08)
-Belarus (10/08)
-Belgium (01/09)
-Belize (04/09)
-Benin (05/09)
-Bermuda (05/08)
-Bhutan (10/08)
-Bolivia (12/08)
-Bosnia and Herzegovina (01/09)
-Botswana (05/09)
-Brazil (01/09)
-Brunei (11/08)
-Bulgaria (04/09)
-Burkina Faso (05/09)
-Burma (12/08)
-Burundi (03/09)
-Cambodia (11/08)
-Cameroon (03/09)
-Canada (11/08)
-Cape Verde (12/08)
-Cayman Islands (12/08)
-Central African Republic (03/09)
-Chad (02/09)
-Chile (02/09)
-China (01/09)
-Colombia (11/08)
-Comoros (03/09)
-Congo (Brazzaville) (03/09)
-Congo (Kinshasa) (03/09)
-Costa Rica (01/09)
-Cote d'Ivoire (05/09)
-Croatia (12/08)
-Cuba (08/08)
-Cyprus (10/08)
-Czech Republic (07/08)
-Denmark (04/09)
-Djibouti (04/09)
-Dominica (03/09)
-Dominican Republic (12/08)
-Ecuador (02/09)
-Egypt (03/08)
-El Salvador (03/09)
-Equatorial Guinea (03/09)
-Eritrea (04/09)
-Estonia (02/09)
-Ethiopia (01/09)
-Fiji (05/09)
-Finland (02/09)
-France (04/09)
-Gabon (01/09)
-Gambia, The (04/09)
-Georgia (02/09)
-Germany (12/08)
-Ghana (03/09)
-Greece (12/08)
-Grenada (08/08)
-Guatemala (02/09)
-Guinea (02/09)
-Guinea-Bissau (03/09)
-Guyana (03/09)
-Haiti (10/08)
-Holy See (12/08)
-Honduras (02/09)
-Hong Kong (03/09)
-Hungary (11/08)
-Iceland (04/09)
-India (01/09)
-Indonesia (03/09)
-Iran (03/08)
-Iraq (02/08)
-Ireland (07/08)
-Israel (10/07)
-Italy (03/09)
-Jamaica (12/08)
-Japan (03/09)
-Jordan (02/09)
-Kazakhstan (04/09)
-Kenya (03/09)
-Kiribati (05/09)
-Kosovo (12/08)
-Kuwait (02/09)
-Kyrgyzstan (04/09)
-Laos (04/09)
-Latvia (10/08)
-Lebanon (01/09)
-Lesotho (01/09)
-Liberia (02/09)
-Libya (03/09)
-Liechtenstein (04/08)
-Lithuania (12/08)
-Luxembourg (09/08)
-Macau (03/09)
-Macedonia (04/09)
-Madagascar (01/09)
-Malawi (03/09)
-Malaysia (12/08)
-Maldives (12/08)
-Mali (04/09)
-Malta (03/09)
-Marshall Islands (01/09)
-Mauritania (03/09)
-Mauritius (03/09)
-Mexico (11/08)
-Micronesia (01/09)
-Moldova (02/09)
-Monaco (12/08)
-Mongolia (02/09)
-Montenegro (12/08)
-Morocco (03/09)
-Mozambique (01/09)
-Namibia (03/09)
-Nauru (05/09)
-Nepal (01/09)
-Netherlands (01/09)
-Netherlands Antilles (02/09)
-New Zealand (02/09)
-Nicaragua (09/08)
-Niger (04/09)
-Nigeria (04/09)
-North Korea (02/09)
-Norway (10/08)
-Oman (06/07)
-Pakistan (03/09)
-Palau (02/09)
-Panama (03/09)
-Papua New Guinea (03/09)
-Paraguay (01/09)
-Peru (10/08)
-Philippines (04/09)
-Poland (01/09)
-Portugal (10/08)
-Qatar (01/09)
-Romania (03/09)
-Russia (04/09)
-Rwanda (05/09)
-Saint Kitts and Nevis (03/09)
-Saint Lucia (03/09)
-Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (03/09)
-Samoa (02/09)
-San Marino (04/09)
-Sao Tome and Principe (01/09)
-Saudi Arabia (01/09)
-Senegal (04/09)
-Serbia (12/08)
-Seychelles (03/09)
-Sierra Leone (04/09)
-Singapore (05/09)
-Slovakia (10/08)
-Slovenia (04/09)
-Solomon Islands (03/09)
-Somalia (03/09)
-South Africa (03/09)
-South Korea (04/09)
-Spain (12/08)
-Sri Lanka (09/08)
-Sudan (03/09)
-Suriname (10/08)
-Swaziland (04/09)
-Sweden (03/09)
-Switzerland (01/09)
-Syria (05/07)
-Taiwan (04/09)
-Tajikistan (03/09)
-Tanzania (02/09)
-Thailand (01/09)
-Timor-Leste (01/09)
-Togo (05/09)
-Tonga (05/09)
-Trinidad and Tobago (04/09)
-Tunisia (03/09)
-Turkey (01/09)
-Turkmenistan (11/08)
-Tuvalu (05/09)
-Uganda (02/09)
-Ukraine (03/08)
-United Arab Emirates (06/07)
-United Kingdom (03/09)
-Uruguay (03/09)
-Uzbekistan (12/08)
-Vanuatu (03/09)
-Venezuela (01/09)
-Vietnam (03/09)
-Yemen (12/07)
-Zambia (01/09)
-Zimbabwe (04/09)
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