About the Country Studies/Area Handbooks Program

Most books in the series deal with a particular foreign country, describing and analyzing its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examining the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors.

Each study is written by a multidisciplinary team of social scientists. The authors seek to provide a basic understanding of the observed society, striving for a dynamic rather than a static portrayal. Particular attention is devoted to the people who make up the society, their origins, dominant beliefs and values, their common interests and the issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with national institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward their social system and political order.

The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official United States government position, policy, or decision. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. Corrections, additions, and suggestions for changes from readers will be welcomed for use in future editions.

Features Note:
The initial version lacked photographs, tables, glossaries, and bibliographies. These items are being added. Photographs, maps, and charts have been inserted, except when the graphic files are not available. Updated countries are marked bold type-face in the list of countries below.

New Country Studies:
Countries may be added without the photographs, maps, and charts. When all appropriate links have been added, the countries will appear in bold type-face.

Note on Timeliness:
Information on some countries may not be up to date. See the "Research Completed" date at the beginning of each study or the "Data as of " date on the end of each section of text.

Map Viewer Note: Maps and charts are in PDF format. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0

Browse Table of Contents of Country Studies

Go to: