Background Notes at the U.S. Department of State

FYI: You can visit the U.S. Department of State's website and find a section devoted to Background Notes on "the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty."

I've found it can be fairly handy from time to time, even if all you want to know is the official name of a country, or how you should refer to someone with that nationality, or what the flag looks like. Search tip: for a map, click on the "official name" link.