The FAO Geopolitical Ontology: A Reference for Country-Based Information

Abstract

In 2002, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published its FAO Country Profiles, an innovative information retrieval system which allows access to FAO's thematic, country-based information from a single entry point. This ontology uses some of the country profiles' underlying data to provide a reusable resource for the international community, with a more streamlined means of accessing country data. Aimed at improving information management, the ontology facilitates standardized data sharing and interoperability, delivering the most updated geopolitical information. This ontology organizes coding systems and multilingual representations and tracks historical changes to geopolitical data as determined by trustworthy data holders like the United Nations. This article will show how the FAO Country Profiles has defined a new standard in geopolitical ontology and how and why the ontology became a reference for country-based information, as well as discuss future challenges. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.