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.
The United States of America is a federal democratic republic
situated primarily in central North America. It comprises
50 states and one federal district, and has several territories.
It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United
States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most
commonly, America.
The official founding date of the United States is July 4,
1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing
thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of
Independence. However, the structure of the government was
profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles
of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The
date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution
is typically regarded as the date that state "entered
the Union" (became part of the United States). Since
the mid-20th century, following World War II in alliance with
Great Britain, the United States has emerged as the dominant
global influence in economic, political, military, scientific,
technological, and cultural affairs.
Geography
United States
Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references:
North America
Area:
total: 9,631,418 sq km
land: 9,161,923 sq km
water: 469,495 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 is 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; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes
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
People
United States
Population:
295,734,134 (July
2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and
over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality
rate:
total: 6.5
deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.8 deaths/1,000
live births (2005 est.) male: 7.17 deaths/1,000
live births
Life expectancy
at birth:
total population:
77.71 years male: 74.89 years female:
80.67 years (2005 est.)
Ethnic groups:
white 77.1%, black
12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native
Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4% (2000) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included
because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person
of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican,
or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race
or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)
Religions:
Protestant 52%,
Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%,
none 10% (2002 est.)
Languages:
English, Spanish
(spoken by a sizable minority)
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population:
97% male: 97% female: 97% (1999 est.)
Government
United States
Country name:
conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States
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
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; it entered into a political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994)
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001); 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; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008)
election results: George W. BUSH reelected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 50.9%, John KERRY (Democratic Party) 48.1%, other 1.0%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two 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)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 44, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 200, undecided 4
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006)
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
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party [Howard DEAN]; Green Party [leader NA]; Libertarian Party [Steve DAMERELL]; Republican Party [Ken MEHLMAN]
13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico
Anthem
United
States
The United States' National Anthem
In
1814, Francis Scott Key wrote new words for a well-known drinking
song, "To Anacreon in Heaven," to celebrate America's
recent victory over the British. However, only in 1931, following
a twenty-year effort during which more than forty bills and
joint resolutions were introduced in Congress, was a law finally
signed proclaiming "The Star Spangled Banner" to
be the national anthem of the United States.
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous
fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of
the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Economy
United States
Economy - overview:
The US has the
largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world,
with a per capita GDP of $40,100. 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 considerably 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 entry in their rivals'
home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in
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 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor
productivity. The economy suffered from a sharp increase in
energy prices in the second half of 2004. 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:
purchasing power
parity - $11.75 trillion (2004 est.)
Public debt:
65% of GDP (2004
est.)
Agriculture -
products:
wheat, corn, other
grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy
products; forest products; fish
Industries:
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
Canada 23.4%, Mexico
13.5%, Japan 7.2%, UK 4.7% (2003)
Imports:
$1.476 trillion
f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
agricultural products
4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods
30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle
parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer
goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys)
(2003)
Imports - partners:
Canada 17.4%, China
12.5%, Mexico 10.7%, Japan 9.3%, Germany 5.3% (2003)
Exchange rates:
British pounds
per US dollar - 0.546 (2004), 0.6121 (2003), 0.6664 (2002),
0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000); Canadian dollars per US dollar
- 1.3014 (2004), 1.4009 (2003), 1.5704 (2002), 1.5488 (2001),
1.4851 (2000); Japanese yen per US dollar - 108.13 (2004), 115.88
(2003), 125.18 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000); euros per
US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175
(2001), 1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30
September
Communications
United States
Telephones - main lines in use:
181,599,900 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
158.722 million (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country
international: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4,854, FM 8,950, shortwave 18 (2004)
Radios:
575 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997)
Televisions:
219 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.us
Internet hosts:
115,311,958 (2002)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
7,000 (2002 est.)
Internet users:
159 million (2002)
Transportation
United States
Railways:
total: 228,464
km standard gauge: 228,464 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)
Highways:
total: 6,393,603
km paved: 4,180,053 km (including 74,406 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,213,550 km (2003)
Waterways:
41,009 km (19,312
km used for commerce) note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the
Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with Canada (2004)
Pipelines:
petroleum products
244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2003)
Ports and harbors:
Anchorage, Baltimore,
Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu,
Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia,
Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco,
Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo
Merchant marine:
total: 486
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 12,436,658 GRT/14,630,116 DWT by type: barge carrier 7, bulk carrier 19, cargo 152,
chemical tanker 19, container 92, passenger 17, passenger/cargo
57, petroleum tanker 79, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll
off 28, vehicle carrier 14 foreign-owned: 49 (Australia 2, Canada 8, China 1, Denmark
20, Malaysia 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Singapore 11, Sweden
1, United Kingdom 1) registered in other countries: 680 (2005)
Airports:
14,857 (2004 est.)
Transnational Issues
United States
Disputes - international:
prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region strains water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from crossing illegally into the United States from Mexico; illegal immigrants from the Caribbean, notably Haiti and the Dominican Republic, attempt to enter the US through Florida by sea; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; US and Canada seek greater cooperation in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island
Illicit drugs:
consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center
U.S.A. 
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