The CIA World Factbook Edition 2025, the latest with this field Introduction
Preliminary statement In 22 editions of 36.
Preliminary statement was published in 22 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 2004 to 2025. The 2025 edition carries it in 1 entry, in its Introduction section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.
- entries in the 2025 edition
- 1
- the first edition with it
- 2004
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Preliminary statement” (2004 to 2025) and “Preliminary Statement” (2018 to 2020).
the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Preliminary statement, 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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Entries with Preliminary statement in each edition
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Europe
1 entryEuropean Union
The European Union's (EU) evolution is unprecedented in history, transforming from a regional economic agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization of 27 countries across the European continent. Such a large number of nation-states ceding some of their sovereignty to an overarching entity is unique. Dynastic unions for territorial consolidation were long the norm in Europe, although country-level unions were sometimes arranged, such as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The EU is not a federation in the strict sense, but it is far more than a free-trade association such as ASEAN or Mercosur. It has certain attributes associated with independent nations: its own flag, currency (for some members), and law-making abilities, as well as diplomatic representation and a common foreign and security policy in its dealings with external partners.
For these reasons, The World Factbook includes basic information on the EU as a separate entity.
Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2025, “Preliminary statement”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/preliminary-statement.