Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were
recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the
Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were
added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American
continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most
traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65)
and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I
and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most
powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low
unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Geography of the United States
Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean
and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Area:
total: 9,629,091 sq km land: 9,158,960 sq km water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Area comparative:
about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the
size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger
than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times the
size of Western Europe
Land boundaries:
total: 12,034 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska),
Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and
thus remains part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida,
arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi
River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter
temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and
February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky
Mountains
Terrain:
vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low
mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska;
rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m
tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around
Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts;
tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest
fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major
impediment to development
Environment current issues:
air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and
Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the
burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and
fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the
western part of the country require careful management; desertification
Geography - note:
world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and
Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest
point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent
Population of the United States
Population:
298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.4% (male 31,095,847/female
29,715,872) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,022,845/female 100,413,484) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 15,542,288/female 21,653,879)
Median age:
36.5 years
Growth rate:
0.91%
Infant mortality:
6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.85 years male: 75.02 years female: 80.82 years
Fertility rate:
2.09 children born/woman
Nationality:
noun: American(s) adjective: American
Ethnic groups:
white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and
Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2%
Religions:
Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish
1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10%
Languages:
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%,
Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99%
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: United States of America abbreviation: US or USA
Government type:
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic
tradition
Capital:
Washington, DC
Administrative divisions:
50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of
Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, Wyoming
Dependent areas:
American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island,
Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa
Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin
Islands, Wake Island
Independence:
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
Constitution:
17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789
Legal system:
federal court system based on English common law; each
state has its own unique legal system, of which all but one (Louisiana's)
is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President George W. BUSH; Vice
President Richard B. CHENEY; note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state;
president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second
term)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats,
one-third are renewed every two years; 2 members are elected from each
state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of
Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to
serve two-year terms)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life
on condition of good behavior by the president with confirmation by the
Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts;
State and County Courts
Economy
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the
world, with a per capita GDP of $42,000. In this market-oriented economy,
private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the
federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in
the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than
their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital
plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same
time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than
foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront
in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace,
and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World
War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of
a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the
education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more
and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and
other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income
have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks
of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war
in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent
occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the
military. The rise in GDP in 2004 and 2005 was undergirded by substantial
gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the
Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP
growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005 and 2006 threatened inflation
and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through mid-2006.
Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term
problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly
rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget
deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.
GDP:
$12.36 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate:
3.5%
GDP per capita:
$41,800
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 1% industry: 20.4% services: 78.7%
Inflation rate:
3.2%
Labor force:
149.3 million (includes unemployed)
Labor force - by occupation:
farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%, manufacturing,
extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.9%, managerial, professional, and
technical 34.7%, sales and office 25.4%, other services 16.3% note: figures exclude the unemployed
leading industrial power in the world, highly
diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles,
aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing,
consumer goods, lumber, mining
