Editorial standards

Sources first

Every fact on GovGlobe that came from outside carries a provenance record: the source, the publisher, and the date it was retrieved. Where a number is shown, it links to the record it came from. We use primary and public-domain sources only — Wikidata (CC0), the CIA World Factbook, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Congressional biographical directory, Open States. We do not republish other publications' reporting.

Counted, not estimated

Where something can be counted, it is counted, and the count is checked against the source. The number of local governments on this site equals the Census Bureau's own total to the unit, and the build fails if it drifts. Where the source does not record a date, the page says "not recorded" rather than inventing one. Unconfirmed things are marked unconfirmed.

Known problems in the sources, named

Wikidata's "position held" records include fictional characters; GovGlobe filters every officeholder query to human beings and says so. Wikidata's "basic form of government" is inconsistent; GovGlobe uses the CIA World Factbook for that field instead. Thirteen early Speakers of the House have no recorded start date; the page says "13 undated." The methodology piece walks through every one of these.

Written by a person

Software prepares drafts and tables from the database. The editor reviews every piece for accuracy against the sources, edits it, decides whether it is worth publishing, and signs it. Pieces are published on a cadence, not in bursts. Data pages generated from the ledger are not submitted to search engines until an editor has written them up.

Neutral by construction

GovGlobe records who holds power. It does not score ideology, rate officeholders, endorse anyone, or characterize a government beyond what its own constitution and the Factbook say it is. Comparisons are of structure — how many seats, how they are chosen, how long the record goes back — never of worth.

Corrections

Errors are corrected in place, noted at the bottom of the page, and logged on the corrections page with the date and what changed. Readers who report an error are credited if they wish.

Advertising

GovGlobe does not currently run advertising. If it does, advertising will never appear on the atlas, on navigation or error pages, or in greater measure than the writing on any page, and it will be labeled.

Last updated September 16, 2026.