The CIA World Factbook Edition 2025, the latest with this field Geography

Major ocean currents In 4 editions of 36.

Major ocean currents was published in 4 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 2022 to 2025. The 2025 edition carries it in 5 entries, in its Geography section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.

entries in the 2025 edition
5
the first edition with it
2022
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Major ocean currents” (2022 to 2025).

the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Major ocean currents, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.

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Oceans

5 entries

Arctic Ocean

  • two major, slow-moving, wind-driven currents (drift streams) dominate: a clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyre in the western part of the Arctic Ocean and a nearly straight line Transpolar Drift Stream that moves eastward across the ocean from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to the Fram Strait (between Greenland and Svalbard);
  • sea ice that lies close to the center of the gyre can complete a 360 degree circle in about 2 years, while ice on the gyre periphery will complete the same circle in about 7-8 years;
  • sea ice in the Transpolar Drift crosses the ocean in about 3 years

Atlantic Ocean

  • clockwise North Atlantic Gyre consists of the northward flowing, warm Gulf Stream in the west, the eastward flowing North Atlantic Current in the north, the southward flowing cold Canary Current in the east, and the westward flowing North Equatorial Current in the south;
  • the counterclockwise South Atlantic Gyre composed of the southward flowing warm Brazil Current in the west, the eastward flowing South Atlantic Current in the south, the northward flowing cold Benguela Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north

Indian Ocean

  • the counterclockwise Indian Ocean Gyre comprised of the southward flowing warm Agulhas and East Madagascar Currents in the west, the eastward flowing South Indian Current in the south, the northward flowing cold West Australian Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north;
  • a distinctive annual reversal of surface currents occurs in the northern Indian Ocean;
  • low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and clockwise currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and counterclockwise currents

Pacific Ocean

  • the clockwise North Pacific Gyre formed by the warm northward flowing Kuroshio Current in the west, the eastward flowing North Pacific Current in the north, the southward flowing cold California Current in the east, and the westward flowing North Equatorial Current in the south;
  • the counterclockwise South Pacific Gyre composed of the southward flowing warm East Australian Current in the west, the eastward flowing South Pacific Current in the south, the northward flowing cold Peru (Humbolt) Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north

Southern Ocean

  • the cold, clockwise-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift; 21,000 km long) moves perpetually eastward around the continent and is the world's largest and strongest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers;
  • it is also the only current that flows all the way around the planet and connects the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean basins;
  • the cold Antarctic Coastal Current (East Wind Drift) is the southernmost current in the world, flowing westward and parallel to the Antarctic coastline

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2025, “Major ocean currents”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/major-ocean-currents.

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